# Doe won't eat Alfalfa pellets?



## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

I know that my does who are pregnant need to have alfalfa for the calcium so I bought a bag of alfalfa pellets for them last week. One of the girls won't have anything to do with them. I thought that maybe she wasn't eating them because the pellets were much bigger then the feed she's used to. So being the good goat mommy I am, I broke the pellets into smaller pieces. That didn't work. I also tried mixing it in with her goat chow. That didn't work either. What can I do to get her to eat it. I worry about her getting the calcium she needs with her kidding soon. I don't really want to buy a bale of alfalfa at the risk of her not eating that either. My other doe goes crazy for it. There's nothing wrong with it, it smells fresh.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

first thing......will she eat ...the normal grain without the Alfalfa pellets in it? 
Just wondering ...if she may be sick?



Sometimes.....some goats... just do not like the taste of certain grains/or pellets.....I have had some that have done it....no mater... if I put in... only a tiny bit ...with the grain they love.. they do not want it ....It can be frustrating.... :help:


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

Yes, I should've said she's eating her goat chow, hay and water just fine. She actually begs for her chow. What can I do to make sure she gets her calcium if she won't eat the pellets?


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## Thanatos (Mar 16, 2009)

Go to your feed store and ask if you can get a small ammount of alfalfa to see if your picky eater will eat it... even if she wont the other sure will, but I bet she will eat the alfalfa from a bail.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I have a doe who refuses to eat alfafa pellets - some dont like them.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> I have a doe who refuses to eat alfafa pellets - some dont like them.


 Some of mine don't either......it is an individual taste...... :wink: For those picky goats..... Alfalfa hay is the only option... I know of......unless someone else ...knows what else to give for calcium....and that all goats like...... :hug:


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

I gave her 1/2 cup and left it in her pen. She's slowly but reluctently eating them. It's been about 15 minutes and she's eaten most of them. I could buy a bale of alfalfa from my neighbor if she continues to not eat the pellets.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Sounds like she is starting on them......my does that don't like it ...will literally .....pick through the stuff they like ....and leave the stuff they don't... :help: ...but if she is eating some ...that is a good sign...... :wink: 

Buying a bale of Alfalfa... is a good idea ...if you can't get her to eat as much ...as you would like her to ....and maybe just give her a little of the Alfalfa hay to insure she is getting enough.........


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

she might eat them or she may never like them. Mine will eat them if everyone else is - its a case of "oh no I am missing out on something" :roll:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I was able to finally get the alfala pellets 2 months ago when my TSC started to carry them......before that to ensure adequate calcium in the diet I gave my mini does 2 TUMS tablets daily....they love the fruit flavor.


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

I tried giving them Tums a couple of weeks ago just to see if they'd eat one. Fat chance, they wouldn't touch them.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Wow...picky aren't they? :ROFL: 
If she has eaten the pellets though reluctantly I'd say she will acquire a taste for them, my girls did fine after the initial "shock"...I had 3 that would eat around them until I started adding just 1/4 cup grain to 1/2 cup alfalfa pellets...they realized that once the grain was gone they had no choice but to eat those little green things,. They all pretty much look forward to the handful they get now.


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

When she was eating I noticed that about half of them were falling out of her mouth :shrug: I don't know what that was about. It reminded me of when I was a kid and my parents would make me eat spinach :angry: I'd sit there chewing wishing I could let it slide right back out.

I'll give her another 1/2 cup in the morning and see how she does.


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## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

I'd just try some alfalfa hay, my goats go CRAZY over that stuff.  Some of them aren't too keen on the pellets though.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I use calcium lick blocks for mine ... think you can put limestone in their bail feed as well but dont quote me on that one ...


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## Amy Goatress (Oct 2, 2008)

I agree with Liz, we gave ours 2-3 tums daily, we gave them this amount because they're rumen is different than humans, when they were about to kid and after, our vet said it was okay to give them those, ours liked all flavors since they didn't like the calcium paste at all that you buy from TSC.


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

I feed pellets rather then hay. The goats waste so much alfalfa hay its not worth it. Its just really expensive bedding. Sometimes it takes quite awhile for them to get used to the pellets. You can try dumping some in her hay. Put they hay in her bin and then dump the alfalfa on top of it. Some fall down into the hay. My girls think its a treasure hunt, its fun to find a little extra in the orchard hay.
beth


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

She's been eating the pellets pretty well now. I had her penned up by herself, so once I let her in with the other goats she had to make sure they wouldn't eat her pellets :wink:


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

thats good, sometimes it just takes time to adjust to something new.
beth


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Very good! As Beth said, sometimes it takes a while to get used to new things...even when those thinbgs are good for them!


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