Hay Bags

[JerseyXGirl]

Does anyone use hay bags to feed their goats? If so, do you have alot of waste? Do the goats chew or try to eat the bag?

 

[mully]

I tried them but the goats can get caught up in them and there are better hay feeders. They are good if you do shows or travel and hold up well since they do not get every day use.

 

[FarmerChick]

ya know I never tried them on my goats....but I had so many and still have alot that a hay bag ain't going to feed this herd. I would have needed a little over a hundred of them at any given time..LOL

BUT I never liked a hay bag for my horses for some reason either.

I had hay nets. For trailering my horse when we travelled and rode. I liked those but that solid bag didn't suit me for some reason.

 

[freemotion]

I was just wondering today if the bags would work better for goats if the opening was barely muzzle size. If they can't get their heads in it, they are less likely to get blind-sided by a bonk. But in all the re-designs in my head, a goat ends up getting a foot stuck somewhere in it. :/

 

[ksalvagno]

I use hay bags. There is some waste but not much. The stuff that falls under the bag I throw in a corner and they use it for a bed. I would love to build some type of feeder at some point but have run out of time with winter coming. I already had the hay bags from my alpaca showing days and so far I have had no problems with goats getting stuck or anything. I do have Nigerian Dwarfs so I don't know if that makes a difference.

Here is a picture of my hay bags.

 

[ThornyRidge]

I too use hay bags.. and quite frankly no matter what you end up using with goats there will be hay wasting!! Every few years or so I do replace hay bags or if they get really nasty.. I have never had anyone get stuck.. however I have a big doppy second gen mini nubian that likes to grab bag with mouth and shake it around.. I also have six different bags spread around for the 10 goats.. some share better than others! My bucks get two bags between them and I replace them when they are funky and gross! the bags that is not the bucks.. they are funky and gross most of the time

 

[Carolina Chicken Man]

Agree with the last poster, no matter what you do goats will waste hay.

I got one of those hay racks that you hang on the fence for mine, it cost about 15 dollars. The openings in it are square and are pretty large, and a lot of hay got wasted. So, I took some fencing and shaped to go on the inside of the rack and so that all they can do is stick their snouts in there. Really cut down on the waste.

 

[lupinfarm]

I was using hay bags but one of my goats got her head stuck in the hole LOLOL. I still use it in the pen but IMO we had just as much waste as with a hay rack..