My own goat thread-almost a goat drawing

[Henrietta23]

The ad in the local paper says this:
Premium hay Approx 50+ lb bales. Timothy, alfalfa, orchard grass, clover $6/bale. Now I'm wondering if it is a mix? That kind of makes more sense doesn't it? We'll call before the weekend is over to find out. DH also has a # for the person his coworker got her hay from.
We picked up their fencing today! Yay!!! I can check with the vet for his source and with our priest and his wife since they have sheep.

There are other ads for "horse hay" and "1st cut" and "quality hay". All $4-6 per bale or the large plastic wrapped round ones which we can't store. Can you see why we're a little confused what our best choice is?
They are coming with collars. I'm thinking the vet gets a deal!
Off to look at boots....

 

[Henrietta23]

I've read that goats shouldn't get white clover. The guy in the hay ad I described above told DH that the clover he lists is green clover. Does this sound like a good source of hay for us. He is happy to sell us a few bales at a time.
We've got calls in to several other people about what they have. We're still waiting.

 

[ksalvagno]

Quality hay doesn't mean anything to me because what one person calls quality hay, I don't. You want 2nd or 3rd cutting hay. Goats mostly won't eat 1st cutting hay. So I would find out what cutting it is. The mix sounds fine. I would go and look at it. Buy a bale or two and see if the goats will eat it. Also make sure it doesn't smell moldy or anything. Good hay almost smells like tea. I would also want it to be green. My hay from last year is still very green looking.

Also, if the bales feel weird or unusually heavy, they are probably moldy. If you question it, ask the guy to open a bale or two for you and go through it and look for mold and get your nose down there and smell it.

Once you find a good hay source, hang on to them! They are hard to find!

 

[Henrietta23]

Thanks Karen, that was very helpful! I think it might be first cutting because the guy told my husband they'd be cutting again in a few weeks.
I do know what good timothy hay smells like. I can smell the difference between the good stuff I buy in bags for the house rabbit from the not so good stuff. Big difference!

 

[freemotion]

I doubt anyone has made hay in our area yet. June is the earliest. It just won't dry here before then. What is currently being advertised is last year's hay. They are trying to clear their barns for the upcoming season. Later in the spring, hay gets hard to find, then it is everywhere if the weather is right for making it. You will still be able to get it at some feed stores, though, so not to worry. For a couple of baby goats, you won't go through too much. You can fill your barn later in the summer with second cut. Don't wait for third cut, many farmers here don't get a third cutting unless they are making haylage for cows.

Some have alfalfa/grass mix, too.

 

[Henrietta23]

Hmmm, how much am I going to need to store for the winter? Not much storage here...

 

[freemotion]

Depends on how many goats you end up with.... You should have a handle on how much they eat by the time you need to purchase hay. Keep track. They waste a lot, so consider it part of your bedding costs. Order maybe 5-10 % more than the number you come up with. They will eat a lot more in the cold weather, it keeps them warm when it ferments in their rumen.

I bought 60 bales and started feeding them...um...end of December? For five goats. I still have two bales left, but I have lots of pasture, and they find something to eat as soon as it starts to grow. They barely touch the hay once there is enough pasture. Which you don't have.

 

[Henrietta23]

Hmmm, this is going to get interesting. We will have to figure out storage. Which may mean nothing more than a heavy duty cleaning out of the garden shed which is needed anyway.
We got a call back from another guy (who else but a farmer would call at 8am on a Sunday morning? ) He has grass hay, either this year's first cutting or last year's second. I guess we would have to look at it to see what we thought. This is the guy the people we got the fence from used for their sheep so at least we have a recommendation on this one, but it's not from goat people.

 

[freemotion]

You can get the second cut grass hay and feed alfalfa pellets for now to balance it. I've done this....I had many bales left over of horse hay...first cut timothy, long and coarse, not hay for making milk. No one died from it!

If he will open a bale for you, take a flake out of the middle of the bale. Hold it up in the light and smack it with your other hand. There should not be a cloud of dust that comes out. A tiny bit is ok if it does not smell musty, but smells like lawn mowing. If it is very dry when they cut and bale, some dust from the ground can get into the hay. A small amount is ok. Mold is common if baled before it is dry, or in a wet year. Which last year was! Trust your nose, and get just enough to get you through until late summer. If you end up with too much, you can mix it with fresh hay until it is gone, or bed with it. You will bed with it either way. Goats!

Don't panic yet about having enough storage. You will pay more per bale if you run out in the spring, but you will find some hay. Goats don't eat THAT much. When I had my horse, I had to buy hay 3-4 times per year because of storage issues, and that was a big pain in the butt. But on the other hand, farmers were more willing to deal with me because I bought 90 bales at a time. And was willing to pay for the inconvenience.

My policy...save money on toilet paper and other such things that don't really matter. Good hay matters. Do what it takes to get the best and to keep whoever you buy it from happy. Pay a lot of compliments and tip them. Many who grow hay in our area do so because they get great satisfaction from it, and they don't get rich. If you expess appreciation, it goes a loooooong way.

 

[big brown horse]

I love the smell of good hay!!! I could smell it for hours! To me it smells a bit like popcorn. (I know I'm weird!)

At the county fair in small town TX they judged hay in a seperate barn from all the animals. Ohhh mama did that barn smell good!