Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[NH Homesteader]

Hey @Mini Horses I think my question got buried, but do you know the name of the feed you give your goats? I found 3-4 kinds that are 16% by Blue Seal- have to get to the feed store soon so I want to price them out!

I could get hay for $2/50 lbs but it's awful stuff. Could pay up to $7/50lbs and it's gorgeous. I go middle ground!

I need a tractor, round bales would be nice!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Usually this hay goes for $35 to $40 a bale. It's second cutting but was cut a couple weeks later than prime because of Hurricane Harvey. In fact, he could get a third cutting off of it if he'd get out there and get 'er done.

I think he's giving me a price break because he's not having to drive 30 miles from his house to come and load me up. And, he makes hay for the tax exemption on the land - anything he makes on the hay is just a bonus.

I've already put a bale out and the goats don't care that somebody said it was past prime, lol. Horses have been at it too. In light of that - I will be getting more than usual. If properly stored I could probably save some until next year - if next year turns out to be a bad hay year. It wouldn't be ideal - certain loss of nutrients by sitting - but it would sure be better than nothing and could always be used for bedding and/or mulch.

 

[Mini Horses]

Hey @Mini Horses I think my question got buried, but do you know the name of the feed you give your goats? I found 3-4 kinds that are 16% by Blue Seal- have to get to the feed store soon so I want to price them out!

I used Blue Seal Demand for all my minis. It was great for mares/stallions/foals. When I moved to this farm 18 yrs ago, the goats ran with the mares and ate the same thing! They looked amazing, easier for me to get one feed and I did/do.

Some years back, Blue Seal decided to "rebrand" their various lines of feed and this product became part of the Dynasty lineup .. Dynasty Grow. Same great pelleted feed. I like it because less sugars but, also won't clump in winter cold. Have also used Inspire Trotter, 14% protein but 20% fiber, with good result. Most all horse feed is way higher in copper which the goats handle well -- not sheep.

When minis have challenges with teeth & hays, I use Sentinel Senior. An extruded, high fiber feed. It's like a puffed cereal sorta -- ground & a larger crunchy pellet. It is a totally complete feed for them, good amount of beet pulp in it.

The higher protein, good vit/min balance, good fiber, needed for the smaller minis as they eat less. Concentration works well with the smaller feed amounts. The goats naturally eat and need a lot fiber so decent hay and excellent feed is a good combo for them & $$. I do keep goat vit/min loose & free choice all the time. On milk stand the does get feed and alf pellets.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Cool so Trotter or Dynasty Grow for my goaties should be good... Thanks!!
Sorry for derailing FEM. Trying to figure out what to feed your goats can be a pain! A friend of ours switched his animals over to Southern States because he found a good deal on it ... Come to find out, they've ben bought out by Cargill. So I stopped looking into that!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Derail away, lol!

You are so right that it can be a pain figuring out what's best for our little beasties. Learning something new is always a positive!

 

[sumi]

Heck I'M learning stuff here and I don't even have goats yet! lol Getting some great information for "one day" though. With Ireland so horse mad and racing studs around, good horse feed is easy enough to find.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Lol well glad I'm not the only one learning! I don't feed my pigs "pig" food either... Much cheaper not to. I'm curious to see the price of horse feed here, I think Tuesday is my feed store day next week so I'll find out. Lots of horses here too.

 

[sumi]

Same here. I seldom bought pig food. It did help that I could and did get a lot of food from local restaurants where I lived at the time

There are horses and ponies all over the place here. I've seen so many ponies grazing people's lawns, or other patches of grass in towns etc. I love it! Ireland's biggest racing stud, Coolmore, is in the region where I live now and my neighbours (father and son) are jockeys.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I don't feed my pigs "pig" food either

Soooooo, what do you feed Miss Piggy? I know she has pasture and gets "goodies" but does she get any type of commercial feed?

The young male pigs that I threw into the garden area don't mind eating chicken food in the least - and neither do the chickens mind eating pig food, lol. I wish I had more scraps and food waste for them, but we're pretty good about not creating too much waste.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh that's cool! Except I hate horse racing, but cool to have all the ponies around. My SIL used to have racehorses. How anyone who knows what happens to racehorses can stomach putting their horses through that is beyond me. She had a horse die from what was done to it off at training but she would have had to spend a lot of money to prove it.