I feed my girls free choice alfalfa. I started them on grass hay but they didn't like it much and the wind here in New Mexico is just crazy. The alfalfa stays together better. They eat the stems after all the leaves are gone.
alfalfa hay
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aggieterpkatie
The Shepherd
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I'm feeding mine second cutting Max Q fescue and they love it! And it was cheap too! Only $3/bale out of the field because I used to work at the farm. Most grass hay around here is at least $5/bale.
Sweet Cheeks
Chillin' with the herd
My goats are just wierd compared to all of yours.
When I got my 6 month old nubians - wether and doeling back in Oct, they had been eating local hay. I bought a bale and they wouldn't eat it. They ate my HUGE weeping willow instead.
When they had the willow pruned to look like an umbrella, they would eat very little of the hay, so I bought 3rd cutting alfalfa.
They love the stems. I end up with a fine pile of the little leaves that fell off the stems. The chickens and little wild bunny that comes out at night like the fine little leaves, so it all works at my place.
When I got my 6 month old nubians - wether and doeling back in Oct, they had been eating local hay. I bought a bale and they wouldn't eat it. They ate my HUGE weeping willow instead.
When they had the willow pruned to look like an umbrella, they would eat very little of the hay, so I bought 3rd cutting alfalfa.
They love the stems. I end up with a fine pile of the little leaves that fell off the stems. The chickens and little wild bunny that comes out at night like the fine little leaves, so it all works at my place.
Ariel301
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I buy whatever alfalfa is cheapest since the prices here are outrageous. 'Horse quality' alfalfa bales are between $9-15 here, so I have a dealer who will deliver what he calls 'cow hay' to me for about $5-7 a bale, and he picks out the best ones for me, so I get no mold. It's weedy, but that's what the goats would eat anyway, given their choice. Let out of their pens, they pick the most awful looking weeds and dead brush to munch on. Makes my mouth hurt watching them!
They don't waste the alfalfa too much, unless I give them a lot and let them eat all they want. If I give them small meals throughout the day, it all gets vacuumed up quick.
The last load of hay I got, they delivered bermuda grass by mistake, and I wasn't about to make them come back and remove two tons of hay and then bring me some new, so I'll just feed them that. They give me that same 'what the heck?!' look too lol! They definitely waste about half what I give them of that, but whatever is wasted goes for bedding in their sheds and the chicken coops, and then when that gets too nasty, it goes to the garden for mulch, so it all gets used one way or another.
I feed alfalfa to my buck, and so far so good. But I think the calcium could cause problems...I was told with some horses I should not feed straight alfalfa because they are more prone to intestinal calculi from the calcium, especially Arabs, supposedly, so I fed my horse grass hay only (she was always overweight anyway and needed to be on the least rich feed we could get). And I know too much calcium intake can give people kidney stones...so I keep an eye on him just to be safe.
They don't waste the alfalfa too much, unless I give them a lot and let them eat all they want. If I give them small meals throughout the day, it all gets vacuumed up quick.
The last load of hay I got, they delivered bermuda grass by mistake, and I wasn't about to make them come back and remove two tons of hay and then bring me some new, so I'll just feed them that. They give me that same 'what the heck?!' look too lol! They definitely waste about half what I give them of that, but whatever is wasted goes for bedding in their sheds and the chicken coops, and then when that gets too nasty, it goes to the garden for mulch, so it all gets used one way or another.
I feed alfalfa to my buck, and so far so good. But I think the calcium could cause problems...I was told with some horses I should not feed straight alfalfa because they are more prone to intestinal calculi from the calcium, especially Arabs, supposedly, so I fed my horse grass hay only (she was always overweight anyway and needed to be on the least rich feed we could get). And I know too much calcium intake can give people kidney stones...so I keep an eye on him just to be safe.
Calcium aids in the uptake of phosphorus... Phosphorus is a key component in the formation of struvite, or MAP stones -- magnesium ammonium phosphate. In the vast majority of cases, urinary calculi in goats is struvite.Ariel301 said:
That's why most goat feeds contain twice as much calcium as phosphorus...to help prevent to much phosphorus from going straight into the urinary tract where it could potentially precipitate into struvite crystals.
Long and short...alfalfa is really good for bucks, especially if they're receiving supplemental grain.
Not so long ago, we had one member here who noted that she fed A LOT of grain to her meat market wethers, and the only way she could consistently prevent urinary calculi was to accompany the grain with free-choice straight alfalfa.
Ariel301
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Well, that's good to know! I knew about calcium/phosphorus ratios, but didn't know that goat calculi were different from people calculi like that. My mom got kidney stones shortly after she had me, because her doctor kept stressing taking vitamin supplements while she was pregnant, and she overdid the calcium since she was afraid she wasn't getting enough.
Bucky will be very pleased to hear he can eat all the alfalfa he likes and 'goat-mom' doesn't have to worry about him.
