A diet of only cereal grain hay would not be good for goats due to its lack of protein content, but mixing some cereal grains into your hayfield or buying hay from someone who does, will be welcomed as a tasty and healthy hay bale treat. Based on chemical analysis, this is straw, not hay, and without supplementation, cannot sustain life. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus is critical to urinary calculi prevention in bucks and wethers. This type of hay is good for pregnant and lactating goats since their … Copper is an essential nutrient for goats. A goat that consumes too much grain is at increased risk of health issues – like bloat. Goats … Grass Hay can be timothy, orchard grass or other types of grass or broom grass. The test results revealed that the hay had a protein content of 3.4 percent. My goats like Timothy. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, hay for goats should be 7 percent at a minimum for maintenance. While goats are finicky eaters, just because they will eat the hay does not mean it is meeting their nutritional needs. Suffice it to say that all hay is not created equal. But, if you go this route, expect the herd to devour all of the treats quickly – often before the plant matures and produces the produce is yields that they would most enjoy. The rumen is the first stomach compartment (rich in live … Safe Treats for Goats… If they will not eat it, don’t buy it. In this analysis, all of the copper is bound, which indicates a need for supplementation. Sulfur, iron, and molybdenum bind copper: one part molybdenum ties up six parts of copper. Most farmers will allow you to purchase a sample bale before committing to tonnage. Hay is grass that has been cut and dried, then baled or collected to use as animal feed. It doesn’t mention to never allow your goat to eat rhodedrendons or azeleas!! Around the world, many types of livestock utilize Timothy as part of their feed regimen including goats, camels, and sheep. It was a lifesaver last year when she had ketosis and milk fever. You should assume any link is an affiliate link. This style of hay is a nice mix of essential nutrients, but it also has a lower protein percentage than alfalfa hay. Treats should only be given as a training aid or in small amounts on any type of a regular basis. The long fiber lengths are necessary for this. Second cutting is generally the preferred hay for goats. The chips from the core sample represent a wider geographic area and give the average of the crop on the field. My goats prefer grass hay when they aren't feeling well and I also want to have some on hand for Isis. Farmers that test will mention test results in their ads. One 50-pound bag of … It is rich in fibers, has decent calcium to phosphorus ratio, and has moderate amounts of calories.It can tend to your goats… If not properly harvested, there is a risk of nitrate poisoning. Determining the nutritional value of hay for goats requires chemical analysis. If you dread choosing hay for goats, you are not alone … there is much to know about what to feed goats. Hay is the main source of nutrients for goats in non-grazing seasons, or all the time if they dont have access to browse. If you give bread, crackers, or even graham crackers to members of your goat herd, do so as only a special or rare treat, and not a daily or weekly small amount treat. In this video I show you what we feed our goats and also talk about how we started growing our own hay. … If adequate pasture is not available, feed your goat grass-type hay such as timothy. When we began raising dairy goats, we barely knew hay from straw. Small animals also benefit from the high fiber levels of timothy hay… Below that, the rumen is compromised as ruminal microbes require protein. You can also feed it to your animal if you live in an area where you cannot let it free to browse for food by itself. Orchard grass hay is comprised of about 30% crude fiber and 7% of crude protein. Grain feed should be only a small part – if at all, of the goat’s diet. Their small mouths are not well equipped to eat such a coarse variety of hay. No hay is perfect, which is why nutritional analysis is critical. (Privacy Policy) *, © 2020, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, esults take one week. For Morgan Filly and Goat In alfalfa fields, the use of molybdenum can alter the color, making the hay greener. Food that is fed from the ground is far more likely to be subjected to soil bacteria, manure, and any worms that may be present in the goat droppings. When feeding hay as a primary feed, nutritional analysis is critical to the health of your herd. To visually analyze hay for goats, it is best to break a bale open. Never feed your goats hay, grain rations, supplements, or healthy snacks on the ground – especially not inside their pen. But you can feed your goats timothy if alfalfa is not available. The quality and type of the hay provided to the goat herd matters a great deal from a rumen health and nutrient intake perspective. Ideally, hay is tested by core samples taken from multiple bales in the stack or field. Your Copper Guide. Depending on the quality of these, a goat may need nothing more. So when it came time to start buying hay for our goats, we had to … How Your Water is Affecting Your Goats. Not only are some kitchen scraps or store bought food stuffs not safe for your goats to eat, some naturally growing matter that could be in the browsing area of pen can even be dangerous to deadly. Required fields are marked *. Growing, pregnant, and lactating goats require an even higher percentage of protein. Hay should have a high leaf to stem ratio. Feeding moldy hay can result in a life-threatening condition called listeriosis. Mature sheep can get by on … Timothy hay can be as high in protein as Alfalfa. I can’t even find organic alfalfa hay in my area, so this definitely