How many pounds of hay?

[ChickenPotPie]

I think you make a good point about the scarfing. I'll have to keep that in mind when I'm judging their intake. Thank you.

And, I think you, N.smithrumond, and 20kidsonhill for the suggestion. I may just have to do that because I went to the feed store as well as a large hay company today and no one has the mix I was using anymore. :/ I'm told by the owner of the hay company that this is a bad year for hay in my state so there just aren't that many choices - that people are just forced to choose from what is still available. At least they have "only alfalfa" bales and "only orchard grass" bales. However, they're $17 and $20 per bale and the hay company said the price will go up soon.

So, now, I'm trying to figure out what other types of hay would be good for goats (more affordable hays). I've noticed that those BYH members back east have hays that are not even available on this coast and I've never even heard of some of the east coast kinds of hay. So, I need to figure out what is good goat hay from what is available here. Perhaps someone might know something about these other hays? I just don't know enough about the nutritional values of hays to make any educated decisions.

Other hays I have to choose from:
- Timothy (even more expensive than alfalfa or orchard grass so that is out of the question)
- Oat/Wheat grass
- Oat/Barley grass
- Forage #1 (beardless wheat/beardless barley/oat/vetch)
- "cow hay" (not even sure what that means)

How 'bout it? Can anyone give me any info as to whether any of these are good for goats?

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Are those really your only other options? I've read that depending on when it's harvested your oat and wheat hay may not be anything more than straw. Steer clear of "cow hay" unless your seller is knowledgeable and honest about what they are selling... sometimes cow hay means junky, moldy hay that is unfit for goats and sometimes cow hay means "not horse quality." I've had a couple decent bales of fescue mix hay from someone local that wasn't necessarily horse quality because it was weedy and contained johnson grass. But it was clean and weedy isn't a problem for goats. If you don't have a trustworthy, first-hand source of "not horse-quality but not junky" cow hay then you might try a bale or two. But otherwise "cow hay" should be a red flag.

Alfalfa is really expensive here in the South... sometimes I'm lucky enough to snag a few bales of something nice, sometimes I have to feed good grass hay and alfalfa pellets. They don't enjoy the pellets quite as much, but at least the quality is guaranteed, there's little waste, and they're always available.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Wait, I forgot one. Blue grass. I'd never heard of that being available in CA but apparently it came from Oregon or Washington. That's quite a distance to transport hay economically.

The hay company did distinguish oat/wheat hay from wheat straw so I think that is probably a clue that they're honest. Plus, they serve customers who buy tons of hay at once I'd think that if they didn't have good ethics that it would really hurt them in the pocket book to loose a big client.

Okay, I *thought* I had heard that hay for cows might be moldy (something about their digestive system) but I guess it might be a little different from place to place. Like I do remember that a neighbor grows his own hay. He was out in his field one day so I stopped to ask him if the hay was good for goats and if he'd sell us a few bales. He said it was for cows and he didn't think it would be appropriate for our goats. But I've seen him cut and bale it for a few years now and I don't think it could be moldy. But, still, I should probably steer clear of it like you said. Thanks.

And yes, those I listed plus the Blue grass are my only choices. :/ I think I'll just have to mix my own like you suggested. We'll just have to suck it with with the high prices and sell a few goats because we can't keep this up until the kids are grown. My son *had* thought of selling his more dairy/less showy doe before and replace her with a show kid but it would be hard for me the best milker go because to me, they're great to have around just for that purpose. Ah, well. You gotta do what you gotta do. :/

 

[20kidsonhill]

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/crops-and-gardening/hay-feeding-14792.aspx

http://www.guinealynx.info/hay_chart.html


there are lots of articles on hay types and the nutritional value of the different kinds of hay depending on its maturity.