Calcium supplement?

[April]

Is it possible to use a calcium supplement to meet the does calcium needs?

The alfalfa hay I can get around here is pretty much just stems. I'm giving them alfalfa pellets which they adore, but they're very expensive. The girls currently get their mineral on the milk stand so that I can be sure they've had it. As I added the mineral to the milk stand grain last night I just wondered if using calcium as a supplement with the mineral was a possibility.

If not, what other sources of dietary calcium are there besides alfalfa?

Thanks!

[CaliannG]

All hays are going to be higher in calcium....alfalfa is just the highest. However, pasture and browse generally has a 1.8-2.1:1 Calcium/phosphorus ratio.

The big trick is to keep it BALANCED, not so much as to shove calcium down your does.

Do you have other legume hay available in your area that might be cheaper than alfalfa? Kudzu? Pea flower? Anything like that? Legumes are going to be higher in calcium than grass. That's why dairy folks go with alfalfa...it is generally the cheapest of the legumes to grow and to get.

ETA: It's not just calcium that legumes provide, it is *protein*.

[Natural Beauty Farm]

If you have a TSC ask them to carry Standlee Alfalfa pellets its running about $6 a hundred cheaper

For the money it is cheaper to feed Alfalfa free choice, then to add supplements.

[April]

Thanks! I think I've got the protein under control with the milk stand grains, but in doing that I'm unbalancing the calcium/phosphorus. I wish I understood the math behind everything so that I could get their ration just right. More studying for me!

I'll ask TSC about the Standlee pellets. The ones we're using from the feed store are $12/50 lb. It's not going to break the bank or anything, I just always look for cost savings - being thrifty is in my blood.

Thanks!

[Cyngbaeld]

I use dolomite for the calcium/magnesium. I never feed alfalfa as it is way expensive here and my goats eat mostly what grows on the place. I get the dolomite by the 50# bags at a ceramic supply house in Austin (check your yellow pages). I just put a cup at a time in the grain pan on the milk stand and dump their grain in while I'm milking. The dry does and those raising kids get a chance to hop up for a little grain and some dolomite several times a week. It disappears pretty fast out of the pan and I add more as needed, once or twice a week. Putting them on the stand gets them eager to have their turn when I'm ready to start milking them and they aren't afraid of the milk stand.

[ozark_jewels]

Yikes, $12 per 50 lbs? I'm paying $7.00 per 50 lbs at Hirschs and they are very good quality. Wakes is also about the same price, but my does like the Hirschs pellets better. Where in S. Mo are you?

[April]

We're about 75 miles south of St. Louis. I may look around in some bigger areas and see what prices are like. It would probably pencil out to spend the gas money and purchase in bulk. $7/50 lb is blowing my mind!

[HappyFarmer]

Close to kidding time we hand out tums for the preggo ladies.

These are meat goats though.

HF