feeding = wasting food

[debic]

worms?? don't want rabbits or horses......

Even if one uses hay feeders, goats still don't eat all the stems. Ours are very picky. We feed alfalfa hay free choice and just clean up the stems and hay the goats refuse and feed it to our horses.

LOL I do the same thing except I feed the stems to the rabbits and the worm bins so to me, its not actually wasted just fed to someone else. So- buys some rabbits and worms. ..or a horse.... and then there's now waste! Lol

 

[bettybohemian]

Yes,worms. I do vermicomposting. Red wiggler worms kept in a bin eat the old hay, goat poop and vehicle scraps and turn it into soil amendment. Recycling at its finest

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I also do vermicomposting. They turn waste hay and goat poop into the most beautiful black castings!

 

[20kidsonhill]

We feed twice a day and only put out what they clean up before the next feeding, If I start seeing the hay being played with instead of eaten, I cut back and if It is gone within 3 or 4 hours I add more.

Our 18 very large does are eating around a bale and a half a day of 2nd cutting good quality grass mix hay. around 45 to 50 lb bales. We don't feed any alfalfa or very little added protein until right before kidding(a couple weeks).

We keep out loose goat mineral free-choice year round.

When the pasture comes up that is all they get. Unless they are lactating, then they get around 1 1/2 lbs of 17% goat grower pellets. But we mostly kid December to Febuary.

This is for adult goats over 15months, OUr younger animals are on 17 %goat developer.

 

[debic]

We feed twice a day and only put out what they clean up before the next feeding, If I start seeing the hay being played with instead of eaten, I cut back and if It is gone within 3 or 4 hours I add more.

Our 18 very large does are eating around a bale and a half a day of 2nd cutting good quality grass mix hay. around 45 to 50 lb bales. We don't feed any alfalfa or very little added protein until right before kidding(a couple weeks).

We keep out loose goat mineral free-choice year round.

When the pasture comes up that is all they get. Unless they are lactating, then they get around 1 1/2 lbs of 17% goat grower pellets. But we mostly kid December to Febuary.

This is for adult goats over 15months, OUr younger animals are on 17 %goat developer.

should I not feed alfalfa at all?? is that part of the problem??

I have 3 boys and a one female.....none used for anything other then pets, fire protection and dog training. they help to train my lgd puppies.....

 

[debic]

Yes,worms. I do vermicomposting. Red wiggler worms kept in a bin eat the old hay, goat poop and vehicle scraps and turn it into soil amendment. Recycling at its finest

what a great idea....I might have to look into that....is it expensive??

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

The vermicomposting I do is directly in a raised bed outdoors. Of course when the ground is frozen they aren't active, but even when it's been in the low 40's here after a few weeks of seriously cold weather I can find them in the top 4 inches of compost. The thick layer and heat from the compost keeps them toasty warm.

I didn't even order red wrigglers- just keeping conditions right means that 100's of our native worms inhabit our raised bed. They really speed up composting time on the coarser stuff and the castings are as dark and fluffy as can be.

My mom has used red wrigglers to varying degrees of success. Here in the South the key seems to be not letting them get too hot if the bins are outdoors, even in full shade.

Edited to add: Our raised beds are built from wood harvested here on the property. So if you don't count the "sweat equity" our vermicomposting system is FREE.

 

[bettybohemian]

Yes,worms. I do vermicomposting. Red wiggler worms kept in a bin eat the old hay, goat poop and vehicle scraps and turn it into soil amendment. Recycling at its finest

what a great idea....I might have to look into that....is it expensive??

Not at all. You can use pretty much anything for your bins. I use the large Rubbermaid bins ($10each). The worms themselves are about $20 a lb but if you take care of them right they reproduce rather quickly. Lots of info online. Worth checking out!!!YourLinkGoesHere

 

[debic]

Yes,worms. I do vermicomposting. Red wiggler worms kept in a bin eat the old hay, goat poop and vehicle scraps and turn it into soil amendment. Recycling at its finest

what a great idea....I might have to look into that....is it expensive??

Not at all. You can use pretty much anything for your bins. I use the large Rubbermaid bins ($10each). The worms themselves are about $20 a lb but if you take care of them right they reproduce rather quickly. Lots of info online. Worth checking out!!!YourLinkGoesHere

thanks!

 

[20kidsonhill]

We feed twice a day and only put out what they clean up before the next feeding, If I start seeing the hay being played with instead of eaten, I cut back and if It is gone within 3 or 4 hours I add more.

Our 18 very large does are eating around a bale and a half a day of 2nd cutting good quality grass mix hay. around 45 to 50 lb bales. We don't feed any alfalfa or very little added protein until right before kidding(a couple weeks).

We keep out loose goat mineral free-choice year round.

When the pasture comes up that is all they get. Unless they are lactating, then they get around 1 1/2 lbs of 17% goat grower pellets. But we mostly kid December to Febuary.

This is for adult goats over 15months, OUr younger animals are on 17 %goat developer.

should I not feed alfalfa at all?? is that part of the problem??

I have 3 boys and a one female.....none used for anything other then pets, fire protection and dog training. they help to train my lgd puppies.....

I just realized you have three males, They probably shouldn't be on alfalfa hay, It is very high in calcium. I would recommend a good quality 2nd cut hay when there is no pature, or year round if you have very little pasture, for very cold weather i would add 1 or 2 lbs of a good pelleted goat feed that contains Ammonia Chloride. And keep out some free-choice loose goat salts year old.