Need help from a Math Whiz about Chaffhaye. =)

[babsbag]

Grass hay is the same price as alfalfa here.

Got ya.

That's crazy. You're in a HOT climate right? May be why.

Yes, So Cal... desert... about as hot as you can get! LOL!

I live in No CA, and the grass hay is MORE than the alfalfa, not by much, but it is more. I can buy wheat hay part of the year for a little less, but it is not really a good primary feed for dairy stock, or for bucks and wethers.

As far as Chaffhay, I have no personal experience with it, but have asked questions of those that do and their opinion is that there is not enough long fiber in the Chaffhay for goats and they won't use it exclusively. I know the website says differently.I have thought of trying it as well, but no dealers close enough to make it worth my time.

I have 21 goats and go through 10 bales of hay every 14 days. They waste alot too; I am thinking of a calf to clean up what they won't eat. Frustrating animals to feed to be sure. But based on Sheepgirl's math I think I am not wasting much; I should be feeding about 60lbs a day and that is about what I am using. Some of my goats are still young so they don't weigh 150 lbs, but they are boers and eat like PIGS. I don't think that the boers waste as much as the dairy stock.

What I need is a barn where I can store 5 tons at a time and then I can get a bale for about 11.00 instead of 18.50.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I agree. I wish I had a large barn so I could drive out and get my own hay for $14 a bale.


I think I'm going to try using the Chaffhaye. It seems like there is a lot of positive things about it and I like that's it easy to store too! I'll buy a bunch of bags and see how fast they go through them, see if dollar wise it works out.

OH I totally forgot until just now, they have a buy program where you buy 10 bags get the 11th free, so that actually makes it $13.62 a bag, so actually .27 cents a pound.

I'll do the Chaffehaye exclusively for a couple days just to see how much they eat. But I'll also be upping their browse after that to make sure they are getting enough rougage, just in case. That will help with my feed bill!


I can only try it and see!

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Ok well, dunno if this is going to work now. I put 3/4 of a whole bag in there this morning and it's almost gone already! They may self regulate after they get used to it, or I might have to try feeding a 1/2 a bag a day to regulate them.

 

[SheepGirl]

Wow they ate a lot!!

Went to look at the nutrient composition of it....looks like it is 55% moisture and only 45% DM, which explains why they ate so much. Based on the moisture in chaffhaye it may actually be cheaper to just feed your hay, even with waste.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I agree. Some people make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread but Chaff is not all that.

 

[Catahoula]

Ok well, dunno if this is going to work now. I put 3/4 of a whole bag in there this morning and it's almost gone already! They may self regulate after they get used to it, or I might have to try feeding a 1/2 a bag a day to regulate them.

I am a big fan of Chaffhaye. Two Boers and two Alpines go through one bag in 4 days with only one flake of alfalfa hay every other night...on average. One bale of hay last me two weeks or longer...depending on the weather. They also get to browse all day if they want or need to. There really aren't much to browse anymore. They get fresh Chaffhaye morning and night (about 6-7 lbs per feeding). Often there are leftover in their buckets. I don't give them Chaffhaye all at once or they'd just hang out in the barn and not go out to browse. I have skipped hay all together we had warm weather (Summer to mid Fall). I only feed the hay in the winter for extra heat. They do well in our cold nights...and we get single digit nights and teens days snowy weather too.

I would suggest going by the manufacturer's suggestion on how much to feed and divide that into two so you can feed them twice a day rather than dumping half a bag. If they like that, they'll keep eating that and not browse like you want them to.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

There isn't any browse in their pen- they ate it all. So if I want them to have browse I have to let them out with me or I have to cut it for them.


They sure like the stuff though! They seem really content this evening and are just nibbling at it now.


I just looked when I put everyone away and there is maybe 1/4 of a bag left, so if there was 3/4 when I put it in they ate roughly half a bag, so it wasn't as much as I thought, but it'll definitely be gone by tomorrow morning.


I think I'll try to give them half a bag a day split into two feedings and then just an occasional flake of alfalfa and browse when I can.

 

[babsbag]

I tried feeding my goats a bale at a time and they were absolute PIGS. Maybe they would self regulate eventually but in the meantime I would be broke. I now feed exactally what I want them to have. And while they scream at me and complain at time, their body condition says otherwise.

I think it would be the same with Chaffhaye, and maybe worse since it has the molasses in it.

Some of my friends feed alfalfa cubes. They buy it by the 500 lb bag. I guess the goats have to get a little hungry before they will eat them, but after they do the waste is almost 0. Unfortunately the place to buy them is about 2 hours away so I have to factor in the gas to go and get them and the more I can haul the cheaper it is in the long run. Waiting to get our trailer fixed and then maybe I will try that out.

 

[Catahoula]

There isn't any browse in their pen- they ate it all. So if I want them to have browse I have to let them out with me or I have to cut it for them.


They sure like the stuff though! They seem really content this evening and are just nibbling at it now.


I just looked when I put everyone away and there is maybe 1/4 of a bag left, so if there was 3/4 when I put it in they ate roughly half a bag, so it wasn't as much as I thought, but it'll definitely be gone by tomorrow morning.


I think I'll try to give them half a bag a day split into two feedings and then just an occasional flake of alfalfa and browse when I can.

Hi WhiteMountainsRanch, how did it go with your Chaff feeding? Are they still eating a lot or have they begin to pace themselves? I am still feeding one bag per 3-4 days without any dry hay now. They seem to still do quite well and I am also noticing less poop in the morning when I clean. Mine are just yearling so I figure they eat as much as an adult because they are still growing. I will be getting another boer wether in July. I think 5 is enough...although I think I may need a 6th one to keep the new wether company.
Let me now how your chaffhaye feeding goes!

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Hi there!

They will eventually "self-regulate" but at much more than I want them to be eating! They would probably pack away a bag a day if I let them!

I made a second feeder and now I spread about 1/4 of a bag and top it with my pellet formula every morning for them to munch on along with their free-fed alfalfa.