Bucky will be very pleased to hear he can eat all the alfalfa he likes and 'goat-mom' doesn't have to worry about him.
Ahh, but kidney stones are totally different than urinary calculi.. You see, UC (haha) forms in the bladder -- not the kidney. You sorta have to have a situation where the pH of the urine is too high (too basic...not acid enough), and where the concentration of magnesium, ammonia, and phosphorus is high enough to precipitate into crystals.Ariel301 said:Well, that's good to know! I knew about calcium/phosphorus ratios, but didn't know that goat calculi were different from people calculi like that. My mom got kidney stones shortly after she had me, because her doctor kept stressing taking vitamin supplements while she was pregnant, and she overdid the calcium since she was afraid she wasn't getting enough.
Bucky will be very pleased to hear he can eat all the alfalfa he likes and 'goat-mom' doesn't have to worry about him.
If you've ever seen struvite UC from a goat, it's sorta sandy in nature.. Thousands of tiny crystals that clump and clog everything up.. More like sand than a rock...like a urethra full of sand.
I know, right?
I had a buckling with UC and he's still living, but the near-fatal mistake we made was not being aggressive enough in treating the accompanying inflammation. Sand + urethra...I'm sure you can imagine.
If I had to do it all over again -- which I hope I never do -- a UC case at my place would immediately get ammonium chloride, a shot of acepromazine (smooth muscle relaxer), penicillin, one shot of banamine, and several days worth of dexamethasone.
The dex came too late for my guy...permanent damage. But, he's alive and doesn't seem to be terribly worse for the wear. He dribbles, but...well, he doesn't seem to mind being a dribbler.
I learned a lot from him, though.
Mini-M Ranch
Overrun with beasties
I get the "what the hell?" look when I try to put electrolytes in the water. They give me this skeptical look like, "No way, lady. I ain't drinkin' your magic potion." lol
I feed only alfalfa hay right now, although I am getting nervous that it will run out at the end of February. This is our first winter with goats, and I grossly underestimated the amount of hay we would need. (Yes, I am so dumb that I assumed they would eat the same amount of hay in winter as in summer, neglecting to account for "browse" - life IS more difficult when you do dumb things). It is 2nd cutting and it is very lovely with fine leaves (that fall out of the feeder and confetti the ground). They like the fat stems. They like the leaves. They like it all. lol.
The breeder where I got two of my girls said that she doesn't feed alfalfa hay because she thinks it is "too hot" - but from what I have read here and on other websites, that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess when the hay runs out, they will just have to take what they can get. lol.
Our buck, Drifter (aptly named), gets straight alfalfa hay, and the occasional Honey Comb cereal from my daughter. lol.
I feed only alfalfa hay right now, although I am getting nervous that it will run out at the end of February. This is our first winter with goats, and I grossly underestimated the amount of hay we would need. (Yes, I am so dumb that I assumed they would eat the same amount of hay in winter as in summer, neglecting to account for "browse" - life IS more difficult when you do dumb things). It is 2nd cutting and it is very lovely with fine leaves (that fall out of the feeder and confetti the ground). They like the fat stems. They like the leaves. They like it all. lol.
The breeder where I got two of my girls said that she doesn't feed alfalfa hay because she thinks it is "too hot" - but from what I have read here and on other websites, that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess when the hay runs out, they will just have to take what they can get. lol.
Our buck, Drifter (aptly named), gets straight alfalfa hay, and the occasional Honey Comb cereal from my daughter. lol.
Roll farms
Spot Master
I agree w/ giving them less to make less waste. It's like a buy one get one sale at K mart....even if they don't need it, they've just GOT to have it.
Our feeder allows for ea. goat to stand side by side and eat...but there are a few smarties who've figured out that if they stand sideways, and work their way across their width, they get more hay...the heifers.
Another thing that helped...My husband replaced the old wood slat hay bars in the feeder with 4x4 goat panels so that they can't pull out as much, too.
Now I actually have to put straw down (they used to waste enough that it wasn't necessary), and we only need to clean the stall out half as often as we used to.
Our feeder allows for ea. goat to stand side by side and eat...but there are a few smarties who've figured out that if they stand sideways, and work their way across their width, they get more hay...the heifers.
Another thing that helped...My husband replaced the old wood slat hay bars in the feeder with 4x4 goat panels so that they can't pull out as much, too.
Now I actually have to put straw down (they used to waste enough that it wasn't necessary), and we only need to clean the stall out half as often as we used to.
MrsCountryChick
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Sometimes in the Feb, March & April you'll see last years hay sell for not too bad of a price (on sale if you willMini-M Ranch said:
) .....so farmers can have their barn emptied for new spring hay. A local country feed store sells hay for $5.00 a bale until about Feb, March or April (depending on how much hay they have to get rid of to empty their barn out)....... for a lesser price of $2.00 So you may wanna check out local paper ads or feed shops (very few sell hay it seems) & you may get a good deal to finish our your winter months of hay feeding.
