# Seeking opinions on feed, hay, and hay alternatives...



## Chevoner (Aug 26, 2013)

We all know of times when quality hay can be scarce or expensive. Where I live a lot of corn, cotton, and soybeans are grown. 
Cottonseed hulls, soybean hulls, corn stalks, and ground corncobs are available for roughage. I imagine many of these are GMO crops, as are many sugar beet crops. 
This concerns me, and I would prefer to feed non-GMO feed to my future herds. The same concerns arise with forage extenders such as beet pulp. 
I have talked with a few goat people who feed bagged haylage and/or chopped, dehydrated hay. I've been told these are more cost-effective than conventional hay as they reduce waste. 
Also, they are put up when the hay crop is at it's best, are easier to haul and store, are palatable and digestible, and are more uniform from one batch to the next. 
This makes it sound a lot like 'miracle feed', lol. What are the thoughts of the BYH community on these issues?


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## bcnewe2 (Aug 26, 2013)

I've never had access to silage or the likes.  So I feed hay.  I haven't really found anything cheaper than do it yourself hay and we didn't get that done this year.

You have to know the protein count to know what you need to supplement with and from what I understsandd if you are feeding silage you have to feed all they can eat at one time. They need to clean up after each feeding. That is not done round here. I have picky sheep so if not careful they are wasteful.  

Anything bagged would seem to me to be more expensive as it's been processed and handled more making it more expensive. Or that's what I see in our area.


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## stano40 (Aug 26, 2013)

I have a backyard farm, so my goats get hay year round for the males and goat noble + hay for the girls.  During the winter I will mix in a sweet feed into the goat noble to give them a boost.

I have a friend that grows their own hay and they are very picky at what they grow.  They have their hay tested every year and harvest during warm days.  Their hay is excellent, light and the volume per bale is the same as other heavier bales of hay.

I grow some corn and other veggies which everyone gets the stalks and weeds that I pull from the garden.  They will also get plants that are not or done producing.  If I have an abundance of veggies they get that also.  I have one male goat that loves green tomatoes.

This year I've had a lot of tomato worms so I pick those off and feed them to my Muscovy ducks.


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 26, 2013)

You do not say what part of SC you are from, but I am from NC which is geographically similar.  Hay is readily available here and relatively inexpensive.  I can get the large round bales of high quality coastal bermuda for $35 each which we provide our animals free choice.   I was recently able to get some Tiffany Teff hay which is better than coastal.  I get the best grass hay available.
I recently secured a source of Alfalfa hay at $9 per square bale we give that as a supplement to our milkers. 

In the fall I am close enough to the eastern part of NC that I can get the large round bales of peanut hay for $20.  Nutritionally, it is very good.  Not quite Alfalfa good, but superior to any grass hay.


I don't think the packaged haylage and chopped dehydrated hay is going to be cost effective.  Another poster on here did try it one time though.

I don't have any energy around the GMO issue.  I buy a locally mixed feed that has corn and soybean in it.


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## Chevoner (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanks for your replies! 
The "added processing = added cost" equation is what I was thinking, but one farmer swore by it and made it sound so wonderful, lol. Perhaps he has stock in one of the silage companies 
We are planning to put in a garden this spring so hopefully some of the leftovers can be used to help offset feed costs.
Being from the central part of the state, I think my main feed concern is going to be a lack of late-fall/winter forage. 
Peanut hay is definitely something I will look into; I've not heard of that before, but it should be locally available as well.


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 26, 2013)

Chevoner said:
			
		

> Thanks for your replies!
> The "added processing = added cost" equation is what I was thinking, but one farmer swore by it and made it sound so wonderful, lol. Perhaps he has stock in one of the silage companies
> We are planning to put in a garden this spring so hopefully some of the leftovers can be used to help offset feed costs.
> Being from the central part of the state, I think my main feed concern is going to be a lack of late-fall/winter forage.
> Peanut hay is definitely something I will look into; I've not heard of that before, but it should be locally available as well.


Well everyone pretty much relies on hay in late fall/winter.  Find you a good supply.  The place I get mine from usually has enough coastal bermuda to last all winter.  We don't do the peanut hay free choice, it is very rich like alfalfa.  We use it in the same way as we do the alfalfa.  Now, my father in law raises beef cows and peanut hay is what he feeds all winter.  He usually buys 400 round bales when it is available.  It doesn't last long, it's just a by-product of growing the peanuts so it's only around in the early fall.  They grow a lot of peanuts in the eastern part of NC, pretty sure they do in the eastern part of SC as well.


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## Catahoula (Aug 26, 2013)

My goats eat Chaffhaye. http://www.chaffhaye.com/  It is chopped up alfalfa hay misted with molasses, added probiotic and sealed in bag. It comes in a 50 lb bag that cost less than a 60lb bale of alfalfa in my area. My goats love it and they don't waste as much either. If you can get it, you should try it. It sometimes take goats a few day to couple weeks to start eating it. I feed mainly Chaffhaye. They get to browse on the property. Because they are getting too fat, I feed less Chaffhaye and fill them up with grass pallets.


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## Chevoner (Aug 28, 2013)

Catahoula said:
			
		

> My goats eat Chaffhaye. http://www.chaffhaye.com/  It is chopped up alfalfa hay misted with molasses, added probiotic and sealed in bag. It comes in a 50 lb bag that cost less than a 60lb bale of alfalfa in my area. My goats love it and they don't waste as much either. If you can get it, you should try it. It sometimes take goats a few day to couple weeks to start eating it. I feed mainly Chaffhaye. They get to browse on the property. Because they are getting too fat, I feed less Chaffhaye and fill them up with grass pallets.


THIS sounds like what was described to me.  Can you explain more about what you feed as an alternative?


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## Catahoula (Aug 28, 2013)

Chevoner said:
			
		

> Catahoula said:
> 
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I feed my animals twice a day with Chaffhaye and timothy grass pellets. The rest of the day they are out in the field browsing...not much to eat anyway. I started with Chaffhaye because I wasn't happy with dry hay. They would pick through the hay picking out thin leafy part and leaving probably as much on the ground. I have tried different hay feeders and decided this is not going to work well for ME! While surfing on Craigslist, I noticed ads on Chaffhaye as an alternative. I did some searching and decided to try it. The goats didn't eat it at first so I would mixed a little in their grains. After about a week, they just start to eat it. Now it has became their main diet and I was feeding them Chaffhaye as total replacement. My vet felt they are a bit too chubby (a nice way to put it) so I decided to fill them up with timothy grass pellets and less Chaffhaye. Couple of them are still chubby.... I have since added two more goat kids and an alpaca... The paca is still not eating the Chaffhaye but the kids love it. I don't even grain the kids like I used to anymore. They look good and are growing nicely.  One problem I get with Chaffhaye is that I have to drive over an hour to get it. They cost about the same as a bale of alfalfa hay here...$13/bag. If I get alfalfa hay at feed store, it is $16+ a bale. With less waste and easy storage, I think it is worth it. In the winter time, I do give them some dry hay for extra roughage. I was chopping up my dry hay and mix it into the Chaffhaye. To my surprise, they ate everything without any waste! It was a lot of work...and seemed silly at the time too. 
Anyway, see if you can get Chaffhaye first... You can go to their website, dealer location tab with you zip or address to search for dealer in your area. Good Luck.


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## Chevoner (Aug 28, 2013)

Awesome! There's a supplier 9 miles from my town!


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