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Deecarter

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Alfalfa pellets are good for calcium. Mine are getting them free choice right now and they don't overdo it. You should ease them in though or they will party and get sick, maybe a coffee can at a time. They are basically ground alfalfa hay. Very lite waste.
I second pulling the kids.
I'd be a little worried it's possible she has something scary like meningeal worm or polio or maybe listeriosis with an odd gait and leaning mentioned.
Thanks. I am finding out I am doing many things wrong. I ready an article today that said I shouldn't put alfalfa hay out as free choice. I have been giving them small amounts in the morning and the evening to get them used to it and planning on buying a round bale to leave out, but this article said that wouldn't be good. I also read their diet should be 50% hay, 20% grain, 25% pasture, and maybe 5% treats. I've only been giving them a small amount of hay in the morning and evening and thought the pasture and brush in the woods would be sufficient in the summer. I like the idea you have on giving alfalfa pellets because there would be very little waste. Do they eat it well? About how much do they eat of that? Also could you tell me what kind of hay I can get with a round bale that would be healthy for them? My poor goats are suffering through my learning process. BTW, they seem to be perking up and getting better, so I'm thankful for that.
 

Baymule

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What type of hay depends on what is available in your area. Where are you located? In my area and across the south, Bermuda grass is king. I keep a round bale available, free choice, for my sheep. I set it in their barn, under cover, to keep it from being rained on. I don’t have enough sheep for them to eat it quickly. If it gets rained on repeatedly, it starts to rot.
 

Deecarter

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What type of hay depends on what is available in your area. Where are you located? In my area and across the south, Bermuda grass is king. I keep a round bale available, free choice, for my sheep. I set it in their barn, under cover, to keep it from being rained on. I don’t have enough sheep for them to eat it quickly. If it gets rained on repeatedly, it starts to rot.
I live in the west Georgia area. The Bermuda grass is what the local Tractor Supply sells, so that makes sense. I'm pretty sure it's coastal Bermuda. I was planning on putting it at the barn. My barn has a very large front porch that would keep it dry. How much of the pellets do you give yours and do you mix it in with the feed?
What type of hay depends on what is available in your area. Where are you located? In my area and across the south, Bermuda grass is king. I keep a round bale available, free choice, for my sheep. I set it in their barn, under cover, to keep it from being rained on. I don’t have enough sheep for them to eat it quickly. If it gets rained on repeatedly, it starts to rot.
I live in the west Georgia area. The local tractor supply here sells square bales of coastal Bermuda, I think, so that makes sense. Do you mix in the alfalfa pellets with the feed? I can store the round bale under the awning area. It stays dry there.
 

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Mini Horses

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In most cases, alfalfa rolls are a waste for you...not enough animals to eat it fast enough. Alfalfa is a hay that drops leaf and they don't want the stems. Kinda blows your mind when you see them eating stems of other bushes. But those are still green.

Mine eat pellets and I usually add to their other grains, especially on milk stand. Bermuda hay Will give roughage but very low protein, thus, Alf pellets. I honestly prefer mixed hay with heavy orchard grass. Might be less available where you are. You may be able to find peanut hay in GA. Not left from peanut harvest but, grown FOR tops only. Pretty much good as Alf but more leaf, little stem.

Yes, you can use less hay in summer with good forage but goats actually eat more than you realize, so having it offered "in case" assures enough for them. They are not grazers of just grass, like a horse. The love the forages we destroy..dandelions (high calcium), plantain, vine leaves of many plants, green and dried, clovers, sunflowers....they like the black sunflower seeds. They take a few bites and move on.

Glad they are doing better!
 

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Just as another example of a possible way to feed:

I always had hay free choice for the goats, but up here it is mostly Timothy. I had a hay-rack homemade from a pallet set up in the barn. Silly things will NOT eat it once it touches the floor, but they love to pull out all of the hay. So... working on a good hay rack that works with your herd is a huge money saver.

They got to forage all day, and there was a bunch of stuff they loved. Lots of variety at my place.

They only got a small handful of goat pellets and grain (barley or oats), twice a day, if they were not in milk.

In milk they got way more. Goat pellets, some sunflower seeds, at times with alfalfa pellets, and in the fall pumpkin chunks.

We milked twice a day.

But my Saanan produced so much we also gave her lunch. She needed 3 feeds a day to stay in good production, but she was a heavy producer and never dried up.

In the winter there was still browse for them to find, and we would increase their pellets. Also we would harvest and dry fireweed and browse all summer for them and that was handed out daily in the winter.

I free fed minerals and baking soda. I also had a left over horse mineral block that they had. And on occasion I would add kelp to free feed.

My area is low in copper and selenium, and has a weed that messes up their system. Because of the weed I would give them farm grade nutritional yeast whenever that weed was prevalent.

So I gave mine copper pills about every 6 months, and the first of every month they got vitamin E and Seleniun and vitamin D.

I also had pro-biotic paste and calcium paste and calcium supplements for right before and after kidding. And a vitamin B paste for just in case.

