Which is Better to Feed
-- Timothy Grass or Bermuda Hay?
by Dr. William A. Schurg, Ph.D, PAS, Dipl. ACAN
Professor and Equine Specialist
University of Arizona Animal Sciences
Although there can be a huge difference in cost between
the two products, nutritionally, when bermuda grass hay is put up correctly in
can be a very good quality and in many cases has nutrients exceeding that of
timothy grass. In the last couple of years, horse owners have demanded
more bermuda hay than ever before and the farmers and growers are doing a much
better job of producing a hay with high quality and nutrients.
We have sampled both bermuda and timoth hay and will
provide the analytical information that we found below. This represents an
average of more than 50 samples of bermuda and 10 samples of timothy.
As you can see, both products have relatively similar
nutrient content. Therefore, as long as the bermuda grass hay is green,
smells fresh, has a good texture and is free of foreign materials it can be fed
as the sole source of hay for your hourse. You may find as you excercise
your horse more or if your horse is a high performance animal, you may need to
add a concentrate supplement or in the case where bermuda is less palatable, a
grain supplement may be necessary.
Bermuda Timothy
Nutrient
Crude Protein % 10.9% 12.0%
Digestible Energy
0.89% 1.05%
Calcium % 0.41 % 0.32%
Phosphorus% 0.19 % 0.20%
Acid Deterg Fiber% 32.0 % 32.0%
Neutral
Det Fiber% 54.0 % 54.0%
Relative Feed Value 101.0 101.0
