Goats and Types of Hay

[TXMissy]

(being a heel here) That alfalfa thing is a myth. The boys need at least a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio, with a little more calcium okay (with sky high calcium bad). The balance is the key. Running a hay analysis and reading feed tags can help you out there if concerned. Grain and a lot of grass hays are high on the phosphorus and low on the calcium helping to precipitate it. Adding a small amount of alfalfa pellets and making sure to feed a balanced grain goes miles. Some bucks live exclusively on alfalfa and are fine. Mine are sometimes some of them depending on what's available and they are doing okay.

Thank you so much.

 

[Show Sebright]

Hello Ya'll!
I recently read an article about different types of hay for goats however, I am in TX and the most common type of hay is Coastal. Does anyone out there feed their goats coastal hay? Right now I am paying a lot on compressed Timothy hay. I would like to switch to Coastal. Any advice? I only have 2 goats, one is a pregnant female and they are pets. We are not eating them or using them for milk. Just using them as weed wackers.

Thanks!

We do costal here in Florida. Mix of alfalfa for our meat goats

 

[OneFineAcre]

I'm a little late to this party, but I can tell you that coastal bermuda hay is an excellent hay for goats. I've been breeding, raising, milking and showing Nigerian Dwarfs for about 12 years now, and it is our primary hay.