Cutting oat hay?

When should I cut my oats for oat hay bales?
It has headed out so far.

Thanks Jeff

Jeff, Here in My part of Texas good Quality Oat Hay is as Highy prized as Loose oats or most any other hay including Alfalfa. BUT! it must be put up Right.To early ad there is no grain kernels, Too l;ate and you leave a trail of oats in the field for the Deere, birds, coons, & Hogs to Feast on!
*
The rule of Thumb is cut at Dough stage, IF.....The Stars all line up right, your Hay Baler Man is sitting beside the Phone, waiting on Baited Breath for you phone Call. No Break downs, Etc, Etc.....
So start calling your Baler man ASAP to line him Up try to start laying it down at mid-way Semi-solid milk/dough point! it will dry down and Retain the small grain kernals ands Not shatter when Baled! Hope this helps, I also prefer Earlier for the Oat stalks stays greener when dry and looks prettier when the bale is broke open!
Here there is No Better Horse hay, Cattle hay, or hay put up in sm sq bales for livestock up in the pens at the barn, Great hay for Receiving Cattle that have been hauled on Semis for long periods of time before they are given water!. It does tend to have a shorter shelf life. for if stacked outside every Field Mouse and Rat in the country will migrate to that stack for the Food source is abundant and almost limitless. Most folks will put up enough to get through the winter an redo next Summer. Hope this helps.
Later,
John A,

I cut some in the dough stage one time and it just didn't work. The grain never dried and the bales got hot as a two dollar pistol.

I found the hard way that if there was any grain at all in the heads the bales were irresistible to mice. Hardly a bale in my stack had two strings left after setting a few months. Now I cut right when the head emerges from the boot and don't have near the rodent problem. Another benefit I've found to cutting earlier is that the stems are more like grass and less like straw so our animals waste less.

I cut oats for hay immediately after heads emerge(weather permitting) that's when you get the highest protein bales with the best lbs of hay per acre. Cutting in dough stage attracts rats & mice plus lowers protein of in the stalks of the hay.

Thanks Guys