Wheat hay is a decent forage option for cows, but it falls short of premium hays like alfalfa in protein and energy. With roughly 8.5% crude protein and 58% total digestible nutrients (TDN), it can work well as a maintenance feed for mature beef cattle or as part of a mixed ration, though it typically needs supplementation for higher-demand animals like lactating dairy cows or growing calves.
Nutritional Profile of Wheat Hay
Wheat hay lands in the middle of the pack among cereal grain hays. At 8.5% crude protein and 58% TDN, it edges out oat hay (9.3% protein but only 55% TDN) on energy while trailing slightly on protein. For context, a dry, pregnant beef cow in her middle trimester needs around 7 to 8% crude protein in her diet, so wheat hay can meet that baseline on its own. A lactating cow or a growing calf needs 10 to 12% or more, which means wheat hay alone won’t cut it for those animals without a protein supplement.
Don’t confuse wheat hay with wheat straw. Straw is what’s left after the grain is harvested, and it’s nutritionally poor: just 3.6% crude protein and 41% TDN. Wheat hay, by contrast, is the whole plant cut before or during grain fill, which preserves far more nutritional value.
When You Cut It Matters Enormously
The single biggest factor determining whether your wheat hay is good or mediocre is harvest timing. Research published in the journal Animals compared wheat hay cut at three growth stages: flowering, late milk, and dough. The differences were dramatic. Fiber content (the less digestible structural material) dropped by about 35 to 40% between the flowering and dough stages, while non-fiber carbohydrates, the more digestible energy source, increased by over 50%.
That sounds like the dough stage would be the obvious winner, but the researchers found that the late milk stage actually produced the most digestible hay overall. At this stage, the plant has started filling grain heads with starch but still retains good fiber digestibility. The dough stage packs more starch, but the fiber that remains becomes harder to break down. For the best balance of energy, digestibility, and shorter growing time, cutting at the late milk stage is the sweet spot.
If you’re buying wheat hay rather than growing it, ask the seller what stage it was cut. Boot stage hay will be leafy and higher in fiber. Late milk or soft dough hay will have partially filled grain heads and generally more feed value per pound.
How It Compares to Alfalfa and Grass Hay
Alfalfa is the gold standard for cattle forage, and wheat hay doesn’t match it. Early research from the Journal of Animal Science found that calves fed alfalfa-based rations gained weight about one-third faster than calves fed wheat hay alone. Two-year-old steers on wheat hay with a grain supplement managed around 2 pounds of daily gain, which is respectable but still below what alfalfa-based diets typically produce.
Where wheat hay holds its own is as a cost-effective roughage source. In years when alfalfa prices spike, or in regions where wheat is grown and hay is available as a byproduct of a failed or dual-purpose wheat crop, the economics can shift heavily in wheat hay’s favor. Feeding wheat hay as 50 to 75% of the roughage portion, with a protein and energy supplement, is a practical approach for cow-calf operations trying to stretch feed budgets.
The Awn Problem With Bearded Varieties
One issue specific to wheat hay that catches producers off guard is the awns, or “beards,” on certain wheat varieties. According to Larry Hollis, a veterinarian with Kansas State University Extension, fully developed awns on bearded wheat can cause real mouth injuries in cattle. Cows eating bearded wheat hay may develop sore mouths, excessive drooling, swollen tongues, or swollen faces. If other feed is available, cattle will often pick around the mature heads to avoid the sharp awns, which means they leave behind the most nutritious part of the hay.
If your wheat hay comes from a bearded variety and was cut after heading, watch your herd closely. Cows that don’t look full despite having hay in front of them are likely dealing with mouth irritation. Beardless wheat varieties avoid this problem entirely, making them the better choice if you’re planting wheat specifically for hay production.
Nitrate Risk in Drought-Stressed Wheat
Wheat hay often enters the feed supply during drought years, when producers cut stressed wheat for emergency forage rather than waiting for grain harvest. This is exactly the scenario where nitrate toxicity becomes a concern. Drought-stressed wheat accumulates nitrates in its stems, and those nitrates persist in dried hay.
The thresholds, measured on a dry matter basis, break down like this:
- Below 3,000 ppm nitrate: generally safe for all cattle
- 3,000 to 5,000 ppm: safe for non-pregnant beef cattle, but can reduce breeding performance and cause early-term abortions
- 5,000 to 10,000 ppm: risky for all cattle, with potential for mid- to late-term abortions, weak calves, and reduced milk production
- Above 10,000 ppm: potentially toxic, capable of causing acute poisoning and death
Testing is cheap and fast through most county extension labs. If bales come back below 10,000 ppm, you can feed them as emergency roughage. Bales above 10,000 ppm should only be fed in small amounts (4 to 8 pounds per cow per day) alongside plenty of low-nitrate feed. Anything above 25,000 ppm is dangerous enough that disposal, not feeding, is the safest option. Nitrate levels don’t decrease during storage, so testing once gives you an answer you can rely on.
Mineral Gaps to Watch For
Wheat hay’s mineral profile has one notable imbalance. It contains just 0.15% calcium but 0.39% phosphorus, which flips the ideal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Cattle do best with a ratio of at least 1.5 to 2 parts calcium for every 1 part phosphorus. Wheat hay delivers roughly a 1:2.6 ratio in the wrong direction. Over time, this inverted ratio can interfere with bone development in young cattle and contribute to urinary calculi (kidney stones) in steers and bulls.
The fix is straightforward: provide a calcium supplement or a mineral mix formulated with high calcium. A simple loose mineral with a correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, offered free-choice, will balance the diet. If wheat hay makes up only a portion of the ration and the rest includes a legume hay or calcium-rich supplement, the overall diet may balance itself without extra intervention.
Best Uses for Wheat Hay in a Cattle Operation
Wheat hay works best as a maintenance roughage for mature, dry beef cows in mid-gestation. These animals have the lowest nutritional demands of any class of cattle, and wheat hay’s 8.5% protein and moderate energy content can meet those needs without much supplementation beyond minerals. It also works well blended into a total mixed ration where other ingredients bring the protein and energy levels up.
For growing calves, stockers, or lactating cows, wheat hay needs help. Pairing it with a protein supplement, a grain mix, or higher-quality forage brings the overall diet up to where these animals need it. As a sole feed for high-demand cattle, wheat hay will leave you with slower gains, lower milk production, and thinner body condition heading into winter.
Digestibility is another consideration. Wheat straw, for comparison, passes through the rumen at roughly 4.7% per hour, which is quite slow. Wheat hay moves faster than straw but still slower than alfalfa, which passes at about 6.1% per hour. Slower passage means cattle feel full sooner and may eat less total dry matter per day, which compounds the lower nutrient density.
The bottom line: wheat hay is a useful, economical forage that fills a real role in cattle feeding, especially in grain-belt regions where it’s readily available. It just needs to be managed with attention to harvest stage, awn type, nitrate levels, and mineral supplementation to get the most out of it.