Help me figure this out?

LoneStrChic23 · #1 09/08/11, 09:49 PM

I'm trying to figure out how much hay I'm going to need for winter.....Anyone have an idea/formula for calculating this or do you just guess?

Through winter I'll be feeding 4 does, 3 bucks. Girls get alfalfa pellets, the boys are still growing and are on meat goat pellets & hay. Right now they all have round bales....which they've wasted most of (my fault, I just put them out in the pen) so I really have no clue what they consume per day on average. I still have one round bale left that's not in the pen....that one we'll be putting on pallets, surrounding with cattle panel & putting shelter over so it doesn't become a jungle gym.

They have no access to browse/grazing.

Right now I'm torn between squares & rounds....how long should a properly protected round bale last 7 goats? A friend is taking a truck to Missouri for hay & I will be able to get rounds from her for $90 each (compared to the $145-$185 I can get comparable quality hay here) and I'm calling on some $9 sudan squares tomorrow.... Just trying to find out how much I should buy.. Granted, you can't have too much hay, but I'm trying to budget this so I can stock up on my alfalfa pellets & grain too.

bknthesdle · #2 09/08/11, 10:06 PM

Wish you lived closer. I've seen alfalfa bales (round) going for $35/each or $3 for square bales.

Donna1982 · #3 09/08/11, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bknthesdle

Wish you lived closer. I've seen alfalfa bales (round) going for $35/each or $3 for square bales.

That made me sick to my stomach. They are around 90 for a round and 12 for a square. We found a guy who has them for 10 bucks and its good stuff too.

Alice In TX/MO · #4 09/08/11, 10:30 PM

I need the same figuring help, as I don't do math.

Round bales in south Texas are $125 to 150 now. I'm thinking of bringing down hay from Missouri.

Lizza · #5 09/08/11, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna1982

That made me sick to my stomach. They are around 90 for a round and 12 for a square. We found a guy who has them for 10 bucks and its good stuff too.

Made me sick too, Alfalfa is $280-$300 a ton right now here. They are protesting (dairy cow too) the bent valley grass mix that I bought.

Honestly, we live in the valley and have dairy cows and dairy goats and have to truck in Alfalfa, we are looking to move over to Eastern Oregon partly on that reason (that's where it is grown here), lots of reasons but that is one of them.

LoneStrChic23 · #6 09/08/11, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I need the same figuring help, as I don't do math.

Round bales in south Texas are $125 to 150 now. I'm thinking of bringing down hay from Missouri.

If I were you, I'd bring hay home with you.

Hay prices are just getting worse here.....alfalfa pellets are up from $7.99 to $11.99 for 40lbs.

Grass hay squares are up to $14 now....more at some feed stores....Alfalfa squares (small) are at $16-$18 depending on the cutting.....Local man is selling this beautiful batch of coastal/clover rounds....irrigated, fertilized $250 per round!!!

Cheapest rounds worth feeding are $130 & they are weedy/ok quality. Nice horse stuff is much more.

punchiepal · #7 09/08/11, 11:11 PM

Well mine sounds a little weird but it works. Ours have some access to pasture till about end of Oct/mid Nov. So I figured the days from then till it greens up about May = D.

Take D X (how many head @ 100# we have ND's so about 2 for every 3 does) X that by 5.4# of hay / whatever poundage bale I am looking at.

The 5.4# per 100 per day comes from that in reading it says per 100# of goat needs 4.5# of hay per day then adding for 20% waste. If you portion out the hay (we have wall feeders) then it seems like there is less waste.

We are finally stocking our barn this weekend! yeah

noeskimo · #8 09/08/11, 11:36 PM

LSC: you asked the question that I have been asking myself.And I assume the Sudan you're checking on is that in Sweetwater.We're going to check it out too. My calculations are further complicated by the fact that we have 1/4 section,all "native pasture" What grass there is is , of course, brown, from last summer/fall So there's something there, but due to its age, what kind of nutritional content is there?How do I figure hay needs?

LoneStrChic23 · #9 09/08/11, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noeskimo

LSC: you asked the question that I have been asking myself.And I assume the Sudan you're checking on is that in Sweetwater.We're going to check it out too. My calculations are further complicated by the fact that we have 1/4 section,all "native pasture" What grass there is is , of course, brown, from last summer/fall So there's something there, but due to its age, what kind of nutritional content is there?How do I figure hay needs?

Yep, it's in Sweetwater.... I won't be able to pick up any until Tuesday though so I dunno if it will still be there..

Last local Sudan I went to look at was really stemmy, hardly any leaves & my goats won't eat that so I dunno if this will be the same. I have nothing edible on my property.....unless you count my pecan tree, and the goats can't have it! So 100% of what they get is fed by me.... I was cutting browse from my neighbors land (with permission) but there's nothing left to cut..... I get 8 tightly packed feed sacked of oat trimmings from my mom each week, but I dunno how much that really helps other than they get a belly full of something semi green once a week....

There's a lady on CL who has fertilized alfalfa/grass mix for $12 a square... I'm thinking of getting a few of those for variety too.

And don't get me started on bedding.....can't find straw anywhere..... I've been raking up & saving the unsoiled hay from the round bales as back up bedding, & I'm buying shavings when I can, but I really need straw.

