Hay cubes or hay pellets?

[nicmac74]

Just wondering if you feed either of these and why you would choose pellets over hay cubes? I feed soaked hay cubes but am looking into feeding 1/4 inch pellets. I am thinking the quality might be better in the cubes but am not sure.

 

[MinisOutWest]

Cubes, Cubes, Cubes. I love my cubes, I think they have more roughage for the guts than the pellets. I use Rocky Mountain Cubes out of Manzanola CO. I do not know about the other brands, but mine are one in a million quality. they break apart in one hand, do not need soaking to be eaten, they are so super fresh and NOT super compact, so easy to eat.

 

[kaykay]

I like the pellets just because I dont have to soak them so its easier on me

 

[Becky]

I use 1/4" alfalfa pellets as the main staple of my horses' diet and love them! I've fed them for 15+ years with no problems whatsoever. If you need to soak them, they soak quickly. But are perfectly safe to feed dry. I had a lot of problems with the Rocky Mountain Brand cubes here. Hard as rock, gravel and grease in them! YUCK! I don't want my horses eating that!

 

[whitney]

Pellets are easier for you, but cubes I think qualify as roughage, the fiber is longer in the cubes, so I would go cubes.

The quality could be different even with pellets or cubes. You have to judge cubes and pellets the same way. They need to look like good quality hay.....green, smell good. Plus when you soak the cubes the horse is getting more water always a GOOD thing in the winter.

I went and bought 6 bags of cubes last year to find the best one and they ended up being at TSC and price wise they were in the middle.

 

[nicmac74]

Wow!such a different experience to Trailersoutwest!Thanks for the info. I do not know much about pellets so it all helps. I might try it just to see. My cubes (a local brand, not RMB) are very compact but seem nice and green and fluffy when i soak them.

I use 1/4" alfalfa pellets as the main staple of my horses' diet and love them! I've fed them for 15+ years with no problems whatsoever. If you need to soak them, they soak quickly. But are perfectly safe to feed dry. I had a lot of problems with the Rocky Mountain Brand cubes here. Hard as rock, gravel and grease in them! YUCK! I don't want my horses eating that!

 

[nicmac74]

Thanks Whitney. I do not mind soaking the cubes but I was thinking , if i go away for a few days, it might be easier for my hubby to feed the pellets?I also thought if they were better quality then the cubes but, as you say, it just depends..really the same as regular hay.

Pellets are easier for you, but cubes I think qualify as roughage, the fiber is longer in the cubes, so I would go cubes.
The quality could be different even with pellets or cubes. You have to judge cubes and pellets the same way. They need to look like good quality hay.....green, smell good. Plus when you soak the cubes the horse is getting more water always a GOOD thing in the winter.

I went and bought 6 bags of cubes last year to find the best one and they ended up being at TSC and price wise they were in the middle.

 

[chandab]

I have fed both pellets and cubes.

I've only ever been able to find cubes that are very hard, but I'm lucky I can find anything out here in the middle of nowhere. If I'm feeding cubes, and they won't easily break apart by hand, then they get soaked. If they'll crumble fairly easy, then I don't mind feeding them dry.

I prefer the 1/4" pellets, if I'm going to feed pellets, and I've had no problems with feeding them dry.

I'd really like to get grass hay pellets to supplement the so-so quality baled hay I have (this summer was too dry to get good hay put up).

Even if I add pelleted hay to their diet, I still will try to have baled hay for them for the chewing satisfaction and long-stem fiber they need.

 

[disneyhorse]

I like pellets, cubes just always seemed way too huge for small ponies to eat. But my pellets are always accompanied by some hay, so they get the longstem fiber.

Andrea

 

[shorthorsemom]

When I fed cubes I only fed them soaked. I had a friend with a piggy horse that swallowed a hay cube whole with out chewing. He was ok but it was a bit scarey at first with that hay cube in his throat.

 

[Matt73]

Just a question. Do people mainly feed hay cubes/pellets when they don't have hay? Or do some feed cubes/pellets in addition to hay (ie. grass hay and alfalfa cubes/pellets when more weight is needed etc.)? Just curious, as I've never used them.

 

[Reble]

Just a question. Do people mainly feed hay cubes/pellets when they don't have hay? Or do some feed cubes/pellets in addition to hay (ie. grass hay and alfalfa cubes/pellets when more weight is needed etc.)? Just curious, as I've never used them.

Yes, We went to hay cubes about 5 years ago, being easier for us to handle, cheaper buying by the skid, no waste, better quality and no searching for unrained hay in the summer.

Pasture in the summer.

Our local feed mill, delivers and stacks it for us.

Not sure what others do, but has worked for us.

 

[chandab]

Just a question. Do people mainly feed hay cubes/pellets when they don't have hay? Or do some feed cubes/pellets in addition to hay (ie. grass hay and alfalfa cubes/pellets when more weight is needed etc.)? Just curious, as I've never used them.

