# Goats not eating the coastal hay



## madcow (Dec 26, 2012)

I bought what seemed like good looking coastal hay (not dusty or moldly) from TSC and the goats don't seem to be eating it and have it in a hanging hay bag for them (off the ground).  If they are eating it, it hasn't been much.  They have nothing else to browse on in their pen.  They get Dumor goat feed twice a day and seem to eat it fairly well, as they are hungry when I bring it into their pen and their bowl is usualy empty.  So I don't think I'm overfeeding them.  Should I be concerned and see if I can find different or better hay for them, or are they getting enough of what they need from the feed?  I'm new to goats and I thought they would eat both feed and hay daily.  I also give them loose minerals mixed with the feed daily and a small amount of BOSS as treats and for training treats. One of the does is about 4-1/2 months pregnant. Also, I have been pulling weeds up and giving them some, but that isn't every day since it's cold outside. Am I worrying about nothing here?


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## Fluffygal (Dec 26, 2012)

As long as it is still fresh hay that smells like fresh hay and looks like fresh hay I would leave it for them. As they are browsers they won't scarf it all at once, especially if their main food is the grain rations and you are offering other browse to them as well. As long as they are getting roughage that is good. 


Mine get a cup each of grain with BOSS in the evening with their loose minerals mixed in (stinkers won't touch the minerals by itself). Coastal hay stuffed into 2 hanging bags and a 3rd bag that has a flake of alfalfa. They browse between the hay, alfalfa, grass, weeds, and tree bark from the pine in their pen throughout the day.


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 26, 2012)

Whenever I buy fresh hay, it seems like the goats take a day or two to decide I am not trying to poison them with this "new" food.  Like FluffyGal said, I'd leave it in there and see if they don't decide it is good stuff after all.  The bulk of a goat's diet should be hay (and browse if it is available).  If you can find a local person to sell you hay, you could cut back on the feed ration (some don't even give feed/grain at all and do very well---I do give a daily ration but it is not very much).  Right now, it might be hard to find hay, and if you do, if is likely going to be pricey just because of the time of year.  It would be good to make a contact though, maybe get a few bales, and then in the summer, you could get some to store for the year at a better price.


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## madcow (Dec 27, 2012)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> Whenever I buy fresh hay, it seems like the goats take a day or two to decide I am not trying to poison them with this "new" food.  Like FluffyGal said, I'd leave it in there and see if they don't decide it is good stuff after all.  The bulk of a goat's diet should be hay (and browse if it is available).  If you can find a local person to sell you hay, you could cut back on the feed ration (some don't even give feed/grain at all and do very well---I do give a daily ration but it is not very much).  Right now, it might be hard to find hay, and if you do, if is likely going to be pricey just because of the time of year.  It would be good to make a contact though, maybe get a few bales, and then in the summer, you could get some to store for the year at a better price.


Maybe I'm giving them too much feed.  They are pygmy goats and I've been giving them about 3 cups worth a day!  Sounds like that's probably too much.  I will cut that back.  As far as buying hay here, it's really abundant this year in the central part of Texas.  There are bales everywhere you look.  So thankfully I don't think finding quality hay at a reasonably fair price is going to be a problem.  I just need to have a good source and I do have a couple of ways of finding some.  

You know goats are kind of like children (KIDS!), they don't come with instructions on caring for them! LOL!  

Thanks so much for the information.  You guys are so very helpful and make caring for my new children more of a pleasure!


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## Pearce Pastures (Dec 27, 2012)

I know what you mean---we fed out first goats, pygmys, on pretty much 100% pelleted feed, NO HAY, and in far too large a ration, for about 3 months before we realized that we were supposed to be feeding them hay.  Now it seems like, well of course.  This forum has been great for learning about the do's and don't and helping to make decisions about stuff in that gray middle area.


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## Fluffygal (Dec 27, 2012)

And the Pig-a-mys won't tell ya either 
My little Pygmys are the fattest 2 I have. They try to out eat each other and Fiona, my Nubian. Fiona learned quick to push back.


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## bigmike (Dec 28, 2012)

Madcow, I don't have any advice for you..My Lamancha and NDs won't touch coastal...Ive tried a couple of different times with some really good coastal....All mine will eat is Alfalfa..And since at the feed store I use the coastal and alfalfa bales cost the same I will just keep feeding them the alfalfa...Hope it works itself out for you good luck..


