Grass Hay Cost in Your Area and What you Does eat?

Tango · #1 02/10/14, 06:04 PM

Would love a refresher course on how much does eat per week over winter when they are not getting grain or browse. I can get sq. bales and small round bales (4x4) here of good mixed grass hay and will prob get some of both but can't remember how much my goats used to eat. Say avg. size yearlings that are bred to kid in spring? Tryiing to figure how much to put away for winter hay. Used to be that bred does only got hay so that is what I'm going by. Please correct e if this is not the way it is done now. And while we're at it, anyone feed bamboo over winter? Thanks

Alice In TX/MO · #2 02/10/14, 06:38 PM

Winter like this one, they need some grain or other feed, as well as good grass hay.

I'm milking five does, have a wether and a dry doe in the pen, too. Going through a bale a week, plus the milkers get feed on the milk stand.

punchiepal · #3 02/10/14, 07:30 PM

Bale sizes vary soooo much I started going by pounds.

For standard sized goats, I always purchased 5.2* pounds of hay per day per 100 pounds of goat needing to be fed X the number of days needed to feed them.
For me, 5 goats @ 100# each would need to be fed approx Nov 1 to May 31 (212 days) so I would figure like this 5x5.2x212=5512# needed for the winter.

Then ask for the weight per bale and divide that number to figure what you need to buy.

* = 4.5# per 100# goat + 20% waste

LomahAcres · #4 02/11/14, 12:40 AM

When I'm trying to figure out hay for the winter, I estimate 5lbs of hay per head a day. Better to have extra then not enough.

Right now my herd of 20 (mostly nubians) eats about 80lbs of alfalfa a day with it being cold and the pasture under snow. All does are dry right now, but most due to drop soon. 5 doelings and 2 bucklings from last summer - they don't eat as much - maybe 2-3lbs a day each, and 1 tiny nigie buck. I grain - growing kids, does due to kid starting at 60 days till due, and bucks through the winter. So right now just about everything except a few does still more then 2 months out and the wethers.

I can get an ok bale of alfalfa at 50-60lbs for around $5-$6. Or a nice 60-70lb bale for about $8-$9. Brome hay is about $5-$6 for a real nice 60-70lb bale, but I only feed that to the rabbits. I don't mess with round bales because I don't have a place to store them out of the weather, plus small squares just work better for me.

In comparison, when the pasture comes in and through the summer, we'll drop down to about 50lbs of alfalfa a day.

Tango · #5 02/11/14, 06:41 AM

Thanks Alice, that is right in the ballpark for my herd size this winter

Punchiepal thanks for the weight info. Lomah Acres those are good alfalfa prices. I haven't priced alfalfa hay here this year but it is usually trucked in and more expensive and a lot of it is wasted so I used to give alfalfa pellets when the cows were in milk. I will figure a 4x4 roll of good grass hay every 3 weeks for 16 weeks. That should leave plenty of wiggle room and since I can only bring in 2 rolls a time I won't be storing any for a year. Maybe I can get a shelter and bring in a 4 x 5 roll, that will go a long time.
For grain, will need to scout the area for a mill. The Co op and TSC are the only choices here. Coop uses ethoxiquin in most of their feeds

TSC is great to have for just about everything and it is very close but for dairy animals I am a bit of a picky consumer. Thanks ya'll.

crazy4equines · #6 02/12/14, 09:41 PM

I feed a 40-50 pound bale of alfalfa/grass mix hay per day for 5 dairy goats. They also get 6 pounds of a complete feed grain 2 times a day. Free choice salt and minerals.

CAjerseychick · #7 02/12/14, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazy4equines

I feed a 40-50 pound bale of alfalfa/grass mix hay per day for 5 dairy goats. They also get 6 pounds of a complete feed grain 2 times a day. Free choice salt and minerals.

