# Nigerians not eating hay



## jdjuergensen (Aug 2, 2016)

Newbie here I have 3 ND's that I just brought home about 2 weeks ago & I notice they're not really eating their hay I put out. The hay is orchard grass and it's the only hay I'm aware of that I can get around here. I read in the sticky above that a munis hound eat about 1/2 flake twice daily and my goats combined have probably only eaten maybe a flake or 2 between the 3 of them in 2 weeks! They do eat a lot of fresh grasses/leaves/sticker bushes during the day is that the reason why or do you think my hay is bad?!? @salteylove ????


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

My goats much prefer fresh greenery over hay. There's probably nothing wrong with your hay, they should start eating it a lot more in the fall and winter.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Are these adults or kids?

How much pasture/browse space are they on? Acres?

Is the hay green, fragrant, and soft or is it yellow and coarse?

As Suzanne said, goats will almost always choose browsing and grazing over hay, so if they are getting plenty to eat that way, they may not need the hay until the grazing season is over! Do you see their rumens on the left sides expand and contract different times throughout the day? And do you ever see them laying down and chewing cud?


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## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

My goats actually really dislike orchard grass it seems. They love timothy though! IDK why, but they will not touch orchard grass!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

^^My goats won't eat anything except alfalfa.


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## Harriet_and_Hens (Apr 26, 2015)

My Nigerians are being pretty picky as well! My mix is orchard/ clover mix, but they pick out like 10 tiny pieces and then leave the rest there. I just keep adding new hay to the bag, and then about every 2-3 days I have to empty out the old hay and put in new stuff in to get them to eat it. It does concern me because they don't have much of a 'hay belly' at all by the end of the day, or in the morning (from over night hay eating). 

I recently posted about my FF yelling..... a lot. She stands on a big rock and yells.. and yells.... and yells. I think it might be the hay? But like you, I don't know what else is even available around here. I have been giving her Alfalfa chopped hay (bought at TSC) in addition to the regular hay and she does love that, but it hasn't helped with the crying.

For your sanity and your neighbors, I hope you don't get a screamer :GAAH:


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## jdjuergensen (Aug 2, 2016)

SalteyLove said:


> Are these adults or kids?
> 
> How much pasture/browse space are they on? Acres?
> 
> ...


So it's a 3 year old doe and 2 kids. It's funny, now that you mention the rumens expanding and contracting I don't notice it at all on the kids but I do on the doe. I almost never see them chewing cud. Maybe only once or twice in 2 weeks. I let them out for hours throughout our property to eat (they have an acre fenced for them but 8 more to roam) so I see them eating a lot (just not hay). Hopefully come wintertime they change their tune to the hay since there won't be so much other stuff to eat! I have to take a pic of the hay...it's definitely not green but more yellow and coarse.


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## jdjuergensen (Aug 2, 2016)

Harriet_and_Hens said:


> My Nigerians are being pretty picky as well! My mix is orchard/ clover mix, but they pick out like 10 tiny pieces and then leave the rest there. I just keep adding new hay to the bag, and then about every 2-3 days I have to empty out the old hay and put in new stuff in to get them to eat it. It does concern me because they don't have much of a 'hay belly' at all by the end of the day, or in the morning (from over night hay eating).
> 
> I recently posted about my FF yelling..... a lot. She stands on a big rock and yells.. and yells.... and yells. I think it might be the hay? But like you, I don't know what else is even available around here. I have been giving her Alfalfa chopped hay (bought at TSC) in addition to the regular hay and she does love that, but it hasn't helped with the crying.
> 
> For your sanity and your neighbors, I hope you don't get a screamer :GAAH:


Yes! When I give hay they pick like a few pieces that have what looks like a little "wheat" top and then they leave the rest! I also never see them drink water. Goats are definitely not like my dog when it comes to feeding lol!


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

When you open a good bale of hay, the goats should be excited and be grabbing large mouthfuls. I can't even make it to the hay rack without them taking a bite!

Depending on your area, the best places to look for hay is on Craigslist or on your local agricultural groups on Facebook (for instance, we have "Connecticut Swap & Sell Agricultural" here, that's just one example). 

If at all possible, if you find a good source of 2nd cut hay, you should buy enough for a whole year. If the hay is advertised as cow hay, don't buy it. If it is advertised as horse hay, check it out, and don't even both mentioning you are feeding goats. Most hay farmers have very little understanding of what goats like. First cut is edible but just too coarse in most parts of the country. Bales may lose color/turn yellow on the outside due to sun exposure but when you cut one open, it should definitely have a green hue and sweet fragrance.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Very good advice.


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## jdjuergensen (Aug 2, 2016)

Thanks guys! Will definitely look into other local hay...in a side note just stumbled upon 2 of the goats chewing cud So much to learn!


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

My nigies eat their hay first, then pasture. I buy locally grown alfalfa. Hubs and I thought this time it didn't look as good, but there is hardly any waste, they love it.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

One reason goats might not eat their hay is if it's on the ground. They need to have it in some kind of manger or feeder. Feeding them anything on the ground also causes them to get more worms.


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