I only wormed if I thought they might need it.... what was rare, but my place is low on worms, and we don't have any of those really scary ones.
 

Deecarter

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In most cases, alfalfa rolls are a waste for you...not enough animals to eat it fast enough. Alfalfa is a hay that drops leaf and they don't want the stems. Kinda blows your mind when you see them eating stems of other bushes. But those are still green.

Mine eat pellets and I usually add to their other grains, especially on milk stand. Bermuda hay Will give roughage but very low protein, thus, Alf pellets. I honestly prefer mixed hay with heavy orchard grass. Might be less available where you are. You may be able to find peanut hay in GA. Not left from peanut harvest but, grown FOR tops only. Pretty much good as Alf but more leaf, little stem.

Yes, you can use less hay in summer with good forage but goats actually eat more than you realize, so having it offered "in case" assures enough for them. They are not grazers of just grass, like a horse. The love the forages we destroy..dandelions (high calcium), plantain, vine leaves of many plants, green and dried, clovers, sunflowers....they like the black sunflower seeds. They take a few bites and move on.

Glad they are doing better!
We have fescue, a lot of clover and some weeds in the pasture and then we have woods we’re a lot of brush is. I would have to drive about 4 hours for peanut hay so I’ll look for a mix with orchard grass or settle for Bermuda. I feed them a molasses grain that is 16% protein. Do I still need the alfalfa pellets?
Just as another example of a possible way to feed:

I always had hay free choice for the goats, but up here it is mostly Timothy. I had a hay-rack homemade from a pallet set up in the barn. Silly things will NOT eat it once it touches the floor, but they love to pull out all of the hay. So... working on a good hay rack that works with your herd is a huge money saver.

They got to forage all day, and there was a bunch of stuff they loved. Lots of variety at my place.

They only got a small handful of goat pellets and grain (barley or oats), twice a day, if they were not in milk.

In milk they got way more. Goat pellets, some sunflower seeds, at times with alfalfa pellets, and in the fall pumpkin chunks.

We milked twice a day.

But my Saanan produced so much we also gave her lunch. She needed 3 feeds a day to stay in good production, but she was a heavy producer and never dried up.

In the winter there was still browse for them to find, and we would increase their pellets. Also we would harvest and dry fireweed and browse all summer for them and that was handed out daily in the winter.

I free fed minerals and baking soda. I also had a left over horse mineral block that they had. And on occasion I would add kelp to free feed.

My area is low in copper and selenium, and has a weed that messes up their system. Because of the weed I would give them farm grade nutritional yeast whenever that weed was prevalent.

So I gave mine copper pills about every 6 months, and the first of every month they got vitamin E and Seleniun and vitamin D.

I also had pro-biotic paste and calcium paste and calcium supplements for right before and after kidding. And a vitamin B paste for just in case.

I only wormed if I thought they might need it.... what was rare, but my place is low on worms, and we don't have any of those really scary ones.
That's a lot to remember. Thank you for all that info. I live in Georgia so worms are a serious problem, here, I think. We are low in selenium here too, but I thought the free choice minerals and supplemental grain would be enough to make up for any deficiencies in that, copper and other minerals. I remember when I bought these two late last summer the seller said she gave a selenium supplement once a month in the gel form. She also gave them medicated feed when they were dry. I don't know what's in the medicated feed and I can't find it anywhere. I know what you mean about the wasting of hay. I use apples or bananas to give them some oral medication because they love those and I can hide the meds in there and they gobble it down. It's just so much easier than wrestling with them. I've had them accidentally drop an apple slice on the ground and they won't eat it. I have metal horse racks in the barn where I put their hay and they waste more than they eat and once it's on the floor, they won't eat it, and people think goats will eat anything.
 

Alaskan

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I have no idea what medication would be in the feed, unless it is something against... is it E. Coli???

I live in no-where Alaska... so NO feed choice.

There is one choice for "milk goat pellets" so that is what I got.

The vitamin gels don't taste bad, so usually it wasn't hard to get them to eat them.

But yes, if you are in a low selenium area the gel every month is needed in addition to the loose minerals. I even know some people who do the gel every month AND give them a selenium shot shortly before kidding.

Up here sunlight is... well.... lacking.... which is why I added the vitamin D gel.

The pro-biotic gel and a multi B gel were for if ever a doe or kid looked off. Pro-biotics to help the intestines and the multi-b can help with getting them interested in eating. I never needed them, but at times would give them around kidding just as a help.

The calcium gel and powder was the same...just to make sure that there wouldn't be an issue. Even with zero issues giving calcium about a week or less before kidding will help reduce the chance of problems.

As to a hay rack... keep experimenting.

I used a pallet up against the wall and then tightly stapled a fishnet on the pallet.

The combo of fishnet and pallet made the holes small enough to reduce waste. I did check every day though to make sure it was still safe. I was sure one of those goats would pull off some net and get tangled.... it was ok though, so yeah.
 
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