Alfalfa pellets

[Queen Mum]

Sunny,

Your info on Alfalfa pellets was right on the money according to my vet. He read it and said DITTO. I wish had know more about it a couple months ago when I got here. I've always fed my goats pretty well, but I now understand why it works the way it does.

A big thanks for the info.

 

[elevan]

I start all my babies on alfalfa pellets frist it is there frist grain, then as they get older i add my grain mix..... Most of the time babies don't get grain, jusy great hay water and minerals and browes. this last batch of babies were started on alfa pellets because my hay source dried up for a while. I never have had any babies not be able to eat it....

What breed do you have? I have pygmies and ND.

 

[Mossy Stone Farm]

i have Nubains for Milking and Pygora's for fiber.. I only pull Nubains kids, i let my Pygora's raise there babies, i do keep creep feeders out in the pygora's pasture and the little ones start on alfala pellets at about 4 weeks .....

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

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.

I am amazed that this myth gets perpetuated like it does. Excess calcium does not cause UC. Like elevan said- excess phosphorous (that is, phosphorous not balanced by enough CALCIUM) is what causes UC.

Alfalfa is the backbone of our nutrition here. Bucks and does alike, gestating/lactating or not. Dry and open/early bred does may get less of it if they're overconditioned, but everyone gets *at least* enough alfalfa to balance out the phosphorous in grass hay if they aren't getting grained. IMO, feeding bucks grass hay and grain as their primary diet and then feeding a little alfalfa as an afterthought is madness.

Great info Sunny- we have a similar approach.

 

[smwon]

My boys don't get grain for the most part. I use a forage pellet mix for them 1 part alfalfa pellets, 1 part timothy pellets, and 1 part beet pulp pellets. They do well on this and maintain weight through the winter and while working. This mix is about 2.5 CA to 1 PH and about 14% protein. My boys do better on lower protein as adults. It is fed at @ 3lbs. per animal per day with a flake of alfalfa hay for long fiber.
The girls get the above mix, alfalfa hay, and rolled barley and oats on the milkstand.
.

Sunny, I realize this is an old thread, but I was reading about your forage mix. You said you feed a flake of alfalfa for long fiber. Is the flake for each goat or do you give one for all of them?

Hope you find this!

Linda

 

[SillyChicken]

newbie question....... I have 16% alfalfa pellets (rabbit food).. is this different than regular alfalfa pellets for livestock?

I feed my goats all the grass hay they want, they have free range browse, and I give goat feed pellets, a little sweet feed and the rabbit pellets....... am I making a mistake?

I see the ratios numbers people toss around... but how do I know that is what they're getting?

Currently feeding 2 wethers and a doe, all bit over 7 months old. I think I need to cut down on the feed a bit, but, they all seem in good condition... the pushy one is a bit fatter so I will be feeding them all separately soon to cut his weight down.




(Very true about human kidney stones, my DH has to drink milk for the calcium, to help bind the minerals that cause his type of stone).