# Need help from a Math Whiz about Chaffhaye. =)



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 9, 2013)

*I just found a feedstore that sells Chaffhaye fairly close to me so I am wondering if it is cheaper. 

Here is my dilemma:

A bale of Alfalfa is $17.99, but they waste A LOT. I think around 25% and my boyfriend says he thinks as much as 50%. They only pick out the leaves and won't eat the stems. They are roughly 100 pound bales and last about 3 days. (Roughly 2 bales a week).

The Chaffhaye is a 50 pound bag for $14.99. I'm not sure how long it will last because I haven't tried feeding it to them straight as I didn't want to give them upset tummies. I've been top dressing with it, and they love it.

So I can figure out that the alfalfa is .18 cents per pound, and the Chaffhaye is .30 cents per pound.... so it's more, but how do I take in to account the waste? 

Also, I've heard it's more nutritional and better digested so it seems like they would be getting more out of the Chaffhaye?

I also LOVE the fact there is no waste!

Thanks in advance!*


----------



## SheepGirl (Feb 9, 2013)

Based on your situation (100 lb bale lasting 5 goats (you have 5 goats, right?) 3 days), each goat is getting 6-2/3 lbs of hay each day. I'm assuming the average Nubian goat weighs 150 lbs. So the goat needs 3 lbs of hay. Your goats are theoretically wasting MORE than 50% of their hay.  I think you need a better hay feeder!

Based on this, your goats are wasting $0.66 each worth of hay every day (about $3.30/day or $9.89 for your entire bale). Basically for every $18 you spend on hay, you are pretty much throwing away $10 worth of it. That's a lot of waste!!

I think, even though chaffhaye is more expensive per lb, you will still be saving more money. You will still need to feed hay to keep their rumen working, so don't plan on cutting it out entirely.


----------



## BrownSheep (Feb 9, 2013)

I am so glad Sheep girl popped up....all my brain said was noooooo moooore maaaaaaaaath.

I would also suggest cuttin down on the amount of alfalfa they get per day. If they aren't eating the stems then they are probably are getting more than enough. 

I second her recommendation of switching to the Chaffhay....what is it exactly? I've never heard of it


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 9, 2013)

I'm not a huge fan of Chaffhay but I'm not getting into it and don't want to either. My question is, why don't you just not feed either of those insanely expensive hays and feed grass hay instead?


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 9, 2013)

*Wow Sheepgirl, THANK YOU! 

Yes I have 5 goats. Correct on average weights.

They just won't eat the stems. They pick out ALL the leaves, very thoroughly. Some of the stems fall on the ground but most of them stay IN the feeder and I have to get out giant bundles of sticks that they won't eat. We've been using it in their barn, and also as mulch but it's SO darn expensive I HATE to throw it away.

Does the Chaffhaye not have enough fiber for the rumen? What if I up their browse?

I don't really want to cut down on their feed, they are dairy goats and pregnant right now and soon to be milking. I'd really like to give them as much feed as they will eat!

Chaffhaye is this stuff: http://www.chaffhaye.com/

Mine LOVE it.*


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 9, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> I'm not a huge fan of Chaffhay but I'm not getting into it and don't want to either. My question is, why don't you just not feed either of those insanely expensive hays and feed grass hay instead?


*
Grass hay is the same price as alfalfa here. *


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 9, 2013)

WhiteMountainsRanch said:
			
		

> Straw Hat Kikos said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Got ya. 

That's crazy. You're in a HOT climate right? May be why.


----------



## SheepGirl (Feb 9, 2013)

I'm sorry, for some reason I thought that chaffhaye was a pelleted forage supplement. Nevermind, lol! It should be fine by itself. It does include molasses, though, which is a controversial goat feed ingredient. I feed my sheep feed which has molasses in it and I don't have any issues, knock on wood.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 9, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> WhiteMountainsRanch said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*
Yes, So Cal... desert... about as hot as you can get! LOL! *


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 9, 2013)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, for some reason I thought that chaffhaye was a pelleted forage supplement. Nevermind, lol! It should be fine by itself. It does include molasses, though, which is a controversial goat feed ingredient. I feed my sheep feed which has molasses in it and I don't have any issues, knock on wood.


*
Thank you. 

