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Manitoba | Matts, we have in the past and still do some use flax shives as bedding for bedding pack areas. That is a little different than flax straw as the fibres (some anyway) have been removed for making cigarette papers / thin page paper. It is fine but I do think it takes longer to break down than straw but since it has been processed it spreads out well so you don't notice it much. We do on occasion use actual flax straw to fill in low areas in outdoor pens to keep walkways and entrances out of the mud. It binds together amazingly well to make a temporary surface that the animals can walk on. I would think / but I don't know for sure / that using flax straw as is for bedding may result in a pack that will be hard to clean out and difficult to spread evenly unless you let it sit for a long time to decompose. If you ran it through a processer and you were able to reduce it's length you would probably be ok but I would think the strength of the straw / fibre would make it hard to process. Also it is not very absorbant in my experience compared to straw unless processed. That is the reason I think why people choose it to cover septic fields with over winter. It does not rot and does not absorb much water so they can remove the bales the next spring without having them all break up.
I would probably try a bit as an experiment prior to switching over completely to see how it goes.
Martin | |
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Flax straw, for cows?
