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rachels.haven
Herd Master
Yes thanks! Lots of hope for the future!
And I like the south. Maybe someday we'll head down there.
And I like the south. Maybe someday we'll head down there.
Advice on Picking the Better Hay
- Thread starter rachels.haven
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B&B Happy goats
Herd Master
No big parasite problem with wniter freezes there...florida omg...land of the never ending goat parasites...constantly on top of it....
B&B Happy goats
Herd Master
I have a old friend who farms still in NH. He may have hay, he is located in the farmington NH area , let me know if you want me to pm you his contact information to call and check....
B&B Happy goats
Herd Master
Just checked, CL , farmington, NH, first cut timothy hay $6.00 square bale...in Stratton. ..
Carla D
True BYH Addict
I’m not very good with this sort of thing yet. My reasoning may be off base by a bit. But this is what I’d do and my reasoning for it.
My first choice would be the orchard/alfalfa. Reasoning is: it’s less stemmy which to my goats more of it would get eaten and potentially less waste. I would use this sparingly, meaning dont put out extra for them to waste. Only enough with a very small amount left over when you go out to do your next feeding. I would also use the alfalfa pellets to supplement the hay. $10/bale is way to much to pay for something that is brown and not a really good quality of purely alfalfa bale. At least in our area it is. I would think about getting a small stash of the $10 hay bales if you are worried about running out of alfalfa or orchard mix in your area before the first crop of spring is harvested. If i had any left when you are able to buy much better, id use your left over brown grass as bedding to use it up. Im thinking that $10/bale will ultimately be about $50/100#. Here that type of bale only weighs about 20#. Incidentally my goofy goats ate that much better than they do nice alfalfa.
But honestly I really like what @B&B Happy goats suggested much better than my idea. It probably is also your cheapest option. You could always buy or order a couple to a few bales of the Standlee compressed bales as a “treat”. They are fairly reasonable. Standlee has the best quality of compressed bales I’ve seen so far. I don’t think the prices are too bad for a 40-50# bale either.
This is straight from the Standlee website.
This is what our local TSC sells their Standlee products for. I do buy the Alfalfa/Orchard bales and the Timothy bales to offer to both my goats and rabbits. Oddly the rabbits prefer the Alfalfa/Orchard mixed bales and my goats prefer the Timothy. I had planned on using the bales for the opposite animals.
My first choice would be the orchard/alfalfa. Reasoning is: it’s less stemmy which to my goats more of it would get eaten and potentially less waste. I would use this sparingly, meaning dont put out extra for them to waste. Only enough with a very small amount left over when you go out to do your next feeding. I would also use the alfalfa pellets to supplement the hay. $10/bale is way to much to pay for something that is brown and not a really good quality of purely alfalfa bale. At least in our area it is. I would think about getting a small stash of the $10 hay bales if you are worried about running out of alfalfa or orchard mix in your area before the first crop of spring is harvested. If i had any left when you are able to buy much better, id use your left over brown grass as bedding to use it up. Im thinking that $10/bale will ultimately be about $50/100#. Here that type of bale only weighs about 20#. Incidentally my goofy goats ate that much better than they do nice alfalfa.
But honestly I really like what @B&B Happy goats suggested much better than my idea. It probably is also your cheapest option. You could always buy or order a couple to a few bales of the Standlee compressed bales as a “treat”. They are fairly reasonable. Standlee has the best quality of compressed bales I’ve seen so far. I don’t think the prices are too bad for a 40-50# bale either.
This is straight from the Standlee website.
This is what our local TSC sells their Standlee products for. I do buy the Alfalfa/Orchard bales and the Timothy bales to offer to both my goats and rabbits. Oddly the rabbits prefer the Alfalfa/Orchard mixed bales and my goats prefer the Timothy. I had planned on using the bales for the opposite animals.
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Mini Horses
Herd Master
They will waste the stemmy alfalfa, go with the mix. Stems stay & leaves are powder, total waste. If you can find plain grass, decent grass, use it. Add alpha pellets and some beet pulp, a little boss & or some flax seed. You can get flax at grocery, whole or ground. It's to balance chemicals with the BP, just add a little on top of ration. They will get enough long stem & nutrition. Only a short time until grass is growing again!!! 
I'm far South, in VA, so I have grasses started up now...and I am so thankful!
You would THINK they would love those stems, given how eager they are to eat tree bark, limbs and our favorite bushes!
I'm far South, in VA, so I have grasses started up now...and I am so thankful!You would THINK they would love those stems, given how eager they are to eat tree bark, limbs and our favorite bushes!
farmerjan
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Hi and welcome. I am a former Ct and Vermont Yankee moved to Va in 1981. My parents retired to NH although are getting up inage and health concerns for my mother. But they will never move away from up there.
