Hay opinions

[2happymamas]

If you were going to buy hay for your goats, which would you select? Our goats will be dry lotted and will have grain.

Here is the link

I posted something previously about what kind of hay to get and it seemed that a grass hay would be better than a grass/orchard or grass/alfalfa mix. I have limited storage and have only purchased three goats. Two are mini-nubian FFs and one mini-nubian wether.

[Backfourty,MI.]

I like the alfalfa/ grass hay mix for my goats usually but once in awhile if were waiting on 2nd cutting we get just grass hay to hold us through.

I'm like the hay Nazi here so I wouldn't hesitate to go to each place & check out their hay before buying (if they aren't too far away). I've actually been known to buy a few bales, take them home & see how they are before buying a large quantity.

[Crazy Farmgirl]

If your girls are in milk I'd get hay with alfalfa in it or and orchard grass mix. If they are dry then a decent grass mix will be fine, the alfalfa or orchard grass mix would still be ok, just don't need tons of alfalfa. I generally feed the 1st cutting stuff to the dry does and bucks and then the 2nd or better stuff tot he girl in milk and the young growing ones.

The better quality hay the less grain you will have to feed to maintain condition. If they are dry I would skip the grain all together and go with a good quality hay. No grain for the wether, you don't want the problems that can come with that.

[Hollowdweller]

I generally like orchard grass for the dry period, alfalfa during peak lactation and alf orchard most other times.

[motdaugrnds]

I'm partial to orchard grass; however, a good rye cut in milk stage is excellent as well. And of course, as others have mentioned, a quality alfalfa is always a plus.

My herd is as small as yours, though our loft (storage area) is quite large (14' x 18' I believe). I like to plan on a harsh winter though we mostly have mild ones here. My motto is better too much than too little. (A few bales of each type you chose is what I would go with rather than "mixed" bales.)