Hay for goats

[Teresa R]

G'day, do you up there have access to what we call chaff?Down here its usually alfalfa or oaten with the head in.The way I can best explain it is if you put baled hay through a mulcher you get "chaff" .

You also need a feeder that they cannot jump or climb into.To begin with you may need to add some stud mix and maybe a little dried Molasses(some of the stud mixes for horses have quite a lot in it) for energy and to lift the protein value.When we were milking years ago (and I mean a lot of years ago )it is really good for milk production.

Has anybody gone down the path?...T.O.R.

I have never seen anything like that advertised. What is stud mix?
I'll have a hay feeder that hangs on the wall.

 

[Baymule]

G'day, do you up there have access to what we call chaff?Down here its usually alfalfa or oaten with the head in.The way I can best explain it is if you put baled hay through a mulcher you get "chaff" .

Now that's an idea, get a chipper and run the alfalfa bales through it, mix with a little molasses and it would be harder for the picky little snots to eat all the leafy part and leave the stems. @Latestarter do you have a chipper?

Glad I have sheep.

 

[OneFineAcre]

G'day, do you up there have access to what we call chaff?Down here its usually alfalfa or oaten with the head in.The way I can best explain it is if you put baled hay through a mulcher you get "chaff" .

You also need a feeder that they cannot jump or climb into.To begin with you may need to add some stud mix and maybe a little dried Molasses(some of the stud mixes for horses have quite a lot in it) for energy and to lift the protein value.When we were milking years ago (and I mean a lot of years ago )it is really good for milk production.

Has anybody gone down the path?...T.O.R.

There is a company that sells a product called Chaffhaye.
It is mulched up alfalfa with a little molasses that is then fermented.
It is pasteurized and sold in sealed 50lb bags.
My goats absolutely love the stuff and there is very little waste when you give it.
We don't really feed it much though, wife is afraid of mold. We were giving some one time and had a goat die, Coleus. It was totally unrelated to the chaffhaye, but when she was sick her symptoms were like listeriosis which could have been caused by mold. But, like I said it turned out to be totally unrelated.
We know some people that feed this exclusively. It is about $15 for the 50lb bags.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day,you are on the right track BM,but the trick is to contain it and "bag it".T.R.When you are next in the produce store have a look around,there are all sorts of grain type mixes for all classes of livestock,but needs to be added to bulk at a low rate say 10%...O F A.It has been my experience that "wet" Molasses can always be a risk,that's why I prefer "dried" plus it is so much easier to handle.
T.O.R.