Yes it does have molasses but it's fermented so they state it actually has LESS sugar (<3%) than straight pasture. I would think this would be ok?*


----------



## babsbag (Feb 9, 2013)

WhiteMountainsRanch said:
			
		

> Straw Hat Kikos said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I live in No CA, and the grass hay is MORE than the alfalfa, not by much, but it is more.  I can buy wheat hay part of the year for a little less, but it is not really a good primary feed for dairy stock, or for bucks and wethers. 

As far as Chaffhay, I have no personal experience with it, but have asked questions of those that do and their opinion is that there is not enough long fiber in the Chaffhay for goats and they won't use it exclusively. I know the website says differently.I have thought of trying it as well, but no dealers close enough to make it worth my time.

I have 21 goats and go through 10 bales of hay every 14 days. They waste alot too; I am thinking of a calf to clean up what they won't eat. Frustrating animals to feed to be sure. But based on Sheepgirl's math I think I am not wasting much; I should be feeding about 60lbs a day and that is about what I am using. Some of my goats are still young so they don't weigh 150 lbs, but they are boers and eat like PIGS. I don't think that the boers waste as much as the dairy stock. 

What I need is a barn where I can store 5 tons at a time and then I can get a bale for about 11.00 instead of 18.50.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 9, 2013)

*I agree. I wish I had a large barn so I could drive out and get my own hay for $14 a bale. 


I think I'm going to try using the Chaffhaye. It seems like there is a lot of positive things about it and I like that's it easy to store too! I'll buy a bunch of bags and see how fast they go through them, see if dollar wise it works out. 

OH I totally forgot until just now, they have a buy program where you buy 10 bags get the 11th free, so that actually makes it $13.62 a bag, so actually .27 cents a pound.

I'll do the Chaffehaye exclusively for a couple days just to see how much they eat. But I'll also be upping their browse after that to make sure they are getting enough rougage, just in case.  That will help with my feed bill! 


I can only try it and see! *


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 10, 2013)

*Ok well, dunno if this is going to work now. I put 3/4 of a whole bag in there this morning and it's almost gone already!  They may self regulate after they get used to it, or I might have to try feeding a 1/2 a bag a day to regulate them. *


----------



## SheepGirl (Feb 10, 2013)

Wow they ate a lot!!

Went to look at the nutrient composition of it....looks like it is 55% moisture and only 45% DM, which explains why they ate so much. Based on the moisture in chaffhaye it may actually be cheaper to just feed your hay, even with waste.


----------



## Straw Hat Kikos (Feb 10, 2013)

I agree. Some people make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread but Chaff is not all that.


----------



## Catahoula (Feb 10, 2013)

WhiteMountainsRanch said:
			
		

> *Ok well, dunno if this is going to work now. I put 3/4 of a whole bag in there this morning and it's almost gone already!  They may self regulate after they get used to it, or I might have to try feeding a 1/2 a bag a day to regulate them. *


I am a big fan of Chaffhaye. Two Boers and two Alpines go through one bag in 4 days with only one flake of alfalfa hay every other night...on average. One bale of hay last me two weeks or longer...depending on the weather. They also get to browse all day if they want or need to. There really aren't much to browse anymore. They get fresh Chaffhaye morning and night (about 6-7 lbs per feeding). Often there are leftover in their buckets. I don't give them Chaffhaye all at once or they'd just hang out in the barn and not go out to browse. I have skipped hay all together we had warm weather (Summer to mid Fall). I only feed the hay in the winter for extra heat. They do well in our cold nights...and we get single digit nights and teens days snowy weather too. 

I would suggest going by the manufacturer's suggestion on how much to feed and divide that into two so you can feed them twice a day rather than dumping half a bag. If they like that, they'll keep eating that and not browse like you want them to.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Feb 10, 2013)

*There isn't any browse in their pen- they ate it all. So if I want them to have browse I have to let them out with me or I have to cut it for them. 


They sure like the stuff though! They seem really content this evening and are just nibbling at it now. 


I just looked when I put everyone away and there is maybe 1/4 of a bag left, so if there was 3/4 when I put it in they ate roughly half a bag, so it wasn't as much as I thought, but it'll definitely be gone by tomorrow morning.


