# hay for goats



## hoosiergal (Sep 15, 2009)

how many flakes are there in a sq. bundle of alfalfa hay???


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## trestlecreek (Sep 15, 2009)

It depends on how the farmer bales his hay!!! You could anywhere from 5 large flakes to 12 tiny flakes. Most flakes are about 5 inches thick.... but that is just what I am used too.....


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## cmjust0 (Sep 15, 2009)

Yep...there's really no right answer.

Seems like an interesting question, though...why do you need to know, if I may ask?


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## hoosiergal (Sep 16, 2009)

i only have a certain amount of space to store my hay and was wandering if i could divide it out between 2 goats how long would one bundle last me for.


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## freemotion (Sep 16, 2009)

Best to figure it out by the pound, as every farmer bales a bit differently.  It also depends on how much browse you have for them.  And the quality of the hay.  And if you feed grain, alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, etc.  And...and....and.....!


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## ksalvagno (Sep 16, 2009)

I would buy as many bales of hay that you can fit in your barn. Make sure it is excellent quality that the goats will eat it all. I would buy a bale and give it to the goats and see how they eat it before purchasing a load of hay. If you end up with too much hay, you can always sell it. There are always people who don't buy enough and then are scrambling to find hay. Better to have more than less. Been there and done that. Not pretty when you pay big bucks for crappy hay.


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## hoosiergal (Sep 16, 2009)

i do feed them good quality alfalfa hay and they love it. and i give them grain also as I have not much grazing pasture at this time.

thanks for your time and help


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## Mini-M Ranch (Sep 16, 2009)

Ok, I went out and counted.  My alfalfa hay square bales have 20 flakes about 5 inches thick each.  I have four goats that together eat three flakes of hay plus their grain.  They have almost no pasture now, not because their isn't any, but because they WON'T go out there.  They would rather hang around the fence and wait for my human kids to come and pet them.  lol.  

I am figuring on two bales a week during the winter.  We are planning on storing two bales a week for 5 months.  That would be 20ish weeks, 2 bales a week = 40 bales.  Then we are adding 10 more bales just in case.  So, we are looking for 50 bales.

Hope that helps a little.  This is my first winter, too!


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## hoosiergal (Sep 17, 2009)

thanks guys. i do have some pasture area for them but like you said they would rather hang around the feed area and goat house.


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