Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
people make the mistake of feeding a poorer-quality hay, reasoning that it saves money, but
feeding high-quality hay means you will be feeding less grain and other supplements; you do
not save money by using cheaper hay. Like grain, high-quality hay is high in protein, so if
your goats are getting the protein from the hay, they will not need as much in the form of
grain.
Hay falls into two basic categories:
1
Legume hay
ismadeofplantssuchascloveroralfalfa.Itishigherinproteinandcalcium
—importantnutrientsforallgoatsbutespeciallyforlactatingdoes.Alfalfaisconsidered
idealhayfordairygoatsbecauseitisrichincalcium,anditsproteincontentisaround13
percent, compared to 5 percent for some grass hays.
2
Grass hay
is made of grass such as timothy, Johnson, brome, or orchard grass. If your
goats are eating grass hay, provide supplemental protein and calcium with grain.
Experiment with various types of hay and with supplementing high-protein grain. Hay — or
comparable roughage — should make up the major part of the goats' diet, and their diet must
contain adequate protein. Lower quality hay can be fed to adult bucks or to does that are dry-
ing off between lactations.
Hay pellets can be purchased from feed stores in various sizes. These are ideal for goats be-
cause goats tend to be messy eaters. They will rummage through a big pile of hay, strewing it
all over the floor, just to find a little piece of leafy stem. If you feed pellets, there is far less
mess and more hay ends up in the goat. The only disadvantage is that pellets are more expens-
ive.
Grain: a good thing in small quantities
The amount of energy provided to the goat per unit of feed is measured in therms. Alfalfa hay,
the hay probably highest in nutrients, contains about 40 therms per 100 pounds of hay. The
grains corn and barley contain almost twice this amount of therms. Goats need many of the
nutrients present in a good grain ration that are not present in a roughage diet.
Grain ration contains added nutrients, such as salt (needed in lactating animals), protein, fats,
and added vitamins and minerals such as iron. It also contains molasses, which acts as a bind-
ing material, cuts down on dust, and provides some additional minerals. Grain ration has as its
foundation an assortment of grains such as corn, barley, rye, wheat bran, oats, sunflower
