anyone feed Sericea Lespedeza hay

[T.J.]

i have been doing a little research & read that Sericea Lespedeza is somewhat of a "natural" wormer for goats and sheep.has anybody fed Sericea hay?

the reason i ask is - i have a couple of unused acres i thought about planting some and trying it out.i believe i will be able to produce all the hay i will need and have a little extra to sell locally to a guy that said he would buy some.

so,does anybody have any experiance with Sericea Lespedeza?

thanks,
T.J.

 

[Goatherd]

After doing a search to find out what this hay is all about, I know I would never have an opportunity to ever try it as I live in a northern state and from what I read, this plant is indigenous to southern regions.

 

[lilhill]

Yes, we fed it about 3 years ago, but have since found another hay supplier. The goats loved the first load we bought, but hardly touched the second load. It has to be cut at just the right time, and at some stage becomes unpalatable. As for being a natural dewormer, don't know about that.

 

[T.J.]

thanks for the replies.i appreciate them.

i really think i am going to try a 2-3 acre spot and see what happens. if nothing else it will be a learning experiance

Goatherd,
in my research i have found it is listed as an invasive weed in some states.

thanks again,
T.J.

 

[RabbleRoost Farm]

I've read from several different people that have tried growing it that it almost never sprouts. Apparently it's VERY hard to grow.

As for it being an invasive weed, I bet it could be in the right areas. I guess in cooler climates it just doesn't thrive.


Edit: also - not a hundred percent sure on this, but I think if fed in too high amounts it can be toxic.

 

[mogolady]

There was a big article about this and a couple of other hay/grasses being natural wormers in the "Goat Rancher" magazine a year or two ago. It was pretty interesting. If I remember correctly, Lespedeza and some others are supposed to be naturally high in "Tannins" which supposedly are natural worm detourants. I think like tobacco???

Anyway, it was a good article and we talked about trying it but we would have to take a pasture out of our rotation for a year or so and we just couldn't make it work.

Keep us updated with results if you do, would be interesting.

 

[T.J.]

thanks.

if i can track down a bag of seed i am going to try it. 1 bag sould go over my 2 acre "test" plot.i have also read that after you plant it in the spring you can go back in the fall and drill orchard grass into the stand.i may try that if i dont get a good stand of the Sericea.

how well will goats eat orchardgrass? - i know horses and cows love it. or would timothy be better? (to drill into Sericea)

thanks again,
T.J.

 

[mogolady]

I don't know about the orchard grass but we had some hay with Timothey and ours did not eat it well at all. But, you know they are all different. Some of mine LOVE sunflower seeds and some won't touch them???

 

[lilhill]

We planted orchard grass along with chicory and Max Q fescue and the goats really love it.