What the Hay?

Extolling the Virtues of Hay!

Hay is awesome!

No, really. You and I might not think that it tastes all that great (have you ever tried eating a piece of hay? *bleh*), but when the goats see me coming with an armload of fresh bahia grass hay, you'd think it was Christmas Day. I can only imagine what they would do if I fed them "the good stuff," like alfalfa hay! Does in milk need constant access to hay. It keeps their rumens active, which is essential to goat health. During the winter months, all goats can benefit from an active rumen, as an active rumen helps them maintain a higher body temperature. If you have goats, you can't get away from having hay on hand.

Most of the time, I buy my hay in 50-pound "square" bales. I'm hoping to get a round bale for the bucks this year, but I honestly think that the square bales are most economical. Goats are notorious hay wasters, as you can see in the picture of Mimi, above. I don't mind it that much. The "deep litter" method of goat management is easier during the winter if they drop their hay. During the spring, summer, and early autumn, I just scoop up the spent hay and put it in my compost or in my chicken coop for "processing" before using it to fertilize my garden. Hay, whether it goes in an animal or on the ground, is a wonderful part of homesteading.

Do You Know What Doesn't Like Hay?

Eyes.

Now, don't get me wrong. Goats have eyes, too, most often two of them. They actually have very sensitive and somewhat weird-looking eyes. Interestingly, goats rarely walk around squinting because a piece of hay got stuck in their eye. Are they smarter than people are? Is it because they have their eyes on the sides of their heads? Or is it just the luck of the draw?

Because, darn, last week I wasn't as smart or as lucky as a goat. When I distribute hay, it usually goes like this:

• Remove the uneaten hay from the does' feeder.
• Toss it over the bucks' fence.
• Refill the does' feeder with hay from the shed.
• Go through the training ring into the buck pasture, bringing supplemental flakes of hay, as needed.
• Refill the bucks' hay feeder.

It saves me significant amount of steps, most of the time, considering there's probably a half an acre or more between the buck pasture and the hay storage. That's not a huge distance, but when the temperature is 88 degrees with 93% humidity by 8:30 a.m., you make every attempt to save steps during the day. And, sadly, when you're hot and trying to get inside, it's possible to get sloppy. So, when I tossed the hay over the fence, some of the littler pieces got into my hair. Yes--mistake number one--I wasn't wearing a hat.

Normally, that mistake doesn't create a large issue. Normally, I sling the hay to one side or the other, using a little lift because the fence is five feet tall (and topped with barbed wire) and I am five feet, one inch tall. So, second mistake, I raised the hay over my head to toss it over the fence.

Normally, two tiny little mistakes wouldn't be enough to cause problems for anyone, save maybe a surgeon or a bombardier or something. But no, that morning the Angel of Mischief decided that it would be a good time to send something from the hay into my eye. You know, just for funsies. Because Kim has nothing better to do than to nurse an eye with hay debris scratches for a week. But there I was, with a sudden, sharp pain in my eye. The first thing I did was fish the contact lens out of that eye. The second was to get out of any and all bright lights, because I had a river of tears flowing down my cheek. The third, was to flush everything that I could out of my eye, for as long as I could stand it.

A week later, I still have a little pain in my eye and it's still sensitive to light. However, I am back to being able to tolerate writing on my desktop--I missed being able to participate in the "Summer Solstice" challenge, darn it!--although I still can't have a contact lens on that side. I expect that it will be another week before any residual scratches are gone and I can return to life as normal. (Note to self: get a new pair of prescription glasses this fall. Walking around with only one lens in is for the birds.)

So, the moral of the story is, "don't be a Kim. Wear eye protection and/or a hat when handling hay." The fact is, however, despite Kathleen buying me two pairs of safety goggles, they will probably live in my car or my cottage, well away from the offending roughage. Better luck next time!

(Please feel free to comment, even if it's just to mock my hay handling skills!)