Laverne · #10 09/09/11, 03:14 AM

I've read that a full size milk goat needs 3 lbs. of alfala a day minimum for the calcium plus the grass hay, maybe 2-3 lbs. of that a day, then grain figured in at 1 lb. plus 1 lb per 3 lbs of milk produced. I figure my does need a little more in the pellet area. I am figuring my minis and nigerians need around 3 lbs of grass hay each per day. So I got 3 tons of high nutrition Orchard grass at 275.00 a ton delivered and stacked. If I got low quality hay I'd figure quite a bit more hay and they would be doing a lot more chewing. I am going to get 2 tons of alfalfa pellets at 420.00 a ton. I'm hoping the pellets last 2 years. Supposed to be a shortage next year and I'm banking on the pellets going higher in price so getting them now. The grain they get is whole oats and I've seen it for 200.00 a ton bulk so looking into that. Hmm, need more straw too.

homstdr74 · #11 09/09/11, 08:30 AM

I'm appalled at some of the locals here in Missouri who are bound and determined to make a hay run to Texas to "make a killing". They're planning on loading up the flatbed trailers with $25 bales and selling those bales eight times higher (or more) in Texas. How quickly some of us forget--when we had a drought here, guys were bringing in hay from Kansas at a reasonable rate--I think I paid $3 a square bale for wire tied brome. Granted, that was years ago, but really--- two hundred dollars or more for a round bale? Reminds me of those who charge five dollars for a bottle of water when times get tough. I'd sell my stock if hay got that high.

As for how to estimate how much---I used to try estimating exactly, but gave that up because we have dry grass and browse for our goats during the winter that sometimes they can get and sometimes not. Of course they prefer the hay anyway. I finally decided to every year buy in one hundred square bales (grass hay) for ten goats; that way there is obviously going to be some left over, and the spring young, when penned up for a couple of months, will have plenty to eat. The excess, if any, we feed to the horses.

Of course we go through about ten round bales for the horses, but that's different. After the experiences we have had with round bales and goats, I'll not do that again.....seems as if no matter how I tried to keep them out of it, they'd find a way to spoil it. So I'd be cautious of round bales and goats since hay is so high. I find it better to feed square bales through a manger system.

Alice In TX/MO · #12 09/09/11, 08:58 AM

It's not inexpensive to drive a flat bed trailer to Texas. "Make a killing"? Nope. Make a profit, yes.

coso · #13 09/09/11, 10:10 AM

According to my calculations on my does, they are eating about 2.5# a day of a alfalfa/timothy mix hay a piece. It will depend on the hay, how much they will eat though . That might give you a rough idea. These girls are still milking and get about 3lb of lactation pellet a day on stand.

Alice In TX/MO · #14 09/09/11, 12:01 PM

Chris, looks like we will be taking hay south. Do you know of someone with round bales for sale in Missouri for my neighbor in Texas who wants those, too?

LoneStrChic23 · #15 09/09/11, 03:05 PM

Some folks ARE out to make a killing. We had a church in my mom's town decide to help out local farmers.....Lots of folks helped raise money (yard sells, bake sells ect.) to cover the fuel to go get the hay.....They bought nice rounds in Alabama for $35 each...everyone who helped expected the hay to go for $45-$50 each since the money for the fuel was from the various fund raisers.....Church.brought in the hay, & stated a price of $100 per round! Talk about some ticked off folks........Really crooked IMO.

Noeskimo- I called on the Sudan in Sweetwater.......real nice guy named Caleb. He will be bringing in another load on Tuesday. If you call, do so in the afternoon as he works night shift. Also, he may be able to get Chaffehay alfalfa, $10 per 50lbs if he can get enough people intetested in it. He's off work Monday & Tuesday.......he'll make his hay run Monday & be back Tuesday evening. I'm going to get 10 bales to see how the goats like it before I commit to a big load.

Thanks everyone for the help! Since I also feed alfalfa pellets (2-3lbs per doe) & milkstand grain, I'm going to aim to buy 5lbs of hay per goat......this should be good, I think, & will give me some wiggle room for waste.

Now I just need to go donate plasma & sell a few organs on the black market & I should be able to feed my goats through winter!

Hollowdweller · #16 09/09/11, 04:42 PM

I'd get about 300 50 lb bales if I were you.

HappyFarmer · #17 09/09/11, 07:43 PM

I would weigh your goats & allow enough hay for 5% of their body weight for consumption daily, times the number of days you need to feed them.

1 1200lb horse, 1 300 lb mini, and 20 100-160# goats and 4 yearlings consume approximately 1200 bales of hay weighing an average of 50lbs. yearly. We feed heavy all winter, and supplement 1/2 bale during the growing season (May-Oct is). We do not milk our goats, and does are fed a small amount of grain as is the horses, too.

Mine are not milk goats, so of course you will be feeding alphalfa & other grains also for milk production, which will make a difference, but you certainly don't want to be caught short mid-winter. As long as the hay is stored under cover, protected from wind and rain (like in a barn) it will last you well with minimal nutrient loss.

You need to know how much a bale of hay weighs before you can figure out how many you need.

HF

Suzyq2u · #18 09/09/11, 07:49 PM

We paid $13.50 for a 50lb bale of alfalfa last wk. When we got the goats 3 months ago, we were paying $8/50lb bale. Gonna be a long winter...

Hoping the snow stays away long enough for them to graze.
I don't know what I'd do in your situation where there was no graze avail to help supplement : /

noeskimo · #19 09/10/11, 12:57 AM

LSC: There's a guy on Abilene CL-in Baird that has some 60-65lb alfalfa bales for $12. They are a little stemmy, but the goats love it. It smells good and has good color,if you need some to hold you over. Got a hold of Sudan guy, and since he's driving by our house-we live 2 mi south of I20-he's going to drop it off.Yea!!

Backfourty,MI. · #20 09/10/11, 06:37 AM

I fell bad for all of you guys. Alfafa hay or alfafa/grass mix is about 35 to $45.00 a round bale here & $3.00 to $3.50 a square bale depending on who you buy from. Grass hay last year we got for $2.50 a bale.

I have never been good at figuring out how much hay my goats need per year but I'm guessing I go through at least 200 square bales, that's for 7 goats but I kept 2 kids this year so now I have 9.