Do I need to mix in a different hay?

[Our7Wonders]

Very, very new goat owner (a full week today!) and the more I read the more questions I have on caring for my goats.

I have an alfalfa/grass hay mix, exact percent I'm not certain of but was told it was likely 75/25. Do I need to be concerned with that much alfalfa for pregnant does? I think I read on here that alfalfa should be cut back towards kidding. One of the dairy goat books I have says to cut legume hay for bred does (alfalfa is legume hay, right?) They are not quite 3 months bred, but getting close and want to make sure that I'm doing right by them during the last 2 months of gestation.

If I need to change, do I need to change altogether or can I mix it half and half? - and what type of hay would you suggest? Can you tell I'm afraid of screwing up?

At the dairy where my does came from they had alfalfa hay fed in the morning and then a grass hay later in the day. Occasionally they'd get a bit of oat hay as well. I would have liked to purchase the same hay they were used to but their hay farmer lost quite a bit of his crop to rain this year and I couldn't purchase from him. I had to buy elsewhere and I know NOTHING about hay, hay quality, or hay nutrition. What I'm feeding them now has some thicker stems but lots of leafy alfalfa throughout. My does are quite content to eat ONLY the leafy parts, leaving the stems to pee on just to spite me. If I sit with them they'll munch on the stems a bit but if I leave they stand in their run yelling for me to bring them somthing better........... I think their trying to train me.

Debbi

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Train you they will!

My understanding is that you would want to add the alfalfa during the last month of gestation and through early lactation to prevent hypocalcemia, but I'm sure some folks with more experience will weigh in on that.

I've found that anything given in limited quantities is wasted far less than something available all the time. I have grass hay available 24/7 but feed a flake or two of the straight alfalfa to my does once per day. They snarf every coarse, stemmy bit this way. When I used to offer it in conjunction with grass hay all the time they REFUSED the stems!

I also try to feed their grain after they've filled up on alfalfa so they aren't full and picky about it.

Good luck!

 

[jodief100]

Your Ag office may be able to test your hay for a small fee. All of the Ag offices in KY can.

That is the only way to know what your feeding them and what the nutritional content is.

Of course, I only sometimes get my hay tested. I should practice what I preach more often.....

I do what smithurmond does, grass hay always available. They have browse on the pasture available during the day- not much out there this time of year but they find stuff to eat. They get some grain in the evening after stuffing themselves all day and a little alfafa hay at bedtime.