which hay is best?

exegeses · #1 10/02/12, 06:45 PM

Going to get this winter's hay tomorrow ... which would be best for my goats?

#1- mix of lespedeza, clover, fescue (in no particular order) baled May 30
#2- mix of clover, brome, fescue, johnson (in no particular order) baled Sept 21

I have no idea of the ratio of the mixes - price is the same, but #2 mix are slightly bigger bales.

I know there can sometimes be issues with Johnson grass, and the farmer I'm getting it from was very up-front about it. He claims this hay is fine and that he's already used some of it for his livestock.

Whad'ya think?

Wingdo · #2 10/02/12, 07:44 PM

A couple of years back I paid the extra dime for decent clover hay only to find the goats would rather scatter it to the four winds than eat it... it hurt my feelings a bit that they preferred eating a dried up dead stick than decent hay! Since then I've gone with an alfalfa mix that they seem to waste considerably less of... of course I picked up all the sticks from the field before handing it out.

CaliannG · #3 10/02/12, 08:30 PM

Mine will eat the lep. with gusto, and ignore clover every chance they get. To the point of insisting they are STARVING and wading through knee-high clover to go pathetically gnaw on some mesquite branches.

Make sure the fescue is endophyte free. Fescue endophytes will kill goats.

Ford Zoo · #4 10/02/12, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Make sure the fescue is endophyte free. Fescue endophytes will kill goats.

Is there a way to tell if it is present other than testing?

CaliannG · #5 10/02/12, 10:07 PM

Not that I am aware of, Ford Zoo. The endophytes inhabit the fescue at a cellular level. It is an odd type of fungus that lives in a symbiotic relationship with it.

But it is not contagious. It doesn't "infect" stands. If fescue is sown from endophyte-free seed, that stand will be endophyte free, even if it cross-breeds with pollen from infected fescue. Years later, it will remain endophyte free.

Endophyte infected fescue will always bear endophyte infected seed. And endophyte-free fescue will always bear endophyte free seed. So if a hay farmer tests his stand ONCE and it is free, he need not test again.

If he tests and he has infected fescue, he needs to till it under and plant something that aggressively chokes out competitors for several years before attempting to plant fescue again.

exegeses · #6 10/02/12, 10:29 PM

Thanks for the heads up about the fescue, Caliann. I looked for some info on that (had not heard about it before) and found that "most tall fescue in Missouri is infected with endophytes" and I'm in MO. Considering it's grown so much around here, I'm sure I've gotten fescue hay before. Not killed my goats, but it would explain other things ...

The info I found on endophyte infected fescue was written from a cattle perspective, but I'm guessing a lot of it would hold true across the board. Apparently, sharp drops in cattle pregnancy rates are almost in direct proportion to the level of endophyte infection - maybe that would explain the low pregnancy rate in my herd last year!

The good news, though:
"Adding legumes to fescue pastures dilutes the effect of the endophyte toxin" - so #1 (mixed with clover & lespedeza) sounds good.
Also, endophyte toxins begin degrading as soon as hay is mowed. Sunshine on curing hay cuts toxins by one third.
And, "Half is gone in half a year. That's a rule of thumb for stored infected-fescue bales. Summer hay fed in January will be much less toxic." - so #1 is looking better & better.

Think I've made my choice ... thanks so very much! The more you know, the better decisions you can make.

(Quotes are from Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.)