Wow now I am worried if I am underfeeding my 6-- 1 5month old dwarf buckling 2 mini Toggs (there are in between the dwarf and my standards in size) 3 small Oberhaslis-- we buy/ feed a 100- 120 lb bale of alfalfa a WEEK... the 2 yr old milking doe gets grain on the stand, the others get free fed a little grain maybe a couple pounds a few times a week (when i am home to feed, otherwise its my 11yr old who does the milking and feeds the one doe on the stand)...
they have about 2 acres to roam and its alittle greener now with the rain we have been having...

where I want to · #8 02/12/14, 10:07 PM

My girls are fatties on 4 lb of grass hay morning and night for the three of them. They waste some too. They get no grain of any kind but did get some when they were very late pregnancy and during milk but even then it was about 1/2 cup.

I forgot to mention that I weigh each feeding so that is a precise figure.

I also see I forgot to mention I pay $360 a ton for my last load of hay.

Wendy · #9 02/12/14, 11:16 PM

I feed about a 60 lb bale a day for 10 goats, 1 llama, & 3 alpacas. They also get grain every evening & on the milk stand. I throw more if I see they are cleaning it up. If they have hay in the manger I only give them a bale so they don't waste too much.

crazy4equines · #10 02/15/14, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

Wow now I am worried if I am underfeeding my 6-- 1 5month old dwarf buckling 2 mini Toggs (there are in between the dwarf and my standards in size) 3 small Oberhaslis-- we buy/ feed a 100- 120 lb bale of alfalfa a WEEK... the 2 yr old milking doe gets grain on the stand, the others get free fed a little grain maybe a couple pounds a few times a week (when i am home to feed, otherwise its my 11yr old who does the milking and feeds the one doe on the stand)...
they have about 2 acres to roam and its alittle greener now with the rain we have been having...

I have 5 Oberhasli Does, 1 is only3 months old. I am not milking anyone and as far as grain I feed a complete horse feed mix to the goats that is suppose to have the roughage included in, My goats also get a supplement as well. We have nothing that is green in their pastures and we have about a foot of snow on the ground and it is still in the negative digits here as far as the temp, so my goats/horses need more hay to help keep them warm. My goats are not obese or skinny they are just right, lol. So I don't think you are over feeding we just have different outdoor circumstances.

Forgot to add, I only pay $1.50 a bale from my very awesome hay guy that I have had for a very long time. but my round bales for the horses cost me $60 per round and they weigh around 90 pounds. I can't wait for spring to get here.

Backfourty,MI. · #11 02/15/14, 11:50 AM

Going through more hay here this year because of the extreme cold & making sure everyone has Hay every where 24/7.

Normally we can get by easily with about 125 square bales a year for about 10-12 goats on an average year.
During the growing season when they have a lot of pasture I still make sure they have hay in their feeders although they don't eat much of it at that time of year.

CAjerseychick · #12 02/15/14, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazy4equines

I have 5 Oberhasli Does, 1 is only3 months old. I am not milking anyone and as far as grain I feed a complete horse feed mix to the goats that is suppose to have the roughage included in, My goats also get a supplement as well. We have nothing that is green in their pastures and we have about a foot of snow on the ground and it is still in the negative digits here as far as the temp, so my goats/horses need more hay to help keep them warm. My goats are not obese or skinny they are just right, lol. So I don't think you are over feeding we just have different outdoor circumstances.

Forgot to add, I only pay $1.50 a bale from my very awesome hay guy that I have had for a very long time. but my round bales for the horses cost me $60 per round and they weigh around 90 pounds. I can't wait for spring to get here.

Wow I still confused on the hay bales thing... I was worrying cause we pay anywhere from $19(local feedstore) to $16 (feedstore thats 30 miles away but its enroute home from my city job- they have"heavy bales)--

but thats for straight alfalfa (ours browse and get all the roughage they need, but its low nutrition, and they dont get grain regularily, except for the milking doe)-- and the bales are 90 to 130 lbs--
sheesh that is a relief to know we are in line with what others are paying...

also goat vet (she has 60 pygmies she breeds and shows) came out yesterday and said that a bale should last me 8 days given what I am feeding/ browse etc....

so yeah I feel relieved....

