Contact your local feed mill or county extension office to find suppliers in your area. Chaffhaye is a moist slightly ground alfalfa hay that is compacted into bags.
Once opened you will need to store it in a container that will help to keep the air out. Do not store in sunlight or allow it to get warm or the contents will mold. To know if it is good go by the smell.
If the bag is torn that means air has entered the bag and will result in a dried out Chaffhaye. The contents must be moist so the integrity of the bag is important. Do not hesitate to call the supplier and ask for a replacement if a bag is found open or damaged. They should replace it without question. Our goats are given Chaffhaye year round and they really love the taste of it.
Since feeding Chaffhaye I have found a much healthier and robust herd that is better able to fight off worms on their own which is commonly found in our very wet climates. It is always best to promote health every day through diet rather than being forced to treat sick animals. For our dairy goats, we prefer to feed second cut hay. This hay is richer and more nutrient-dense that supports the high energy needed for milk production. Second cut is also good to give to any goats that are bred.
Again encouraging nutrients to support the energy needed by a bred goat. The purpose of a meat goat is to fill the freezer and for that reason, you will want to encourage healthy weight gain in your meat goats. More often than not first cut will work just fine in this area but if you find your goats on the low end of the weight scale you may want to introduce second cut hay. Since most goats prefer the second cut to first cut hay this will encourage them to eat more and help them to establish a better weight.
More often than not most meat goats will thrive on first cut hay as long as the quality is good and the nutrients are intact. Just like with meat goats your goal is simply to make sure your animals are in optimal health. More often than not this can be easily done with first cut hay. Again, if you see your goats are on the lighter side you may want to have a few bales of second cut around.
You can either offer second cut exclusively or add it to your first cut to help promote eating. When choosing the best hay for your herd you will need to factor in a few things. Hi there, my name is Tracy and I am a city girl gone country. I am a redneck frugal living goat owner and I am working everyday towards living a more simple life.
Now I am teaching others how to do the same. From growing their own food, making their own cleaning supplies, cutting back, and paring down. Contact me. Hey Tracy, thanks for an informative article on all things hay. I tried growing my own food for a time. It was rewarding but also hard work, and as your article illustrates, not simple at all. Nothing is simpler than hopping in my car and picking up dinner at the supermarket.
Just saying. Yes, I agree, Jon…growing food is hard and being at the mercy of the weather is no walk in the park either. However, when things all work out. When the moon is full and those stars aligned and your garden is just bursting with an amazing rainbow of produce, that is when it is all worth it.
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OH YES! Close Top Banner. What are you waiting for! Comments Great article. Interesting read thanks. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Recipe Rating Recipe Rating. Look for toxic and nuisance weeds such as foxtail, which can cause mechanical injury.
In alfalfa, avoid blister beetles which produce cantharidin, toxic to people and animals. Beyond visual analysis is palatability. For this, your goats are the best judge. Most farmers will allow you to purchase a sample bale before committing to tonnage. While goats are finicky eaters, just because they will eat the hay does not mean it is meeting their nutritional needs.
Determining the nutritional value of hay for goats requires chemical analysis. Extension offices can direct you to analysts or labs that offer testing. Farmers that test will mention test results in their ads. Ideally, hay is tested by core samples taken from multiple bales in the stack or field.
Testing only a handful, a flake, or bale is not representative of the hay crop. Soil quality and growing conditions can vary within the same field. The chips from the core sample represent a wider geographic area and give the average of the crop on the field. If you do not have an analyst in your area, the tools required for sampling are a hay borer and a sealable plastic bag. Chips are put into the bag and sent to a lab. It is a very simple process for the farmer or hay consumer. Barriers to testing range from costs to lack of availability of analysts or labs.
Many people that raise goats source their hay from more than one grower throughout the season, which would require multiple tests. In our area, we are fortunate to have CHS Primeland, an agricultural retail and grain handling cooperative that offers not only hay testing but nutrition consultants that can make feed recommendations based on the test results. For this article, we tested a stack of timothy hay, a common grass hay. The unaffiliated grower had a range of quality standards available — this stack was rated excellent and priced at a premium.
