anyone else concerned about feed prices?

motdaugrnds · #1 07/25/12, 06:34 PM

I'm hearing all these horrible stories of the way people are suffering in America and the drought that is covering so much of our country. The prices of what we feed our goats is already skyrocketing.....

I've already decided to plant much of our garden in corn and beets; also plans for drying wild plants to be able to retain them thru winter months. Not sure what to do as yet for the oats and alfalfa pellets. Still need to think this one.

Anyone else have ideas as to how you're going to subsidize what your goats need when what you're use to feeding them is to costly to afford?

Oat Bucket Farm · #2 07/25/12, 07:14 PM

It got to be too much for us. We put them all up for sale and thankfully have found them a great home.

Tabgirl · #3 07/25/12, 07:24 PM

Well we may actually have a hay shortage due to too much rain (go figure). So many farmers here had cut and then a surprise thunderstorm drenched the hay. I have seen CL ad after ad for 'feeder hay - our best field got rained on'. My heart goes out to the farmers as well as makes me nervous about finding a hay source to get us though to next season.

Not sure about feed alternatives though, interested to see other responses.

Oat bucket, did you really sell your herd due to feed prices?

andabigmac · #4 07/25/12, 07:51 PM

I planted 50 x 50 of mangels, 100 x 100 of sunflowers and 50 x 50 of feed corn. The goats will get the stalks and all. I've actually been using weeds as a food source. I've been letting them grow a bit. My yard looks like heck but the critters are happy. We have 24 tons of hay coming next weekend (anyone want to help unload?). The hay isn't the best this year so we'll try the calcium carbonate if we have to rather than supplement with pellets or cubes. We are finding different places for 9 of our goats whether its freezer camp or new homes. I just bought 3 more yesterday so that doesn't help much except these aren't just eating machines that don't earn their keep. These three do. We're selling our breeding stock pigs hopefully. If not we'll butcher them. Every pig will be gone before winter hits whether their at weight or not unless I can find more hay. I thought about calcium carbonate for them too. We had a little rain last week but not enough to help our pasture. It is worrisome.

Mironsfarm · #5 07/25/12, 08:43 PM

i am worried about the price my self so i went and bought 3 ton of corn today from the feed store they said corn is going to be the highest it has ever been here soon so i am going to stock up and hope this will carry me till next year. we have been getting lots of rain here i am praying it will go where it is much needed

**mygoat** · #6 07/25/12, 08:49 PM

I buy bulk grain, prices aren't increasing astronomically yet - oats, corn, soybean meal pellet plus a little wet molasses and Vita E/Se addetive.

No super expensive BOSS, no super expensive Alfalfa pellets.

Free choice Sweetlix Magnamilk minerals, baking soda... does and bucks get copper bolused/BoSe'd in fall and spring.

I'm feeding grass hay round bales, which are at 45.00 each - a lot for grass hay, but it's all there is. It's about what I expect to pay for alflafa, so I'm not hurting in that department necessarily... Goats love it.

Pasture is still edible - we're feeding them weeds from the garden. My dad is also cutting down trees and bushes for them out in the pasture, which they love.

I'm top dressing the grain for the does in lacatation with Calcium Carbonate as a calcium source.

Pony · #7 07/25/12, 08:53 PM

We just came in from planting additional beans, cowpeas, squash. I'm afraid to plant turnips right now, but may be putting in some fast-growing corn (if we don't get ears, the plants are good food).

Pony · #8 07/25/12, 08:54 PM

Oh, and I'm picking comfrey and drying it as we go along. Thank God for the oak trees. If nothing else, we will be bagging leaves to get them through the Winter.

motdaugrnds · #9 07/26/12, 11:36 AM

Pony are you drying your comfrey leaves for winter feed? If so, how?

Oat Bucket Farm · #10 07/26/12, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tabgirl

Well we may actually have a hay shortage due to too much rain (go figure). So many farmers here had cut and then a surprise thunderstorm drenched the hay. I have seen CL ad after ad for 'feeder hay - our best field got rained on'. My heart goes out to the farmers as well as makes me nervous about finding a hay source to get us though to next season.

Not sure about feed alternatives though, interested to see other responses.

Oat bucket, did you really sell your herd due to feed prices?

Yes I did. It just got to where it was costing too much. On top of that, things have gotten extremely busy for me. I could have coped with that aspect, but the cost was stretching us to our limit (and our limit was never very high) and it sucked the enjoyment out of it. It felt like we were spending all of our time and money running flat out on a tread mill that is moving faster than we are. We needed to sell them before we were flung off the back of the treadmill. The relief on the money out weighs the sadness of saying goodbye. It is a decision we struggled with, but we made it with peace in our hearts. It is what is best for everyone, both my family and the goats. We are on 1/3 of an acre. They are dry lotted. Every scrap of food they have has to be provided by us. There is no pasture, no browse.

julieq · #11 07/26/12, 01:35 PM

We moved here last October and our new hay guy is providing pure alfalfa (we had a bit of a grass mix before at times) for way less per ton than we've ever paid, plus he's only a few miles down the road so no delivery fees. As of the last feed store run grain is still pretty much the same price.