I think I'll try to give them half a bag a day split into two feedings and then just an occasional flake of alfalfa and browse when I can. *


----------



## babsbag (Feb 10, 2013)

I tried feeding my goats a bale at a time and they were absolute PIGS. Maybe they would self regulate eventually but in the meantime I would be broke. I now feed exactally what I want them to have. And while they scream at me and complain at time, their body condition says otherwise.

I think it would be the same with Chaffhaye, and maybe worse since it has the molasses in it.

Some of my friends feed alfalfa cubes. They buy it by the 500 lb bag. I guess the goats have to get a little hungry before they will eat them, but after they do the waste is almost 0. Unfortunately the place to buy them is about 2 hours away so I have to factor in the gas to go and get them and the more I can haul the cheaper it is in the long run. Waiting to get our trailer fixed and then maybe I will try that out.


----------



## Catahoula (May 9, 2013)

WhiteMountainsRanch said:
			
		

> *There isn't any browse in their pen- they ate it all. So if I want them to have browse I have to let them out with me or I have to cut it for them.
> 
> 
> They sure like the stuff though! They seem really content this evening and are just nibbling at it now.
> ...


Hi WhiteMountainsRanch, how did it go with your Chaff feeding? Are they still eating a lot or have they begin to pace themselves? I am still feeding one bag per 3-4 days without any dry hay now. They seem to still do quite well and I am also noticing less poop in the morning when I clean. Mine are just yearling so I figure they eat as much as an adult because they are still growing. I will be getting another boer wether in July. I think 5 is enough...although I think I may need a 6th one to keep the new wether company.  
Let me now how your chaffhaye feeding goes!


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (May 9, 2013)

*Hi there!

They will eventually "self-regulate" but at much more than I want them to be eating! They would probably pack away a bag a day if I let them!

I made a second feeder and now I spread about 1/4 of a bag and top it with my pellet formula every morning for them to munch on along with their free-fed alfalfa. *


----------



## NaturesPace (Jun 20, 2013)

i'm hoping to use Chaff exclusively as far as hay goes. they will forage and get minerals. I'm getting my goats next week and will let others know how it goes.


----------



## Catahoula (Jun 20, 2013)

NaturesPace said:
			
		

> i'm hoping to use Chaff exclusively as far as hay goes. they will forage and get minerals. I'm getting my goats next week and will let others know how it goes.


Don't be surprised if your goats don't eat Chaff at first. Mine took a couple weeks. I started with mixing it in to their grains or mix dry hay together. They turned their noses at first...but one day they finish up everything. 

My plans was to feed them Chaff exclusively but the vet feels alfalfa hay is too rich for my Boers. She said the Boers can gain weights just by standing! I now give them less Chaff and some timothy grass pellets at each feeding.


----------



## NaturesPace (Jun 20, 2013)

i learned about Chaff from the herd owner of my soon to be doelings. She is already feeding it to them. It's more of a supplement, but they already like it. I'll have some alfalfa cubes for them too. I'll probably soak them before giving the cubes.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jun 21, 2013)

*Mine inhale it, they absolutely love it. *


----------



## Rocco (Jun 29, 2013)

I use Chaffhaye part of the year...during the winter to add some calories. I mix it with their regular hay, which is usual coastal bermuda, haygrazer and/or alfalfa.

My goats, like others mentioned, either loved it or wouldn't touch the stuff. Some dive on it like a kid on cotton candy, others will just turn and walk away. It does have a strong tobacco-y smell that must be off-putting to some.

But, for about 20-30 goats, I can make one bag last a week or so just blending it by hand to make their regular stuff "better".

I do know one goat breeder in the area though that will NOT have anything to do with Chaffhaye. He had a bad experience with it, and knows of another fellow that lost a horse or two and blamed it on Chaffhaye.


----------



## Rocco (Jun 30, 2013)

Another possible option is to buy bagged alfalfa cubes. 

I can buy a 50# bag of cubes for about $15 (places further away sell them for as little as $11). There is virtually no waste and the goats love them...though I do just use them as treats and not as a feed. The downside is they are too big for the goat's little mouths so I have to split them and that would be a pain to split enough at a time to use as feed. BUT, they do make them in mini-cubes as well, but at least where I am, the mini's are a tad higher in price.


----------



## NaturesPace (Jun 30, 2013)

For the cubes, you can soak them in water first and they will break apart.


----------