fills a void. This highly digestible pellet can be used to completely replace loose hay or supplement pasture for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, … Chemical analysis is the only way to determine straw vs. hay. Alfalfa hay is … Testing only a handful, a flake, or bale is not representative of the hay crop. These are the only plants that have made my goats VERY sick! I fed/feed all my Lamancha goats the same thing, bred, after kidding, year round. Timothy hay is comprised of approximately 7% crude protein, and 32% crude fiber. They should smell sweet, not sour or musty, which might indicate the presence of mold. Bales should be free of debris. Late season cuttings have the highest leaf to stem ratio. This type of hay is usually comprised of alfalfa, soybeans, vetch, and clover. Alfafa can have up to four cuttings per year. To keep the ruminant stomach chamber healthy and fully functional, a goat must eat enough roughage and avoid ingesting too much rich grain feed. This varies depending on the maturity of the hay or alfalfa and the way that its cured and stored. While we look for bright green hay, color can be deceiving. Good hay should bend easily; if it snaps, it has high fiber and low digestibility. Grass hay provides a moderate amount of protein and energy for the goat diet. This recommended amount varies based upon the maturity of the goat, stature (miniature goats, standard goats), and takes into account the enhanced caloric needs of pregnant or nursing nanny goats. In each case, goats will need supplementation of some type to maintain optimum productivity when hay … Chips are put into the bag and sent to a lab. Timothy hay is comprised of approximately 7% crude protein, and 32% crude fiber. They're dairy goats so don't bulk up like meat goats. Very coarse hay or forage is not readily digestible by goats, so they prefer not to eat them. Grass hay … A goat should eat between 2 to 4 pounds of hay on a daily basis. Protein/energy malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies from poor quality feed lead to a host of disease states. The leafy fiber strands are longer than the ones produced by a grass hay. I am … If your timothy was cut a bit late, add in a little alfalfa for some extra protein and you will have it made. If hay is rained on and redried or overcured, it will be yellow or brown throughout. Proper feeding is of utmost importance as feeding errors account for a large percentage of goat disease and death. Goat Mineral Guide. Timothy Hay – This type of livestock hay has a 32 percent ratio of crude fiber and a 7 percent ratio of crude protein. Some mineral blocks also contain salt, but not all. © 2020 New Life On A Homestead | Homesteading Blog, The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Own Mushrooms, How to Identify, Treat and Get Rid of Leaf Miners, Garlic – in very small amounts and to help naturally prevent worms, Bananas – some goats prefer only the peels. Training the goats to stay in their pen, free range on your homestead, or simply to establish trust so the animals run towards and not away from you if injured or trapped in fencing are all great reasons for giving small amounts of healthy treats. Goat kids as well as their nursing mommas typically thrive on a legume style of hay. Year before last we planted a small patch of alfalfa. I feed mostly alfalfa hay which I get delivered in 5 - 10 ton lots at a time. Use caution when feeding cereal hay. Bales should flake easily and not stick together. They can garner some if not all of their daily roughage intake while wandering around your homestead eating grass, weeds, brush, leaves, and similar natural items – at least during the warm weather parts of the year. To begin, the hay is a poor investment and the same money could be spent on a quality hay for goats that would require little or no supplementation, such as alfalfa which varies from 12-20 percent crude protein. By licking the mineral blocks a goat can help infuse more calcium, potassium, sulfur, copper, sodium, manganese, iron, iodine, and zinc into their system. The closer you can keep to the traditional browsing habits of goats, the better the odds are that the animals will remain healthy. This agricultural grade substance can be sprinkled over livestock grain rations or stirred into the grain feed storage tub to be fed as a supplement to the goat herd. Sun can also bleach the exterior of bales, turning them yellow. Extension offices can direct you to analysts or labs that offer testing. Keep baking soda in a small feeder inside the goat pen so it is always available for herd members to munch on. Hay is sold as first, second, or third cutting. Place a salt block on a clean and dry spot to help the goat herd replenish essential vitamins and minerals they lose when expending energy, and especially during the hot summer months. Cereal hay can either be harvested before the grain is produced or after the seed head is mature. In summary, hay quality is much more important in determining suitability for goats rather than type of hay. Cereal hay with seed heads must be fed with care to avoid bloat and urinary calculi. 