Its so interesting to see what everybody is feeding, etc...

where I want to · #13 02/15/14, 12:26 PM

Not having the ability to store large round bales here due to damp weather, I'm not sure but I wonder if the 90 lb round bale mentioned above is a typo. A 90 lb round would be the size of, well, a square bale. Also I'm unsure if a square bale is a rectangular bale or one of those huge 4' square things I've occasionally seen.
Around here we generally have 2 string (90 lbish) and 3 string (110 to 130 lb) bales.
That's why I like per ton measures. It at least eliminates that confusion.

Tango · #14 02/15/14, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

Wow I still confused on the hay bales thing... I was worrying cause we pay anywhere from $19(local feedstore) to $16 (feedstore thats 30 miles away but its enroute home from my city job- they have"heavy bales)--

but thats for straight alfalfa (ours browse and get all the roughage they need, but its low nutrition, and they dont get grain regularily, except for the milking doe)-- and the bales are 90 to 130 lbs--
sheesh that is a relief to know we are in line with what others are paying...

also goat vet (she has 60 pygmies she breeds and shows) came out yesterday and said that a bale should last me 8 days given what I am feeding/ browse etc....

so yeah I feel relieved....

Its so interesting to see what everybody is feeding, etc...

has been helpful for me too

PricklyThistle · #15 02/15/14, 12:39 PM

I had two round bales delivered for the winter and I'll probably never do that again as much of it was unusable due to mold on the outside layer. That did not get 9 animals (5 goats and four sheep) through the winter since I had to throw so much away. Now getting square bales of grass hay and using about one per day plus alfalfa pellets twice daily and grain for the goats once daily.

SJSFarm · #16 02/15/14, 12:43 PM

Where I Want To, I lived out in N CA, and I'm so used to those sizes. Hay was also sold by the ton. Here in NY is by the bale and the size can vary so widely its insane!
I've paid $3 for 40lb and 50lb bales; $5 for 40 & 50lbs and $2 for 40lbs!

The last was from a friends farmer friend and that's where I'll be buying; they are the best looking and smelling hay I've seen since I've been here! And the goats LOVE it!

I even had one guy call his hay 100% alfalfa, and I would have been embarrassed to call it 'grassy alfalfa!' He wanted $7 a bale for 40 lb bales.

where I want to · #17 02/15/14, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJSFarm

I even had one guy call his hay 100% alfalfa, and I would have been embarrassed to call it 'grassy alfalfa!' He wanted $7 a bale for 40 lb bales.

Funny - I just bought a ton of grass/alfalfa (supposedly 30% alfalfa) and have yet to see a single bit of alfalfa in it. Which is fine with me as alfalfa is easy to come by while grass is not and is more expensive.
The vagarities of hay sales.

CAjerseychick · #18 02/15/14, 02:03 PM

Mine wont eat grass hay even the lovely green sweet smelling meadow grass stuff, they only eat alfalfa and I got tired of the waste...

crazy4equines · #19 02/15/14, 07:27 PM

Yeah I meant my round bales are around 900 pounds not 90 pounds. I don't feed the rounds to the goats, just the horses. You have to be careful on the rounds you want to make sure they have been stored indoors until at least November otherwise they will mold.

Tango · #20 02/16/14, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazy4equines

Yeah I meant my round bales are around 900 pounds not 90 pounds. I don't feed the rounds to the goats, just the horses. You have to be careful on the rounds you want to make sure they have been stored indoors until at least November otherwise they will mold.

Here in south TN they are often stored uncovered outside year round. If the grass was baled at the right time, the mold is only on the outside layer and can be peeled off. The inside will be fine. I wonder if there are round bale feeders for goats? Otherwise they'd waste the whole roll playing on it

I knew someone who built her own and one of her does strangled on the lines she used to hold it in place. Round bales would save a lot of work and money but only if they can be used safely.