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## madcow (Dec 28, 2012)

bigmike said:
			
		

> Madcow, I don't have any advice for you..My Lamancha and NDs won't touch coastal...Ive tried a couple of different times with some really good coastal....All mine will eat is Alfalfa..And since at the feed store I use the coastal and alfalfa bales cost the same I will just keep feeding them the alfalfa...Hope it works itself out for you good luck..


Bigmike:

Went and got alfalfa hay and they are eating it like there's no tomorrow!  I guess they just don't like coastal, so will buy alfalfa from now on.  Thanks so much for helping me feed by goats.  Now my next concern is will it affect the taste of Ginger's milk when I go to milk her after she kids in a couple of weeks? What's everyone's take on that?


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## Gagroundhog (Dec 28, 2012)

Our TSC gets hay only once a year. My girls won't touch it. My boys will eat anything. We have 3 mini nubians and 2 mix goats. Anyway, the hay at our TSC is from last spring in that trailer thru the summer heat and heaven only knows how long it was in storage before that. That may be why your goats won't touch it. I bought it once to save myself a trip to the feed store. I'm glad I only bought 1 bale. Most of it went to the garden for mulch. My girls get alfalfa hay toward the end of pregnancy and throughout lactation as well as the bermuda hay. I'll be praying for good weather and an easy delivery for you and Ginger in a couple of weeks


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## Southern by choice (Dec 28, 2012)

madcow said:
			
		

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Oh yeah...they all love alfalfa.... it's probably the best for milking!   sounds like TSC's hay is nasty.. :/

 We have so many farms around here so we get hay from several different farmers. Some our goats love some they kinda turn their nose up at. We use the different hays so that they DON"T get too picky because you never know what kind of year it will be... good hay year or bad hay year.  We give our does some alfalfa daily but there is no way I could afford that full time. It's $14-$15 square bale. The neighbors sell us their hay from $2.50- $3 sq bale and $25 round bale.

If they have alfalfa they won't leave the feeder...ever. Even when there is plenty of leaves and forage in sprg/summer if we put alfalfa out they won't bother to forage! They get fat and lazy.   We cut most everything out when they have the good forage. Helps them to remember they are goats too.


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 28, 2012)

Goats are funny.  I have 20 ND and mostly what I feed mine is coastal, especially in the fall.

Here in N.C. it is the most abundant hay around and mine love it.

I couldn't afford alfalfa, it costs $15 per square bale here, and I can get 4x5 round bales of Coastal for $35.

In the spring we get this beautiful oat/rye mix because the farmers plant oats as a cover crop.  Don't harvest the oats, but cut it into this most wondeful hay.  The goats really love that, but it usually doesn't last very long.


www.onefineacre.com


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## madcow (Dec 29, 2012)

OMG, Trixie and Ginger were begging for the alfalfa this morning.  Filled the hay bag to overflowing and tried to hang it on the fence and Trixie was eating out of the top of the bag before I got it up there!  They love this stuff!  Hope they don't upset their tummies eating so much of it today.  Should I limit how much I give them for now? I need to get my grooming/stanchion built here today so I can make sure Ginger gets her feed everyday and get used to being on the stanchion for milking in a couple of weeks when she kids.  I want to make sure she gets her share of feed during her last weeks of pregnancy.  I feel better knowing they are getting what their bodies require now.  Whew! I'm learning......


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 29, 2012)

madcow said:
			
		

> OMG, Trixie and Ginger were begging for the alfalfa this morning.  Filled the hay bag to overflowing and tried to hang it on the fence and Trixie was eating out of the top of the bag before I got it up there!  They love this stuff!  Hope they don't upset their tummies eating so much of it today.  Should I limit how much I give them for now? I need to get my grooming/stanchion built here today so I can make sure Ginger gets her feed everyday and get used to being on the stanchion for milking in a couple of weeks when she kids.  I want to make sure she gets her share of feed during her last weeks of pregnancy.  I feel better knowing they are getting what their bodies require now.  Whew! I'm learning......


Definitely limit it.

Alfalfa is very rich.

Personally, I would have tried a little longer with a grass hay.

We keep a bag of alfalfa pellets for horses to give ours as a treat.  One time I bought a couple of bales of alfalfa before the state fair because someone told me it would make their coats shiny (not sure I buy that).  It did upset some of ours stomachs.