We planted a 'test' row of mangel beets for the first time this year and they are doing really well. We're thinking about putting in some more. During the fall months our goats would rather we feed them leaves than hay anyway, so we'll be raking leaves again for them this year.

I'm actually more concerned about the rising grocery store prices than I am for the hay and grain right now.

mamaC11 · #12 07/26/12, 02:06 PM

i have tons of beet seeds, if I grow them what is the best way to feed them to the goats? dry them? I'm so clueless. What else can we feed them out of the garden? We're in GA, so we're expecting warm weather for a while still. I know I'm planting a fall crop here soon, what would you suggest? I'm not much on greens etc but if it is good for them I will do it

sorry for the hijack, but yes, feed prices concern me. For the goats and for us people. My MIL works at walmart and they give them the heads up before the food prices shoot up. They said look for drastic food increases this fall

andabigmac · #13 07/26/12, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamaC11

i have tons of beet seeds, if I grow them what is the best way to feed them to the goats?

I chop mine with a machete. When they're small I feed them to the goats and pigs with their grain. I saw a root chopper in a museum that looked like a really sharp, big potato masher. You put the roots in a bucket and lift the chopper and the sharp blades chop the roots up. I've looked everywhere for one but can't find one. If anyone knows where they're made I'd appreciate knowing.

mamaC11 · #14 07/26/12, 03:34 PM

would it be a good idea to dry them if I harvest a ton of them or would they spoil?

TRAILRIDER · #15 07/26/12, 03:46 PM

I've been thinking about this too lately. And as with you, Oatbucket, my limits never been very high too. Although it was not a huge loss, I had a half a trash can of mixed up feed, goat sweet feed, oats, cracked corn and BOSS that i found some clumps of mold in : ( I was wondering why my best girl was starting to leave feed and give less milk. Anyway I immediately poured that into an empty feed sack and will feed whats good to my chickens, picking out anything scary. Now my goats only get whole oats, a bit of cracked corn, a bit of BOSS (til that runs out) and thier free choice goat minerals, baking soda etc. My one doe in milk gets a good portion of calf manna as well. Calf manna is expensive but she does so well on it, and she's my only girl milking.
Not feeding as much grain now anyways, just plenty of browse and home grown grass hay. Luckily we have enough of our own hay to last a couple of years, even if the grass dries up two years in a row : )
Now what will that do to the price of market goats?

TRAILRIDER · #16 07/26/12, 03:47 PM

I think the sweet feed being a little moist caused the rest to go moldy. So no more sweet feed in the hot humid weather.

andabigmac · #17 07/26/12, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamaC11

would it be a good idea to dry them if I harvest a ton of them or would they spoil?

Are you thinking of drying them in a dehydrator? Mangels grow huge. 10-20lbs each. You could probably only do a few a day. I don't know how many goats you have so that would determine how many beets you would need to dry. If you live somewhere fairly dry you may be able to shred them or chop finely and leave them outside until dry. They would also be almost impossible to chew so you would have to reconstitute them. I don't know where you live but cellaring them is what I do. Mine usually last until January then it gets so cold it even freezes in my root cellar.

chewie · #18 07/26/12, 05:58 PM

you bet, I'm scared! I sold all but 2 milkers, and sold off some hens too. was going to get some pigs but backed out, too scared of corn prices. bought 10big round bales of alf hay while the chance was there. horse hay, grass, is looking to be a bit tricky to get yet. with fewer animals, our feed bills are about what it would cost me to buy the products I make, maybe a bit more but my stuff is better!

groceries rising is scary too. my garden didn't so great in this heat, so that was pretty disappointing. I plan to use this time to eat 'clean' and simple like our grandparents did. like cornbread, eggs, and milk for supper. the family will just have to learn to eat what's possible, not be so fussy.

Whisperwindkat · #19 07/27/12, 06:18 AM

Field peas, mangels, excess squash, extra greens (collards, mustards, turnips), sunflowers, and loads and loads of browse. Oats are easy to grow, but they take time to harvest especially by hand. We are downsizing our herd now. Blessings, Kat

Whisperwindkat · #20 07/27/12, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamaC11

would it be a good idea to dry them if I harvest a ton of them or would they spoil?

Beets down here will grow all winter long, so you can keep them in the garden. In the large horse barns in Germany, they take the mangels and pile them up in huge piles along the aisleway of the barn. They store just fine in a cool place. Leave the dirt on them, remove the greens, put them in crates and put them in a cool area of the barn or even the house. I store things like that in my dining room until fall (cool weather) arrives then I move them to the barn. For chickens you can just nail one to the wall and they will peck at it for a week or so. For other livestock you can chop them. It is best to use mangel beets and not eating beets because they have less sugar in them. Blessings, Kat