SDGsoap&dairy
Loving the herd life
I'm totally jealous you can get an orchard grass/alfalfa blend in a round bale...()relics said:
How much do you feed?
- Thread starter rebelINny
- Start date
helmstead
Goat Mistress
Hehe I can, too...more alfalfa % in mine...and I only pay $40 for a 900 lb bale neener neener neener!!n.smithurmond said:
That's why my horsies are suddenly soooo faaaat....(background, y'all...I'm from GA, right around Nicki, and was paying $80 for a 500 lb roll of fescue when I left...so I get to neener at her!)
Roll farms
Spot Master
Don't get too happy yet, Kate.
A couple of years ago, us Hoosiers had a drought and were paying big $ for shipped-in hay.
I have been doing my part to prevent that happening again, by doing a rain dance every summer since that one.
A couple of years ago, us Hoosiers had a drought and were paying big $ for shipped-in hay.
I have been doing my part to prevent that happening again, by doing a rain dance every summer since that one.
SDGsoap&dairy
Loving the herd life
Oh, I see how it is Kate. 
Man, $40 for 900 lbs of alfalfa blend?! Now I'm REALLY jealous! When I lived in Washington state growing up my friends with horses always had the most beautiful, fragrant alfalfa. I got some beautiful stuff out of Kentucky last month at $10/square bale and that was a deal around here.
The guy I get my hay from here lives about 4 miles away so he only charges us $30-$35 per 4X5 total with delivery. But it sure ain't alfalfa... :/
Still, it has saved us a bundle the last few months after making the switch. The only thing I've noticed is that the goats are turds about eating the same thing every day and appreciate a flake or two of the good stuff in addition to the same ol' round bale every day. But, that means they get to waste the cheap stuff all they want and they hoover every last morsel of the more expensive square bales we supplement with. I can also just pull an armful off the back of the bale and throw it in the manger and they act like it's something completely different...
We do have it underneath an overhang on the barn and they eat it through the fence. Every so often as it gets eaten down I roll it against the fence again. It's pretty messy, but the waste just gets used as bedding since it does stay dry underneath a roof and they aren't able to poop in it from the other side. I don't think I'd use them if I couldn't keep them dry. Really, I still save using it as bedding since wheat straw is $4-$5 per bale here!
I'm already dreaming about Spring when they can eat for FREE.
Man, $40 for 900 lbs of alfalfa blend?! Now I'm REALLY jealous! When I lived in Washington state growing up my friends with horses always had the most beautiful, fragrant alfalfa. I got some beautiful stuff out of Kentucky last month at $10/square bale and that was a deal around here.
The guy I get my hay from here lives about 4 miles away so he only charges us $30-$35 per 4X5 total with delivery. But it sure ain't alfalfa... :/
Still, it has saved us a bundle the last few months after making the switch. The only thing I've noticed is that the goats are turds about eating the same thing every day and appreciate a flake or two of the good stuff in addition to the same ol' round bale every day. But, that means they get to waste the cheap stuff all they want and they hoover every last morsel of the more expensive square bales we supplement with. I can also just pull an armful off the back of the bale and throw it in the manger and they act like it's something completely different...
We do have it underneath an overhang on the barn and they eat it through the fence. Every so often as it gets eaten down I roll it against the fence again. It's pretty messy, but the waste just gets used as bedding since it does stay dry underneath a roof and they aren't able to poop in it from the other side. I don't think I'd use them if I couldn't keep them dry. Really, I still save using it as bedding since wheat straw is $4-$5 per bale here!
I'm already dreaming about Spring when they can eat for FREE.
Our7Wonders
Overrun with beasties
We live in the middle of Washington state - lots of alfalfa growers around us. The hay I have smells quite good and is loaded with alfalfa leaves - it's apparantly 75 alfalfa/25 grass - couldn't tell you if that's right or not but my girls sure love it! We paid $110.00/ton - worked out to about $5.00 per bale (just over 90 pound bales). Not sure if that's a good deal or not, but seems pretty standard around this area.n.smithurmond said:
I can't imagine trying to work with a big round bale. My 2 gals go through a bale a week and feeding by the flake seems to work very well for us.
SDGsoap&dairy
Loving the herd life
Ya, standard for that area is a super sweet deal for us here in GA! The stuff I have now looks great- green and leafy- but it absolutely does not have the same sweet smell as the alfalfa in your parts. Don't get me wrong, it smells nice, but not like the alfalfa I remember as a kid. Every once in a while the feed store will get some out of Canada that is fragrant like that. It goes for $11-$13 per 50 pound square bale. :/Our7Wonders said:
AlaskanShepherdess
Ridin' The Range
Wish I could get alfalfa for $5 a bale, but it doesn't grow up here and has to be trucked up. That means $15 a bale to get it within 400 miles of my house. Then extra to get it this far! I pay $10 for excellent brome.
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rebelINny
Loving the herd life
I feel very lucky now! My husband makes all of our hay and it is excellent alfalfa/grass hay and some that is timothy/orchard grass. The goats definitely LOVE the alfalfa /grass hay though.
happyhensny
Chillin' with the herd
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I pay $4 for 2nd cut alfalfa mix bales. They are so green and smell like a hot summer day. Maybe I need to try some. 
julieq
Ridin' The Range
We feed dairy grade alfalfa free choice to our mini and ND's. Our three does go through a couple of heavy flakes per day and the two bucks about the same, maybe a little less during rut.
