Desperate times call for desperate measures

The biggest problem with lawn grass is mold. It can be hard to store it conveniently so that it gets enough air not to get moist and grow mold.

That said, I have often wondered about using garbage bags to make lawn grass silage. Just a thought.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

Definitely mold could be a problem with lawn clippings but I think if the grass was flipped a couple of times while drying the mold could be prevented. The grass on my pond dikes is knee high and when I cut it it dries out in a day and then the goats seem to really like it. I'm careful to stay away from any clumps because they dry too slowly.

Hmmm...

http://www.haworthpress.com/store/Ar...71FMF&ID=75535

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

Can goats eat silage? Will they eat silage?

We didn't have rain in Texas for years, literally, and it was very, very bad. Now too much rain. We lost our cattle herd to drought, had to sell out and culled our goats several times down to what we wanted to really keep. Fed beet pulp and alfalfa pellets, bucks do fine. Yaupon Holly is thick here and evergreen, they ate that. No hay whatsoever all winter and we had a rare ice storm. it was brutal. You need to cull very hard and just keep what you must. It will be rough if you don't. They will starve, just keep a few that you can feed.

We already have our barn full of hay this year at $2.50 a bale, last few years $11.00 a bale IF you could find it and then it was linited to just a few bales at a time to regular customers...this is coastal bermuda.

Texas has hay this year if anyone wants to come here and haul it.

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Diane Rhodes
Feral Nature Farm
LaManchas, MiniManchas and Boers
Member ADGA, MDGA

A panic option is raking, and storeing the cottonwood/poplar leaves when they shed. Many an Indian pony herd made it through the Northern Plains winters on cottonwood bark alone, after the snow got too deep to paw down to winter cured grasses.
Quite the project.
I'd put most everything in your freezer. Better than a drought year's winter to skinny/starve through.

I've been told that silage should not be fed to goats. It can cause problems such as bloat, goat polio, listeria and overeating disease.

Wow. Alot of great responses here. I figured others would be or had been in the same boat.

I'm going to get alfalfa pellets and beet pulp this weekend. All the goats are currently at a really good weight. My buck has slimmed down slightly since I quit offering hay free choice but he needed to go on a diet.

Thanks so much for your responses!

Beth

Beth, you brought up a good point. Even in good years, I make a point to make sure the livestock are of good weight going into winter...they need the stores of fat to get them through and it is hard to maintain them or put weight on them in the cold, especially with a hay shortage. So fatten them up good before it gets harsh.

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Diane Rhodes
Feral Nature Farm
LaManchas, MiniManchas and Boers
Member ADGA, MDGA

Beth, did you find your hay?

Yes, goats will eat silage. Unmoldly, properly fermented silage will not hurt them.

These links also have relative feed value info in them...

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/exte...00%20604MG.pdf

http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles...ggoatherd.html

Far as fattening them up for winter, as soon as I begin limit-feeding whole cottonseed in November, they gain all through winter. This is just on what they can eat in 10 minutes once a day. That stuff is awesome.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

Hi Jim.

No, I haven't found any hay yet close enough for me to get. My dad and husband are going to KY in a few weeks to close out my grandmother's house and get it ready to sell and if I haven't found anything by then I will try to secure some in KY for them to bring back.

Until then, I have opened my large garden spot to them (which is mostly weeds at this point, anyway) and I am going to get alfalfa pellets and beet pulp tomorrow. If I'm lucky (which I probably won't be) there will be some hay at the coop when I go to buy the other things.

Can you tell me more about cottonseed?

Beth

Beth, I just left my Tennessee Co-op and yes they had hay. Didn't ask about prices as it would probably give a poor fellow like me the chills. Like I mentioned in post # 15. Just ride around your county, stop where you see hay rolls and ask that farmer if they have square bales for sale. Lots of farmers don't even advertise. Also consider him delivering round bales to your homestead...Just a thought....Good luck and keep in touch.

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TOPSIDE FARMS

When I was in Agriculture school feeds class, I did a project on feeding meat goats various diets that would work for small farmers, since I knew I would someday be one. Silage can be easily made in thick plastic bags if the grass has the right MOISTURE. Too much and you get bacteria muck, too little and it molds. A rule of thumb is take a handful of whatever you are ensiling and squeeze it. If just ONE drop of moisture is formed outside your fist, then it should be about right for the pickling process. Fill up the plastic bags as tight as possible and pull the top together and "burp" out all the air. Tuck the edges under so you have basically a plastic cylinder, and tie so it is air proof. Stack other bags on top and put some boards to add weight to the top. Air is the enemy. Go visit a dairy to smell and touch or even taste proper silage and you can duplicate it pretty close...of course they often make corn silage, but the smell is very similar. I fed my goats this one year. Its like Pickles! The goats love it. You have to control how much they eat, or you will have problems. They digest it very well since it is already partially broken down for their rumens. I was able to cut down hay 70% till I ran out of silage. If a bag rots discard it. As long as it smells right you can even taste it if you want to be sure. The drought lasted about a month here now we are FLOODING again! Third time this year!
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