I use cubes/pellets to supplement my baled hay. This year, we have hay but it was such a dry season that the quality isn't there, so the cubes and pellets are increasing the quality of the forage in my horses' diet. If my hay is good, then I don't buy much pellets (I do have a senior saddle horse that gets some, as its easier for him to eat than hay).

 

[nicmac74]

I thought that too!The cubes are quite chunky. I soak mine overnight and/or use hot water to hurry up the process. I just thought pellets might be easier to feed . Even soaking overnight, there are still some bit chunks of hard cube left. The hot water helps to dissolve that but it all takes extra time. I also feed good quality Orchard hay at night and they get pasture grass during the day for a few hours if the weather permits.

I like pellets, cubes just always seemed way too huge for small ponies to eat. But my pellets are always accompanied by some hay, so they get the longstem fiber.Andrea

 

[nicmac74]

Good question!I , too, was so curious about hay cubes/pellets. Why not just fed hay?Well..my mini's were wasting so much of their alfalfa hay. The stems were too coarse and the timothy hay was being wasted too. I got fed up with throwing out most of what I fed them. It was good quality hay but too coarse for their mouths (or mine are just plain spoiled??!)I like them to have some alfalfa in their diet so thought I would try the alfalfa cubes. They are convenient as they do not take up much space and when soaked...seem nice and green and roughage-like. Plus, NO wastage!That si the best part but they are more expensive then regular baled hay so if you had lots of horses, then maybe not the best. They also take more "prep" time as you have to remember to soak them at night for the morning feed. Hope that helps!

Just a question. Do people mainly feed hay cubes/pellets when they don't have hay? Or do some feed cubes/pellets in addition to hay (ie. grass hay and alfalfa cubes/pellets when more weight is needed etc.)? Just curious, as I've never used them.

ps. edited to note: I have noticed that the cowboysat the cattle co-op barn here on the Ranch, feed their regular horses hay cubes. They do not feed them soaked though and seem to have no worries. Even their reining show string get unsoaked hay cubes.

 

[Hosscrazy]

In addition to timothy hay, I have always used timothy pellets (soaked)...but recently I started looking at timothy cubes and I was sold---I switched over! I soak the cubes and would not go back to pellets. I am very happy with the cubes!

Liz R.

 

[chandab]

In addition to timothy hay, I have always used timothy pellets (soaked)...but recently I started looking at timothy cubes and I was sold---I switched over! I soak the cubes and would not go back to pellets. I am very happy with the cubes!
Liz R.

I would love to be able to get timothy cubes or pellets locally, but I can only get them if I special order and ship them in. can you say $$$$$$$$$$. But, I would love to be able to get them.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

I use both also. I like to do a variety. I get alfalfa/timothy cubes, timothy cubes, Blue Seal Hay Stretcher, beet pulp pellets or shreds, this past summer I found a great source for some primo timothy hay. Recently I tried a Purina complete diet pellet. I like to give say stretcher pellets in the AM and hay in the PM. Or warm soaked beet pulp or hay cubes flavored with unsweetened apple juice or apple sauce PM. I like to mix it up for them along with their ration of grain. I love to hear those lips smacking over some yummy something. I give a variety just cause that is the way I feed all my animals not because I have a shortage of hay. My hay is good, it is about as expensive feeding just hay as it is feeding the variety. I also like feeding something warm in the winter months to warm everyone from the inside out a bit.

 

[Brandi*]

I tried feeding several different brands of hay cubes and hated them all the way through! They took FOREVER to get soft enough.

 

[Annabellarose]

I am not attempting to highjack this thread and I hope that the original poster (

) does not mind if I add a question relating to hay pellets and hay cubes?

I haven't had a pregnant mare on the farm since 2001. I recently bought two pregnant Miniature Horse mares and I am now expecting two Miniature Horse foals in 2009. We haven't had a good hay year in my area of Kentucky for two years because of severe drought. I was lucky lucky lucky to find the "okay" mixed grass hay that I did this year. I did not buy hay last year at all because I ended up buying way too much hay the year before (and I was not predicting, expecting, or preparing for a drought). Anyway, I am afraid that I will not be able to find any hay sans Fescue this year, especially this late in the year. What do I do!? OH! I probably need to think about switching one of my mares to hay sans Fescue by the end of this month. I stumbled upon this thread about hay pellets and hay cubes. Do any of you feed your pregnant mares just hay pellets or hay cubes? Would this be a bad idea if this ends up being my only hay sans Fescue option? I have fed alfalfa hay cubes in the past as a supplement to grass hay but I have never fed them as a total hay ration and I feed a hay stretcher pellet as part of a mixed grain that I mix myself here on the farm (think sweetless sweetfeed).