They Hate Alfalfa Pellets

[CookingPam777]

I bought alfalfa pellets from TSC and my doe hates them. Everyone else will eat it but they don't like it and pickily nozzle around in it for the goodies. What's up?

[gerald77]

picky goats. i just have four goats and they waste the pellets. it's all that's ever left. they sure are good at picking through their food. my ginger goat, when on the stand for milking, will eat like there's no tomorrow and then suddenly stop. i look in the dish and she has cleaned it perfectly of everything but the alfalfa pellets. there was a thread about this recently and some people break up the alfalfa cubes and feed that instead of pellets. i went and got a bag to see if they would eat those. my two youngest like them alot but the two girls don't seem very excited. i just keep offering them cause i was told to and maybe one day the ones that are supposed to eat them will.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Also, different brands may bring a different response.

[CookingPam777]

We are going to the feed mill I will try there.

[CookingPam777]

We are going to the feed mill I will try there.

How come I always get this?:

This forum requires that you wait 25 seconds between posts. Please try again in 25 seconds.

I know it was more than 25 seconds.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I bet you are double clicking on POST REPLY.

Only click once.

[CookingPam777]

Okay I have Dsl but sometimes it goes slow so I can't tell if it needs clicked again sometimes or what. Thanks!

[nubiansinny]

Blue Seal makes an alfalfa pellet. I would think you could find a dealer near you. I feed it and my girls love them, they smell good too!
And there is no extra junk in it.

[CookingPam777]

I already had a heart attack with the price we had on our feed bill and yes we get a discount. $162. I am going to use tums instead. The does milk actually upped on beef 13 anyway.

[fishhead]

Are the pellets dusty?

[CookingPam777]

Originally Posted by nubiansinny

Blue Seal makes an alfalfa pellet. I would think you could find a dealer near you. I feed it and my girls love them, they smell good too!
And there is no extra junk in it.

Our feed mill carries blue seal. I just could not afford the extra $11 added on my bill. I could not believe my ears when he said the total. It's shocking! We have tums so I think we'll use that.

[CookingPam777]

Originally Posted by fishhead

Are the pellets dusty?

No. I am like very allergic to alfalfa and to dust and can smell all the dust people seem not to be able to smell. It definantly smells like alfalfa not dusty in appearance or smell. The allergist rates allergies from 1 to 10 and dust was 8 and grasses afalfa etc was 9.

[whinnyninny]

My alfalfa pellets are not dusty, and my does won't eat them either.

Their feed has alfalfa in it, so I just give that to them. Their milk production total has gone up by 1 lb a day since I brought them home.

[CookingPam777]

Thats very good! When I talk about a milk upping I am talking a cup I wish my does picked up like that. What feed do you use?

[CookingPam777]

My doe would starve herself so I gave up and let them have their way with the beef 13 heifer developer.

[ozark_jewels]

When you say they pick around it to get to the goodies, I assume that your feeding alfalfa pellets mixed with other things or mixed in their feed?? If so, that could be one problem.

My girls will not eat the pellets if I mix them in their feed. They will pick around for the grain and then turn up their noses at the slightly slobbery alfalfa pellets after the grain is gone.

I feed them just grain on the milkstand and then after milking is done I pour the alfalfa pellets into the communal trough and they cause a riot. The does gobble them down so fast you wouldn't believe it.
I think a lot of the success has to do with them having competition.

To start with my does were suspicious of the alfalfa pellets but they soon learned to love them.

My does will eat *anything* I give them if its in the trough and they have competition. Something that they might sniff suspiciously at on the milkstand they swallow down with no questions asked rather than give it to their neighbor at the trough. I love playing mind games with my goats.

[trob1]

If the alfalfa pellets came from TSC look at the tag. The ones our TSC carries has animal fat and preservatives in them and ours would rather starve than eat them.

[ozark_jewels]

Yes, I am assuming you are buying pellets that are 100% alfalfa? Mine are a 17% protien, 100% alfalfa pellet.

[Wags]

Mine like the 100% alfalfa pellets, but will turn up their noses if it's mixed with grain. They turned up their noses at the 1/2 & 1/2 pellets (alfalfa/grass mix) for a couple of days, but have since decided that it isn't so bad afterall.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

my goats hate pellets. and yes, they are 100%, but they like the cubes of the same brand. If so many peoples goats hate the pellets, then why isnt some company making crumbles out of cubes? duh..