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## madcow (Dec 29, 2012)

OneFineAcre said:
			
		

> madcow said:
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Well, I had had the coastal out there for 2 weeks and they never touched it.  I think they would have eaten it by then if they were going to ever.  I needed something for bedding anyway, so the coastal won't go completely to waste.  I wonder if I mixed the 2 if they would eat some of it.  That's a thought, hummmmmm.......


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## that's*satyrical (Dec 29, 2012)

Mine didn't have any problems when I gave them alfalfa hay, but I did mix or rotate it with a grass hay. Now they get the coastal (square bales) and they love it and they get alfalfa chaffhaye once a day before their pellets. I am hoping the probiotics in the chaffhaye help them absorb more of the nutrients in their pellet mix which consists of Resaca goat pellets 16%, Standlee alfalfa pellets, and Black oil sunflower seeds topped with some Manna Pro goat minerals. They all seem to be pretty healthy and happy with this feeding schedule. Are you sure the coastal hay was of good quality? Goats are picky about the quality of their hay more than the type I think.


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## madcow (Dec 29, 2012)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> Mine didn't have any problems when I gave them alfalfa hay, but I did mix or rotate it with a grass hay. Now they get the coastal (square bales) and they love it and they get alfalfa chaffhaye once a day before their pellets. I am hoping the probiotics in the chaffhaye help them absorb more of the nutrients in their pellet mix which consists of Resaca goat pellets 16%, Standlee alfalfa pellets, and Black oil sunflower seeds topped with some Manna Pro goat minerals. They all seem to be pretty healthy and happy with this feeding schedule. Are you sure the coastal hay was of good quality? Goats are picky about the quality of their hay more than the type I think.


Not sure if it was the very best hay, since I'm really new to all of this "hay business."  I think it might have been old, but past that it seemed like it was pretty good-looking hay. Not dusty, or moldly, but not as green as the alfalfa hay.  The alfalfa was a new shipment, so I'm sure it was pretty fresh, compared to the coastal.  I just know I won't buy that hay again.  The "girls" are just too picky about their hay to chance it again.  Just have to find another source.  I think I will put a small amount of the coastal in with the alfalfa every day just to make sure it all gets used up.  You guys have been a great help! I really appreciate all of the information and advice you have given me. You will have a difficult time getting rid of me now!LOL!


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 29, 2012)

madcow said:
			
		

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Coastal will never be as green as alfalfa.

Coastal is a grass and alfalfa is a legume.

Goats can be picky, but I don't think I've ever heard of any that wouldn't eat grass hay at all.

The age of the hay shouldn't make a difference either.  I buy from a local farmer.  First cuttings go in the barn first, later cuttings afterward.

So, at the end of the winter, you are getting the earliest cuttings from the previous spring.

Maybe there was just something wrong with it.


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## mdavenport0121 (Dec 30, 2012)

They will eat coastal, they aren't hungry enough to eat it. I had alfalfa out for mine and they seem hungry when I bring them pellets. Mine seem to want pellets more than anything else. You may try feeding them less pellets and see if they eat they hay. I have a TSC, but don't buy my hay from them.


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## kstaven (Dec 30, 2012)

Alfalfa is too rich? Our dairy herds live on it and always have.


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## that's*satyrical (Dec 30, 2012)

Maybe too rich to give straight up free choice to goats that aren't quite used to it yet?  Goats can have sensitive tummies to changes in diet.


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## Catahoula (Dec 30, 2012)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> Mine didn't have any problems when I gave them alfalfa hay, but I did mix or rotate it with a grass hay. Now they get the coastal (square bales) and they love it and they get alfalfa chaffhaye once a day before their pellets. I am hoping the probiotics in the chaffhaye help them absorb more of the nutrients in their pellet mix which consists of Resaca goat pellets 16%, Standlee alfalfa pellets, and Black oil sunflower seeds topped with some Manna Pro goat minerals. They all seem to be pretty healthy and happy with this feeding schedule. Are you sure the coastal hay was of good quality? Goats are picky about the quality of their hay more than the type I think.


Pretty much what I feed my goats too. Regular alfalfa hay, Chaffhaye, Standlee alfalfa pellets, BOSS and 15% grains (because they are still growing) and pasture.