I did talk to them and they had as bad a year for trying to make hay as we did here in Va. Way too wet, very few breaks where we had 3-5 days of dry to make hay. It was all made "late" quality wasn't great, but it got made.
I would get some of the orchard grass/alfalfa and see if they like it. And a bale of the "brown" hay. We actually made a field of orchard grass after we had 8 inches of snow on it in late Dec. It tested at 12% protein and the calves eat it with no problem. It was "cured on the stem" freeze dried actually. Figured that a little supplement with feed would be better than nothing. As the saying goes here, " it beats snowballs".
Stemmy alfalfa winds up with alot of waste. Most farmers here will chop 1st and 2nd cuttings, then the stems are not near so thick and tough and we try to get about 150 sq bales a year for the sheep and for my nurse cows. I'd rather feed it as baleage but don't know if the sheep or goats or smaller ruminants should have it. My nurse cows and calves love it.
Timothy is a very good hay. I like it better than orchard grass, but it doesn't do good here because it doesn't like the hotter summers. Of course this past year it would have been well watered. We had nearly twice our normal rainfall last year. It also doesn't seem to be letting up. Have had twice the normal already to date.... don't want a drought in July/Aug but sure would like a little less right now. The fields are a disaster and just getting around to feed is a nightmare.
I would go see about the timothy. If it looks good and smells decent, then I would get it. We don't test all our hay, and many farmers don't. You get to where you can look at the animals and get a feel for their nutrition level. But testing the hay was important this year because we have some that is way low, and we are having to supplement with both energy and protein for the calves. At 6.00 a sq bale, that is pretty reasonable. I would buy 500 bales if it was available here.
They need bulk, roughage. It is cheaper if the hay also tests good, but you can supplement and it doesn't have to be alot. Since you are milking, give the doe what she needs on the milk stand; give the others a little grain as a supplement, and feed the less expensive hay. It is only for a few months and then hopefully you can find a farm close that you can maybe pick it up out of the field, or off the wagon and get a better price. Get enough timothy to see you through if it is decent, get a few of the orchard grass mix for extra protein for the doe... limit feed it so they clean it up in an hour or two, and then let them have the other hay. Don't be surprised if the timothy is decent and they like it better.
I did talk to them and they had as bad a year for trying to make hay as we did here in Va. Way too wet, very few breaks where we had 3-5 days of dry to make hay. It was all made "late" quality wasn't great, but it got made.
I would get some of the orchard grass/alfalfa and see if they like it. And a bale of the "brown" hay. We actually made a field of orchard grass after we had 8 inches of snow on it in late Dec. It tested at 12% protein and the calves eat it with no problem. It was "cured on the stem" freeze dried actually. Figured that a little supplement with feed would be better than nothing. As the saying goes here, " it beats snowballs".
Stemmy alfalfa winds up with alot of waste. Most farmers here will chop 1st and 2nd cuttings, then the stems are not near so thick and tough and we try to get about 150 sq bales a year for the sheep and for my nurse cows. I'd rather feed it as baleage but don't know if the sheep or goats or smaller ruminants should have it. My nurse cows and calves love it.
Timothy is a very good hay. I like it better than orchard grass, but it doesn't do good here because it doesn't like the hotter summers. Of course this past year it would have been well watered. We had nearly twice our normal rainfall last year. It also doesn't seem to be letting up. Have had twice the normal already to date.... don't want a drought in July/Aug but sure would like a little less right now. The fields are a disaster and just getting around to feed is a nightmare.
I would go see about the timothy. If it looks good and smells decent, then I would get it. We don't test all our hay, and many farmers don't. You get to where you can look at the animals and get a feel for their nutrition level. But testing the hay was important this year because we have some that is way low, and we are having to supplement with both energy and protein for the calves. At 6.00 a sq bale, that is pretty reasonable. I would buy 500 bales if it was available here.
They need bulk, roughage. It is cheaper if the hay also tests good, but you can supplement and it doesn't have to be alot. Since you are milking, give the doe what she needs on the milk stand; give the others a little grain as a supplement, and feed the less expensive hay. It is only for a few months and then hopefully you can find a farm close that you can maybe pick it up out of the field, or off the wagon and get a better price. Get enough timothy to see you through if it is decent, get a few of the orchard grass mix for extra protein for the doe... limit feed it so they clean it up in an hour or two, and then let them have the other hay. Don't be surprised if the timothy is decent and they like it better.
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
Get the orchard.
Why is it so expensive?
I'm in NC and they truck orchard/alfalfa from NY and it cost's about $13 for 75 lb bale.
Edited:
Try some of the brown hay. Some grass hays don't cure as green as orchard grass and alfalfa. It may be fine.
