buying hay~what should I look for?

[marlowmanor]

Found a local guy with hay. It is horse quality, stored in a barn, and was just baled last week. We will be going Friday or Saturday in the evening to get between 10 and 20 bales from him. I sent an email to my dad to ask if we could store some hay in his barn since I think our storage area can only hold about 10 bales. If my dad lets us store extra hay at his house that will work out well since we could buy the full 20 bales that we think we need for winter and just split the storage. We visit at least once a month with my dad so it's be no problem to pick up a few bales of hay as we use what we have stored.

Will 20 bales be enough for our 3 goats through the winter? The guy said they are 40 lb bales.

 

[Alice Acres]

That just doesn't sound like enough hay.

Granted we have more animals, and they are likely bigger than your goats...
I have 10 sheep (50-120# range), 1 little pony, and one llama...and I am using 1.5 bales/day now.
Normally we would still be on pasture, but we are drought-ridden and have no pasture now at all. So it's like winter feeding here....plus it's warm. If it was winter they would be eating MORE hay, as they would need the calories to stay warm.

Maybe some people with goats your size will chime in.

 

[marlowmanor]

In my area our winters are pretty mild usually. We do get some cold temperatures, but nothing crazy like up north. We rarely see snow. But this could turn into a bad winter too, especially with how mild last winter was and how hot this summer has been. We could get more hay likely in a couple weeks when DH gets paid again or definitely before winter sets in. DH is figuring that our hay barrel will hold 2 square bales of hay and I know the last time we filled up their barrel it lasted them 3-4 days. We will be feeding goat feed too so they won't be solely on hay. Our 3 goats are all over a year old and all three are miniatures. 2 wethers and an open doe.

 

[daisychick]

I would estimate 1/2 a bale a day for 3 mini sized goats. So take into consideration how long your winter "might"be worst case and you will know how many total bales you would need.

 

[marlowmanor]

I would estimate 1/2 a bale a day for 3 mini sized goats. So take into consideration how long your winter "might"be worst case and you will know how many total bales you would need.

If I go by that I think it computes to about 45 bales. I'm figuring December thru February as major winter time. That's 3 months at roughly 30 days apiece making 90 days, divided by 2 makes 45. I think we will start with the 20 for now and go from there. If we need to buy more in a few weeks and we have the storage space we will get more later.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I was thinking 10 to 15 lbs of hay a day total so x 30 days would be 300 to 450 lbs a month so 8 to 10 bales a month, until you have your pasture back. My husband and I lived in North Carolina for 3 years, Is it possible for you to have pasture most of the winter? You may need another 10 bales. Just a guess on my part. So maybe 30 bales.

Her in the Valley in VA, we may have no pasture from beginning of December to mid or late March, So I figure I need to feed hay for a minimum of 4 months, normally I feed some hay also in NOvember and some hay in April. That is not taking into account any possible dry weather in the summer.

 

[marlowmanor]

I was thinking 10 to 15 lbs of hay a day total so x 30 days would be 300 to 450 lbs a month so 8 to 10 bales a month, until you have your pasture back. My husband and I lived in North Carolina for 3 years, Is it possible for you to have pasture most of the winter? You may need another 10 bales. Just a guess on my part. So maybe 30 bales.

Her in the Valley in VA, we may have no pasture from beginning of December to mid or late March, So I figure I need to feed hay for a minimum of 4 months, normally I feed some hay also in NOvember and some hay in April. That is not taking into account any possible dry weather in the summer.

We don't really have pasture in the first place. They are basically dry lotted right now. We do cut browse for them right now and we do grain them and they have hay available. We do have half a round bale still too for hay. I would think that would equal out the extra we may need. If I can find extra storage I may be able to get DH to buy a couple extra bales of hay later.

 

[chubbydog811]

Our neighbors had 2 Nigerian whethers and 1 pygmy doe on a dry lot situation. Other than occasional grass or tree clippings, all they got was 2 flakes of hay a day and a handful of grain 2ce a day between them. They bought 60 bales to last 1 year (until the next cutting) and that was actually more than enough. The bails we get are around 30-40lbs. 40-50 bales would probably be a better number (averaging in wasted hay, and extra in the winter).

 

[marlowmanor]

Our neighbors had 2 Nigerian whethers and 1 pygmy doe on a dry lot situation. Other than occasional grass or tree clippings, all they got was 2 flakes of hay a day and a handful of grain 2ce a day between them. They bought 60 bales to last 1 year (until the next cutting) and that was actually more than enough. The bails we get are around 30-40lbs. 40-50 bales would probably be a better number (averaging in wasted hay, and extra in the winter).

That is basically exactly what we do here, but we do feed more grain than just a handful. We feed 3 cups (they share it) once a day. I did get permission from my dad to store some hay in his barn loft so I do have extra storage space now. I think we will start with the 20 bales likely and think about getting more in a couple weeks. I will mention these amounts to DH though so he can decided whether to get more hay or not this weekend. We have to consider what we can load up on a truck and trailer too. We have to borrow the truck and trailer too.