Exactly...I think there's some confusion what we're referring to as "hay". I baled it for years and unless it's specified as alfalfa or clover, just plain "hay" is grasses and whatever else is growing in the hayfield, used for cattle and horses. Deer will rarely touch this unless for reasons already stated.
Liver and Onions said:
Deer eating alfalfa hay is one thing. We have all see thousands of deer in alfalfa fields. Deer eating horse hay, hay that is mostly timothy, brome, ryegrass and weeds is another. From my experience, if you put out cattle hay the deer will eat it without hesitation . If you put out horse hay that is maybe 10% alfalfa, they will eat about 10% of it. Timothy, brome, & ryegrass are usually starvation foods for deer. I doubt that any deer in Mich. are starving yet.
L & O