Alfalfa pellets

[redtailgal]

I have seen several of you talk about feeding alfalfa pellets to your goats, and of course, I have a few questions. shocked arent ya?

What are your reasons for feeding alfalfa? it is about milk production, or weight gain or something else?

Do you feed it with other grains? what ratio of alfalfa to grain do you use?

DO you feel that goats that are fed alfalfa has a better weight gain?

Do you feel that goats fed alfalfa have fewer probelms with Urinary Stones?

 

[20kidsonhill]

We tried it with some yearling does that kidded, because I had ran out of alfalfa bales, and I wanted to make sure they had some alfalfa added to their daily diet, besides browse/pasture and a 16% grain. So far that is my only experience with it. I tried feeding it to some younger kids 3 or 4 months old and they wouldn't eat it. Too big of pellets. They would pick all their grain around it and leave all the pellets.

 

[elevan]

I feed it to lactating does and I'll toss a little in for the bucks. I feed in conjunction with regular grain pellets. And I agree, kids won't / can't eat it because it's too much size wise...at least for my tiny kids. Calcium is the primary reason that I feed...plus it stretches their ration

 

[Livinwright Farm]

What are your reasons for feeding alfalfa? milk production & kid weight gain

Do you feed it with other grains? Not at the same time, no. I usually give it as a mid day snack.

DO you feel that goats that are fed alfalfa has a better weight gain? so far, our kids that have been getting it, have been bulking better than those who don't.

Do you feel that goats fed alfalfa have fewer probelms with Urinary Stones? I do not feed the alfalfa to the bucks, because urinary stones in goats and people are made up of excess calcium.. and alfalfa has a higher concentration of calcium than other hays.

I have had no problems getting my kids to eat the pellets, it is just a matter of snapping the bigger pellets into smaller pieces(about the size of your pinky finger's nail, maybe a little bigger)... now beet pellets are a different story! Only my adult doe will eat those, and "they HAVE TO BE soaked in warm water!" She TOLD me so.

 

[elevan]

Do you feel that goats fed alfalfa have fewer probelms with Urinary Stones? I do not feed the alfalfa to the bucks, because urinary stones in goats and people are made up of excess calcium.. and alfalfa has a higher concentration of calcium than other hays.

Urinary stones in people are caused by calcium...in goats they are caused by phosphorus.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Do you feel that goats fed alfalfa have fewer probelms with Urinary Stones? I do not feed the alfalfa to the bucks, because urinary stones in goats and people are made up of excess calcium.. and alfalfa has a higher concentration of calcium than other hays.

Urinary stones in people are caused by calcium...in goats they are caused by phosphorus.

what they can be caused by, yes... what they are made up of, no.
It is when phosphorus levels in their intake are too high, which decreases the body's ability to absorb the calcium from their food, which in turn allows the calcium to build up in their kidneys and urethra(IE: urinary calculi{Calculi meaning: calcium stones}. higher phosphorus levels are what cause the calculi to accumulate, but they are not what the calculi are made up of.
Urinary calculi can also be caused by feeding too much calcium to bucks... meaning more than their bodies will absorb. I don't mind feeding it to growing boys, but once they reach 6 months(or become a wether), we stop feeding it to them.

To sum up: anything in excess, whether for people of animals, is not a good thing.

 

[elevan]

Do you feel that goats fed alfalfa have fewer probelms with Urinary Stones? I do not feed the alfalfa to the bucks, because urinary stones in goats and people are made up of excess calcium.. and alfalfa has a higher concentration of calcium than other hays.

Urinary stones in people are caused by calcium...in goats they are caused by phosphorus.

what they can be caused by, yes... what they are made up of, no.
It is when phosphorus levels in their intake are too high, which decreases the body's ability to absorb the calcium from their food, which in turn allows the calcium to build up in their kidneys and urethra(IE: urinary calculi{Calculi meaning: calcium stones}. higher phosphorus levels are what cause the calculi to accumulate, but they are not what the calculi are made up of.
Urinary calculi can also be caused by feeding too much calcium to bucks... meaning more than their bodies will absorb. I don't mind feeding it to growing boys, but once they reach 6 months(or become a wether), we stop feeding it to them.

Growing boys are just as susceptible as a boy of 6 months or greater. Bucks and wethers have similar susceptibility.

In order to prevent UC feed should be maintained at a 2:1 Calcium to Phosphorus ratio...some recommend a 2.5:1

Have you ever dealt with UC?

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Growing bucklings, especially during the first 6 months require more calcium than they do after the 6 month mark, due to the fact that most of their frame growth is done during the first 6 months. That is why we allow them the added calcium benefit of the alfalfa during that time, but not after.

Thankfully, we have yet to have an occurrance of it on our farm.

 

[elevan]

Growing bucklings, especially during the first 6 months require more calcium than they do after the 6 month mark, due to the fact that most of their frame growth is done during the first 6 months. That is why we allow them the added calcium benefit of the alfalfa during that time, but not after.

Thankfully, we have yet to have an occurrance of it on our farm.

Glad to hear that you've never had to deal with it, cause it's not pretty.

A goat's frame actually continues to grow through year 3, while the fastest growth happens in the first year.


Each farm of course must develop their own practices based on their individual beliefs.


To the OP's question: Do you feel that goats fed alfalfa have fewer probelms with Urinary Stones?
My vet encourages the use of alfalfa for all genders of goat. I feel the same. I maintain a 2-2.5:1 Calciumhosphorus ratio when feeding. But as with anything else, there are other considerations as well...good minerals and plenty of fresh water.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

the only animal we have ever had develop urinary stones was a stray cat we took in... and the only reason we didn't notice him not peeing, was because he and my cat used 1 litter box... we never thought to watch when they were squatting to see if they were actually peeing or not I miss Peter. We woke up one morning to find him dead in his crate... he never showed any signs of something being wrong. One of the coolest cats that has ever been.