What I would like to know is can hay be shredded for goats to eat like it is by some cattlemen for their cows? I you think this would be ok I would be using a chipper shredder. I am planing on getting one anyway as I want to shred up the branches from trees that I cut. I only want one that will do maybe 1 1/2 inch as anything bigger I will use to start my winter fires in my wood stove. I see no need to chip or shred 3 inch diameter wood as it would work fine in my stove not for my overnight logs but would be just right for during the day when I can throw one on whenever I need to. I don't plan on shredding the hay to a powder but just to have it in smaller piece and I wonder too if that might set it up to where they won't waste so much. Thanx for your replies. gail in missouri

-- gail missouri ozarks (gefozarks@centurytel.net), March 30, 2002

Answers

Build a hay saver and use regular hay and save yourself some time (and FOSSIL FUELS!). A hay saver is basically a net (wire, like 2 by 4 mesh or slats or something that is set high for the goats to get the browse effect of eating) with a catch tray made of wood or plastic (I use plastic truck gasoline tanks with the tops cut off as my trays). Dropped hay lands in the tray and is then eaten withou it having been on the ground. Goats- and this works on horses, too- pull the hay through the slats or wire and it is their preferred way of eating bc goats are browsers>.

-- -Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), March 30, 2002.

Unless you are really watching the nutrition mix for critters, long stems is usually better for them. Don't waste the energy to shread alfalfa.

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), March 31, 2002.

For the absolute least waste hayfeeder, check out www.horsepasture.homestead.com. The feeder is expensive but any homesteader worth his salt should be able to figure out a cheaper, homemade alternative. They even give you suggestions in their website on how to build your own box and then they will sell you a grate. My husband built two for us using scrap lumber and leftover rebar to make the grate, mounting it in a rectangle of 2 x 4s. I've had so little waste hay this year that I had to come up with straw, leaves and grass clippings to bed our goats this winter. Seriously, I cut our hay use in half with this feeder. There is no danger of an animal having its head in a keyhole and then being butted by another. There are no dangling ropes or nets for an animal to hang itself in. I do recommend a lid of some sort because the goats will stand in it otherwise. Our lid is hinged on one side so it's out of the way for filling.

-- suzie (nospam@myhouse.net), March 31, 2002.

No matter how or what forage you feed them pay close attention to their rumination time if you plan on decreasing forage particle size. Effective fiber is essential to rumen health.

-- dewey (longuski@pilot.msu.edu), March 31, 2002.

Hi Gail,

I tried that, the little darn wasteful creatures were killing me! It didn't help. Alfalfa hay would shatter and the nutritious leaves would drop out as dusty fines, which the goats would rather starve than touch. They weren't too excited about the leaf-free stems that were left either. There was a great deal of waste generated with the grass hay, too. My best deal so far is to get the best hay I can find, pay whatever they want for it, feed it, and leave it in the keyhole feeder until it's gone. I buy a perfectly-put-up early first cutting alfalfa, very leafy, big soft stems, moist enough to hang together, but not moist enough to mold. I get no waste with this plan.

I've done the very fine third cutting alfalfa thing, too, but those fine stems are very wiry and hard, and milk production drops off severely if I leave them in the feeder until my girls give in and eat them.

The other hay I can get away with is a second cutting or later orchardgrass, or orchardgrass-alfalfa mix, again, very well-put-up. Soft, fragrant and leafy. Again, no waste, but the grass doesn't give milk as rich as the alfalfa does, so they will get that in very late lactation and when they're dry, around a two-month period, total. That feeder the poster above mentioned looked like a great idea. I'm going to try to build one probably later this summer. Good luck, Gail!

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), April 01, 2002.