What kind of goats do you have?
Why is it so expensive?
I'm in NC and they truck orchard/alfalfa from NY and it cost's about $13 for 75 lb bale.
Edited:
Try some of the brown hay. Some grass hays don't cure as green as orchard grass and alfalfa. It may be fine.
What kind of goats do you have?
greybeard
Herd Master
That's too far north for me to have much relevant input and I never buy alfalfa anyway.
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- #20
rachels.haven
Herd Master
I have nigerians. All but two tend to keep weight on acceptably. One is always thinner and narrower like a miniature dairy goat and the other seems to have a lower worm resistance and seems needs alfalfa to stay nice and chunky. She's the one I know for sure is going into milk of course.
The goats are currently on the brown hay, and it's $10/about 60lbs bale. They don't have much enthusiasm for it, although they are eating it, but the feed store is going through batches of hay fast so the hay today is not the hay tomorrow, so I can't really count on them to be a long term hay source or be able to deliver good hay (hay you looked at may not be the hay you get, according to person I talked to this afternoon, and they won't check the nutrition in any of the batches for this reason-selling out too fast). I really need my own stash, and after calling them, apparently I need my own hay trailer or truck too so I will know what I bring home. I'm giving everyone alfalfa pellets to correct any Ca : P imbalance. I'd like to have nice enough hay that I don't have to do that.
I've also decided first cutting hay isn't worth it. The goats waste half of it and then it's just as expensive if not 2x more than the 2nd cutting. It's the soft stuff that's never wasted for me and they eat all of. They're training me good apparently. So I'm hunting for soft enough stuff.
I'm now in touch with a guy in New York who has 2nd cutting brome/grass/alfalfa in large square bales that he says we can push off the truck. The hay was analyzed at 16% protein and a good ca : p ratio. He's seeing if he can find another delivery guy going my way to stick my hay on with. I'm not confident we can push 640 lbs 3x3x8 bale off a truck, but if we can I'd go with that. I may tell him never mind tomorrow as I'm really not sure that would work and we'd have hay stuck on a truck that wants to keep on going. It would be a relief though. It would be more bulk priced as opposed to premium from out west oregon hay for $37/100lbs. It's also possible he won't be able to find anyone. Aw, well.
I'm trying to avoid the expensive stuff. I will probably wind up doing it anyway. Even if I have to go the expensive route I only need enough until cutting season starts, although I'd prefer to wait until 2nd cutting time because if second cuttings didn't get taken last year, this years first is going to be full of last years mature stalks and not nutrition. Darn, all this because I couldn't bring my hay stash.
I guess the gist of things is that no matter what everything will be fine and if I have to get the premium expensive hay I will go with the orchard mix, which I was leaning towards anyway.
The goats are currently on the brown hay, and it's $10/about 60lbs bale. They don't have much enthusiasm for it, although they are eating it, but the feed store is going through batches of hay fast so the hay today is not the hay tomorrow, so I can't really count on them to be a long term hay source or be able to deliver good hay (hay you looked at may not be the hay you get, according to person I talked to this afternoon, and they won't check the nutrition in any of the batches for this reason-selling out too fast). I really need my own stash, and after calling them, apparently I need my own hay trailer or truck too so I will know what I bring home. I'm giving everyone alfalfa pellets to correct any Ca : P imbalance. I'd like to have nice enough hay that I don't have to do that.
I've also decided first cutting hay isn't worth it. The goats waste half of it and then it's just as expensive if not 2x more than the 2nd cutting. It's the soft stuff that's never wasted for me and they eat all of. They're training me good apparently. So I'm hunting for soft enough stuff.
I'm now in touch with a guy in New York who has 2nd cutting brome/grass/alfalfa in large square bales that he says we can push off the truck. The hay was analyzed at 16% protein and a good ca : p ratio. He's seeing if he can find another delivery guy going my way to stick my hay on with. I'm not confident we can push 640 lbs 3x3x8 bale off a truck, but if we can I'd go with that. I may tell him never mind tomorrow as I'm really not sure that would work and we'd have hay stuck on a truck that wants to keep on going. It would be a relief though. It would be more bulk priced as opposed to premium from out west oregon hay for $37/100lbs. It's also possible he won't be able to find anyone. Aw, well.
I'm trying to avoid the expensive stuff. I will probably wind up doing it anyway. Even if I have to go the expensive route I only need enough until cutting season starts, although I'd prefer to wait until 2nd cutting time because if second cuttings didn't get taken last year, this years first is going to be full of last years mature stalks and not nutrition. Darn, all this because I couldn't bring my hay stash.
I guess the gist of things is that no matter what everything will be fine and if I have to get the premium expensive hay I will go with the orchard mix, which I was leaning towards anyway.
