 |
04/05/05, 10:08 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Stuart, VA
Posts: 312
|
|
|
Moldy Hay
Ok....I know that you aren't supposed to feed your goats moldy hay, but I have a few questions.
Is it moldy if when you pull it apart its dusty? I don't see any mold growing on it but I think I have one bad bale.
Next question....can I feed it to them if I get desperate? What might happen to them? I ask because I have 2.5 bales left!! and there won't be new hay for almost a month! 2.5 would get me through but 1.5 won't.
I started incorporating alfalfa pellets slowly into their diet last week. I figured that that would help me get through. Any other ideas? I am still looking for hay and have a couple of leads.
__________________
"If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are."
|
04/05/05, 10:29 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 567
|
|
|
[QUOTE=Croenan]Ok....I know that you aren't supposed to feed your goats moldy hay, but I have a few questions.
Is it moldy if when you pull it apart its dusty? I don't see any mold growing on it but I think I have one bad bale.
Next question....can I feed it to them if I get desperate? What might happen to them? QUOTE]
They could get really sick and possibly die.
It would be worth $10 a bale or more just too eliminate a more expensive outcome.
I have had dusty hay. The type of mold that I find here is an orangish color. It was easy to distinguish it from the actual hay.
The dust that flies when you pull it apart is different. There shouldn't be alot of dust but the mold made more of a cloudy appearance than the hay dust did.
That's just how it is here. I'm sure it could be very different in other climates.
Glad you asked!
__________________
"To everything there is a season"
|
04/06/05, 12:17 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Washington
Posts: 2,832
|
|
|
Does the dust smell "mushroomey" or moldy? The mold I get is black and powdery, but it does have a definite mushroom smell. The dusty bales I get occasionally just smell dusty.
Dusty hay will make your goats sneeze, but that's about it. Moldy hay can give them listeria - usually by the time they show symptoms, they're pretty close to death.
To get you through, can you watch them as they graze your lawn? Any weed patches around your area you can put a temporary electric fence around for the goats? Do you have any hedges getting out of bounds or light pruning the goats can help you with? Goats are also really good at eating up the last of the saved over vegetables - soft winter squash, iffy apples, and withered cabbages regularly make their way into my goat's diet.
|
04/06/05, 09:37 AM
|
 |
(formerly Laura Jensen)
|
|
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lynnwood, Washington
Posts: 2,379
|
|
|
I don't feed dusty or moldy hay, period. The risk is just too great. Not only can the goats get sick, if you're milking them, you can get sick too. And not just a little sick. Look up Listeriosis. If that doesn't scare the pants off you, nothing will. I mean, I really like my brain just the way it is, thanks!
__________________
www.glimmercroft.com
The basic message of liberalism is simply: The true measure of a society is how it treats the weak and the needy. A simple Christian message (Matthew 25:40). -Garrison Keillor
|
04/06/05, 11:58 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 2,308
|
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Laura Jensen
I don't feed dusty or moldy hay, period. The risk is just too great. Not only can the goats get sick, if you're milking them, you can get sick too. And not just a little sick. Look up Listeriosis. If that doesn't scare the pants off you, nothing will. I mean, I really like my brain just the way it is, thanks!
|
I don't even give it to my chickens to scratch around in...it goes directly to the compost pile!
__________________
WENDY
 Ever wonder why your pits don't smell until your near someone cute?
|
04/06/05, 02:34 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Stuart, VA
Posts: 312
|
|
|
Ok..Ok...they starve before they get moldy hay! I heard of some people putting it in the goat houses for them to lay on....but wouldn't that be about as bad as them eating it? I did feed them one slab, but it was after they had already eaten grain and alfalfa, so they didn't eat much of it. Hopefully they will be ok. At least if it was moldy..it wasn't very bad.
Sigh...I'd pay 10$ a bale if I could find any.
__________________
"If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are."
|
04/06/05, 04:37 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Indiana
Posts: 248
|
|
|
If you're out of hay why not just feed alfalfa pellets from the feed store?
|
04/06/05, 06:54 PM
|
|
(formerly Laura Jensen)
|
|
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lynnwood, Washington
Posts: 2,379
|
|
|
Yeah, I've heard of people using moldy hay for bedding and winding up with dead goats. Are there any feed stores in your area? They generally have non-moldy hay. Or maybe a dairy farmer will sell you a bale or two?
__________________
www.glimmercroft.com
The basic message of liberalism is simply: The true measure of a society is how it treats the weak and the needy. A simple Christian message (Matthew 25:40). -Garrison Keillor
|
04/06/05, 10:25 PM
|
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 5,662
|
|
|
Go to the feed store -- buy alfalfa pellets for them to eat, and a bale of shavings for bedding. That's what I've had to do, after most of the two tons of hay I bought a few months ago turned out to be moldy. It isn't good for anything but compost -- thankfully, we needed compost, but this is an expensive way to get it!
Kathleen
|
04/06/05, 10:32 PM
|
 |
Homegrown Family
|
|
Join Date: May 2004
Location: N.Ar
Posts: 747
|
|
|
if you dont want to start out buying a wholenew herd, toss the hay to the strawberries, dont use it for bedding
mold is serious !!!!!
its to the poin wherethe man i buy hay from is used to me now, even though i buy hay from him all year i always check the bales, he understands, of course it helps that his wife buys veggiesfrom me , but still
its a big deal , tkae it serious, if you cant find hay, then buy the pellets, its worth the extra to not have to worry about sick/dead goats .
period
sorry, but i agree, theres no wiggle room on this one
__________________
Good timber does not grow with ease,
the stronger the wind the stronger the trees.
|
| Thread Tools |
|
|
| Rate This Thread |
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:09 PM.
|
|
