Barley v. Oats

[medic]

My neighbor has offered to sell me barley for $2.00 a bushel which he said was like a 50# bag. He also offered to let me use his grain mill to crack it. My question is compared to oats how does barley stack up mixed with boss. This will be a supplement to add to MFA dairy goat ration. If I dnot mill it will their rumen process this whole barley ok. I assumed the xtra fiber from husks would benefit them as I'd rather not mill it. The price seems extremely good and he has bout 300+ bushels

[southerngurl]

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/sheep/eb71w.htm

[LoneStrChic23]

I'd feed it

[sammyd]

barley for 2 bucks a bushel is a steal. It is a very good feed I'd buy every scrap you could get.

[ozark_jewels]

When I could get barley, I fed barley and BOSS instead of oats and BOSS. I loved it and so did the goats. If its good barley, not dirty, dusty or moldy, thats a steal.

[copperpennykids]

Dairy Cow Farmers love Barley - they roll it right before they feed it as the cows (who are also ruminants) get 25% more feed conversion that way.

You don't want to roll too much ahead of time as it doesn't store as well. Will he let you come back and do 4-5 bushels at a time and then take home in barrels to mix with your feed?

Barley helps increase your butterfat too.

Lastly, (and sure some will get upset with this!), but every dairy cow farmer we have discussed oats vs. barley (including our grain growing feed guy with PhD in animal nutrition) look at us like we have lost our minds when suggesting oats as a feed... The consensus is that oats are for horses. A little in the ration for bulk is okay, but barley is better for your goats and the milk pail. Especially heavy producers.

BTW, we add a little barley to our dairy mix along with the BOSS. Our goats like both, milk well on both and show well on both - I think you will like it!

[sammyd]

oats have a lot of fiber and it isn't utilized well by a cow. Oats aren't used as much because of that. They do come in handy when on lush pasture to help keep the feed from going through the cow so quick.

Goats utilize things a little different than a cow and whole oats are great for them but barley is even better.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by sammyd

Goats utilize things a little different than a cow and whole oats are great for them but barley is even better.

Yep. When I had to switch to oats instead of barley for my milking does, their condition and their production stayed the same. I would use barley if it was economically feasable and became available near me again. But goats do great on whole oats in the meantime. I should know as whole oats with a bit of BOSS is all the grain my dairy goats ever get and they do very well.