The hay passed all elements of visual analysis and the goats were eager to eat it. The test results revealed that the hay had a protein content of 3. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual , hay for goats should be 7 percent at a minimum for maintenance.
Below that, the rumen is compromised as ruminal microbes require protein. Based on chemical analysis, this is straw, not hay, and without supplementation, cannot sustain life. Beyond fiber level and protein, analysis gives mineral data. Calcium deficiency can lead to complications with kidding and lactation.
The ratio of calcium to phosphorus is critical to urinary calculi prevention in bucks and wethers. Copper is an essential nutrient for goats. Common varieties include Coastal, Tifton 44, Tifton 85 and Tifton Many goats do quite well on bermudagrass pastures and hay. An advantage of bermudagrass is that it is relatively easy to establish and maintain. However, hybrid varieties of bermudagrass must be sprigged rather than seeded.
Since sprigging is best accomplished by professionals, establishment of hybrid bermudagrass fields can be relatively expensive. Another disadvantage is that bermudagrass has a high fertilization requirement. Another disadvantage is that bermudagrass can grow so fast during summer months that it can easily become over-mature without regular mowing or good pasture management. The desired canopy height for vegetative growth of bermudagrass pastures is fairly low 2 to 4 inches and can aid in the spread of parasites.
However, strategic rotational grazing can help alleviate this disadvantage. But once again, poorly fertilized or over-mature hay can contain much lower nutrient values while well fertilized hay that is properly harvested at the vegetative stage can deliver even higher nutritional values. Alfalfa is a high-quality legume that is commonly grown in the Northwest, Northeast and Midwest. Alfalfa is extremely drought resistant with a substantial taproot. It requires well-drained soils with a low water table.
Unless you live in an area where alfalfa is grown locally, this hay option can be quite expensive. Alfalfa is used extensively in dairy operations where alfalfa helps deliver high protein and calcium needed for heavy milk production. The majority of meat, fiber and hobby goats; however, do not require these high levels of protein. Excess protein can be converted into energy to a certain extent, but this is a very expensive way to provide energy. Most excess protein is ultimately converted into urea and excreted in the urine.
In cases of extreme over-feeding of protein, kidney damage can occur. Also, very high quality alfalfa hay can present a frothy bloat hazard. Another disadvantage of alfalfa hay is that the leaves where the nutritional value is can be easily lost if hay is too dry or improperly transported or stored. Since alfalfa is relatively high in calcium and low in phosphorus, one must be more mindful of the calcium to phosphorus ratio in the total diet. In most cases, a mineral supplement is essential to make sure that proper balance is maintained in order to prevent urinary stones.
Orchardgrass is a popular cool-season perennial bunchgrass that is grown mainly in the Midwest, Northeast and Northwest. It is tolerant to shade, fairly drought resistant and has moderate winter hardiness; however will not tolerate wet-natured soils. Orchardgrass is well adapted to inter-seeding with legumes such as alfalfa, clovers and lespedeza.
Another advantage of orchardgrass is its potential for high yields when well fertilized. The palatability of orchardgrass is good and goats readily consume it. A disadvantage of orchardgrass is that is has relatively poor disease resistance. Also, if it is overgrazed leaving less than inch stubble , root depletion is common and kill off can occur. There are several different types of ryegrass.
Annual Italian ryegrass is a popular variety in the Southeast. Even though it is called annual ryegrass it is not a true annual and may come back for two or more years depending on environmental conditions.
Annual ryegrass is used primarily for winter grazing. It is easy to establish and works well when overseeded onto dormant Bermudagrass pastures. Ryegrass is high-quality forage with excellent palatability that works extremely well for goats in rotational grazing systems.
Due to its high protein and moisture content, it is common for goats to experience loose stools when grazing lush ryegrass. This causes no medical concern, just an esthetic nuisance. One disadvantage of ryegrass is that growth occurs quickly in the spring and it is easy for ryegrass to get over mature.
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