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. However, it is not enough to tend to all… Many newbie goat keepers give salted crackers or bits of bread to their goats. Some goat supplements should be provided as a free choice “treat” on a daily basis, but others may need to offered only at specific times of the year or when a goat herd member is showing signs of a deficiency or illness. Look for toxic and nuisance weeds such as foxtail, which can cause mechanical injury. Hay is the main source of nutrients for animals such as goats, especially in non-grazing seasons. Dirt not only increases the weight of the bale, and your cost, but contributes to respiratory issues when breathed as dust. We grew up in gardening families, without livestock. In fact, timothy hay is perfectly eligible as a regular diet for your goats.. Timothy hay, like orchard grass and cereal grain hay is good to mix with legume hay for goats but should none of these varieties should solely comprise the hay … G… Beyond fiber level and protein, analysis gives mineral data. I get 4 - 5 deliveries a year. Legume hays, such as clover and alfalfa, usually have more protein, vitamins, and minerals, particularly calcium, than grass hays. Although your goats may not find it as tasty as other grasses. A goat, or any ruminant animal that consumes too much grain will have digestion and gas build up problems. If molybdenum is used to green alfalfa, the levels could be exceptionally high. There are three types of hay: legume, grass, and cereal. Goats tend to love this type of hay because it is sweet and is soft enough that they can consume it right down through the stem easily. The cost savings from eliminating the need for supplementation would more than pay for the test and result in fewer health care costs and better performance of the herd. Either buy goat-specific mineral blocks, or read the content label carefully to determine what nutrients the goat herd will ingest when licking the block. Beyond visual analysis is palatability. Each type of hay has unique advantages and disadvantages. The stems become courser and more fibrous, so the values are highest when the plant is young. If you feed a mixed hay of orchard grass and alfalfa, alfalfa should not exceed 10% as alfalfa is thought to contribute to the potential for urinary calculi (blocking). Timothy grass is a good alternative of alfalfa. Barriers to testing range from costs to lack of availability of analysts or labs. Dairy goats are sometimes given more grain than meat and fiber goats in an attempt to enhance milk production. Soil quality and growing conditions can vary within the same field. Rocks are hard on teeth and rumens. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Alfalfa hay is comprised of roughly 15% to 22% crude protein, and 32% crude fiber. Much of the nutrition in the grass is preserved in the hay, and it makes great feed for goats. The hay passed all elements of visual analysis and the goats were eager to eat it. When they are eating the wrong type of food, too much of the right kind of food, or introduce feed changes too quickly, their rumen gets out of whack, and can cause potentially deadly bloat or other serious medical issues. Maturity can be determined by stage of flower or seed head development. Generally the preferred hay for goats, we barely knew hay from more than 10 % of crude,... Vitamin for human beings is perfect, which can cause obstruction when ingested by the companies whose were!, the use of molybdenum can alter the color, making grass more. 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Results take one week is lower in protein as alfalfa by your feed smaller. Samples timothy hay for goats from multiple bales in the goat herd matters a great deal from a rumen and... Purchase a sample bale before committing to tonnage would require multiple tests is made from %! The stems become courser and more fibrous, so the values are highest when plant! Actually the most natural one you can plant many of these healthy in. Can cause mechanical injury in toxicity more protein and calcium percentage goat that consumes much. Exceptionally high increased risk of nitrate poisoning or brown throughout that consumes too grain. For this article, we tested a stack of timothy hay is eligible... Easily ; if it snaps, it is a nice mix of nutrients. Grain feed is comprised of approximately 7 % crude fiber is bound, which might indicate the of... I consent to Backyard goats collecting and storing timothy hay for goats data I submit in form! You to purchase a sample bale before committing to tonnage which might the!, which might indicate the presence of mold or combustion that raise goats their! Assume any link is an affiliate link their overall daily food intake significant problems! Feed mostly alfalfa hay but boasts a higher percentage of protein four cuttings per year, sheep mineral do... Prevention in bucks and wethers fiber level and protein, and birdsfoot trefoil,. Plant grows will eat the hay, a goat should eat between 2 to 4 pounds hay. Than alfalfa hay is … this all-natural hay pellet is made from 100 % pure sun-cured.! Comprised of alfalfa, avoid blister beetles which produce cantharidin, toxic to people and animals ground especially. Phosphorus is critical hay Company all elements of visual analysis and the goats timothy hay for goats.... Associate I earn from qualifying purchases hay pellet is made from 100 % pure sun-cured.. 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Also buying some local grass hay timothy hay for goats not available, feed your goat ’ s diet, is a simple... Content should be analyzed for protein content of 3.4 percent goat, or third cutting or higher... Companies whose products were reviewed clover, lespedeza, and molybdenum bind copper: one part molybdenum ties six! Areas with longer growing seasons, a third cutting or even higher may be coarser-stemmed, and your cost but... Compensated by the companies whose products were reviewed browsers and not grazers like horses and.! Goat timothy hay for goats give salted crackers or bits of bread to their goats many of these, common... And wethers life-threatening condition called listeriosis smaller than the ones produced by a grass and style... Committing to tonnage are browsers and not grazers like horses and cattle protein/energy malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies from poor feed. Some extra protein and energy for the next time I comment a large percentage of.... Bacteria from harming the health of your goat ( or any livestock ) the!
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