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## kstaven (Dec 30, 2012)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> Maybe too rich to give straight up free choice to goats that aren't quite used to it yet?  Goats can have sensitive tummies to changes in diet.


That is a valid point. Alfalfa based hay is common here and considered a dairy standard. Goats thrive on it.


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## that's*satyrical (Dec 30, 2012)

True. Alfalfa is great for helping increase milk production. It's great to feed your goats straight alfalfa hay if you can afford it. You probably want to slowly work up to a change in diet though the rumens are sensitive!


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## kstaven (Dec 30, 2012)

that's*satyrical said:
			
		

> True. Alfalfa is great for helping increase milk production. It's great to feed your goats straight alfalfa hay if you can afford it. You probably want to slowly work up to a change in diet though the rumens are sensitive!


All ours are raised on it. It allows us to go grain free and never have loss of condition issues that often accompanies cheap feeds.


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 30, 2012)

kstaven said:
			
		

> Alfalfa is too rich? Our dairy herds live on it and always have.


Didn't say it was too rich.  If a goat had been mostly on grass hay and hasn't been eating alfalfa and you start giving it to them you should limit the quantity and ease them into it. It will turn their firm little "goat berry's" runny.

Goat is a ruminant but more like a deer than a cow.  I've never seen a cow "berry".  Besides the original poster has Pygmy goats.  Big difference in a Pygymy and a Holstein 

My wife's dad raises beef cows, I think he has around 80 head.  In the fall in this part of the world, peanut hay (also a legume) becomes very abundant for cows.  If they've been on grass all summer and you switch them to peanut they get a little runny for a while.

I know out west most dairies feed alfalfa.  Any alfalfa in the SE is shipped in and very expensive.

Most cows and goat dairies around here get grass hay and like I said peanut hay when available.  In spring you get a nice oat/rye blend which is really good.


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## kstaven (Dec 30, 2012)

We have dairy goats also. So we aren't without experience there.


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## mdavenport0121 (Dec 30, 2012)

Unfortunately, alfalfa is more expensive than pellets where I live. 100 lb bale is $23 and 50 lb bag of pellets is $11.


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## that's*satyrical (Dec 30, 2012)

mdavenport0121 said:
			
		

> Unfortunately, alfalfa is more expensive than pellets where I live. 100 lb bale is $23 and 50 lb bag of pellets is $11.


You are in Texas. You should try to get chaffhaye (comes from Dell City TX). I love it. It is alfalfa, probiotics, natural fermentation products & non-gmo. You can store it for a long time too, and there is no waste if you put it in a feeder for them. Check it out! The alfalfa is not quite as nutrient dense after the chaffhaye process, but the nutrients are absorbed better.


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## kstaven (Dec 30, 2012)

As with any fermented feed you have better balanced biological availability across the spectrum. So yes, you may lose in minor ways on some items, but you gain in many other areas.


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## madcow (Dec 31, 2012)

Ginger and Trixie have slowed down on how much they are eating of the alfalfa over the ensuing couple of days since I started them on it.  I think they were just hungery for the bulk at first, because they hadn't been eating any of the other hay.  Thankfully they seem to be very hardy little critters and haven't had any stomach problems, which I have been watching for since I started the alfalfa.  They have still been having the usual nannyberry BMs and no scours.  I was also worried that Ginger, who is pretty close to kidding (in a couple of weeks) wasn't getting a good balance of feed and hay and thus a diet induced phosphorus-to-calcium imbalance and it would set her up for a pregnany toxemia situation here late in her pregnancy.  Hopefully by changing her to the alfalfa she's getting more of what she needs and we have avoided a diaster with her.  You guys are wonderful with all the advice and I truly appreciate your help.  I'm thankful to find this forum.


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 31, 2012)

Good deal.

Glad they are doing well.

You will find many opinions on feeding.

Figure out what works for you and your situation


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## madcow (Dec 31, 2012)

I think the feeding thing can be a trial and error situation, just like feeding yourself or your family.  You're right you just gotta find what works for you, but getting ideas from others and trying them for those situations that are difficult or are puzzling can be a real plus.  Being able to draw on someone else's experience is always a benefit to those who have no idea what to do in some situations.  Again, I am thankful for everyone's advice, as you did help me to find what works best for us.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jan 1, 2013)

madcow said:
			
		

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*
Mine are on alfalfa and the milk is delicious and wonderful.*


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