# Feeding Alfalfa Exclusively?



## KristiStone

Is there any issue with feeding alfalfa exclusively? I heard somewhere that alfalfa is too rich and would cause liver issues in goats. I am aware of the issues with feeding too much alfalfa to male goats because of urinary calculi, but I'm not able to confirm anything regarding the liver. Has anyone else heard this? If so, is there some information online that you can refer me to that speaks to this?


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## ksalvagno

Many people just feed alfalfa.


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## fivemoremiles

This is a hot topic
So I will put my opinion out on the chopping block
First lets define alfalfa. There are thee grades of alfalfa in my book. They are under 16% protein, 16%-20% protein and20% and higher. I feel that you can feed the under 16% hay with no worries because, to get that low of protein there is a good amount of grass in the bail.

The rest of my post is for 16%+ protein alfalfa.

Whin feeding alfalfa to goats the rule of moderation is applicable
I think every one will agree that feeding alfalfa 365 days a year is going to cause problems.
But feeding alfalfa during times of high stress like cold or drought won't cause you problems
Also feeding your pregnant goats alfalfa the last month of there pregnancy is very appropriate
Depending on the doe's body condition it may be appropriate to feed alfalfa during lactation.


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## nancy d

We feed 3rd cut year round to everyone including buck.


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## ariella42

I know several breeders who feed high-quality alfalfa exclusively to all of their goats with no issues. I believe that the issue with alfalfa and urinary calculi is that it could potentially throw off the calcium: phosphorus ratio. However, if you adjust their diet to account for alfalfa, it wouldn't necessarily be an issue. We feed an orchard/alfalfa mix just because straight alfalfa is a bit too pricey for us.


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## toth boer goats

I feed Alfalfa to all my goats, the bucks get ammonium chloride as well. Never had an issue with any of my goats feeding Alfalfa, no matter the cut. 
If it is richer, more leafy or fresh I cut back and give less. Remember fresh cut and baled Alfalfa hay is very rich and should be stored for a while before feeding or fed in smaller amounts until it ages a little while.


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## KW Farms

fivemoremiles said:


> I think every one will agree that feeding alfalfa 365 days a year is going to cause problems.


I totally disagree. I feed alfalfa to my bucks, does, and kids year round. I don't feed any grass hay. My pens are mostly dry lot though there are some weeds and a little grass sometimes during the summer. They have access to alfalfa pretty much 24/7. I've been doing this for years with no issues whatsoever apart from two instances of bloat which was from a very rich, fresh first cutting one year.

I never grain my bucks and only grain does in milk or with kids if needed. Only kids get grained regularly. I also always keep a good mineral available.


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## LibertyHomesteadFarm

KW Farms said:


> I totally disagree. I feed alfalfa to my bucks, does, and kids year round. I don't feed any grass hay. My pens are mostly dry lot though there are some weeds and a little grass sometimes during the summer. They have access to alfalfa pretty much 24/7. I've been doing this for years with no issues whatsoever apart from two instances of bloat which was from a very rich, fresh first cutting one year.
> 
> I never grain my bucks and only grain does in milk or with kids if needed. Only kids get grained regularly. I also always keep a good mineral available.


I totally agree with KW. This^^^is what I do (I use Chaffhaye alfalfa-20-22% protein) except I have my goats on pasture in the summer as well.


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## KristiStone

Thanks everyone! I had no idea that this was a hot topic, but y'all seem to be handling it in a very friendly manner. I appreciate that. 



fivemoremiles said:


> This is a hot topic
> So I will put my opinion out on the chopping block
> First lets define alfalfa. There are thee grades of alfalfa in my book. They are under 16% protein, 16%-20% protein and20% and higher. I feel that you can feed the under 16% hay with no worries because, to get that low of protein there is a good amount of grass in the bail.
> 
> The rest of my post is for 16%+ protein alfalfa.
> 
> Whin feeding alfalfa to goats the rule of moderation is applicable
> I think every one will agree that feeding alfalfa 365 days a year is going to cause problems.
> But feeding alfalfa during times of high stress like cold or drought won't cause you problems
> Also feeding your pregnant goats alfalfa the last month of there pregnancy is very appropriate
> Depending on the doe's body condition it may be appropriate to feed alfalfa during lactation.


Hey fivemoremiles---you make a great point about there being a few different types of alfalfa. At the feed store where I get my alfalfa, I'm told that they don't offer the richest quality stuff to their patrons, but rather, that all the rich alfalfa in the area goes to the dairies around the area (we have a lot of them). In thinking about this, I'm guessing that we get 2nd cutting and after, which would perhaps leave us with somewhere around 18% protein and under throughout the year if I keep shopping with this feed store.

My thinking is this, and y'all can correct me if I'm wrong--would feeding only alfalfa thorughout the year in its varying degrees of richness/protein level perhaps level out their whole nutrition? I'm totally a novice here trying to think this through here.


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## KristiStone

nancy d said:


> We feed 3rd cut year round to everyone including buck.


I wish I could ask for that exclusively. My guess is that you are storing it for the whole year, nancy? I didn't realize that it would keep like that, plus I'd be concerned about the rain (we can't store a bunch indoors here). Can you tell me more about how you are ensuring the feeding of 3rd cutting year round (if I have it wrong, that is).


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## KristiStone

ariella42 said:


> I know several breeders who feed high-quality alfalfa exclusively to all of their goats with no issues. I believe that the issue with alfalfa and urinary calculi is that it could potentially throw off the calcium: phosphorus ratio. However, if you adjust their diet to account for alfalfa, it wouldn't necessarily be an issue. We feed an orchard/alfalfa mix just because straight alfalfa is a bit too pricey for us.


That's a great idea. I'm going to check the price of orchard grass and see if that might be something I might like to do.


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## grindylo

This topic is something I've been wondering about as well. I've seen it mentioned on general feeding posts but not really just about alfalfa.

It was my understanding that alfalfa was good to balance out the Ca ratio when feeding grain, since grain generally has a lot more phosphorus. I thought that 2(or greater):1 was the ideal and that the danger was too much phosphorus rather than too much calcium. Was I wrong?
How is it that the alfalfa would throw off the balance?

It seems like when talking about alfalfa you all are referring to the hay. What about when using pellets? Are they pretty good or do you consider them too rich?

For those of you who don't feed grain except to does in milk or kids: do you only feed hay and browse? No pellets of any kind? At what point do you consider a kid to be grown enough to not need the extra?


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## nancy d

KristiStone said:


> I wish I could ask for that exclusively. My guess is that you are storing it for the whole year, nancy? I didn't realize that it would keep like that, plus I'd be concerned about the rain (we can't store a bunch indoors here). Can you tell me more about how you are ensuring the feeding of 3rd cutting year round (if I have it wrong, that is).


 If it is cured & stored properly hay can last a couple of years.
We don't have much storage pace either. My supplier has 3rd cut available almost all the time. If he doesn't I just buy 2nd but it's only for about a month out of the year.;-)


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## KristiStone

nancy d said:


> If it is cured & stored properly hay can last a couple of years.
> We don't have much storage pace either. My supplier has 3rd cut available almost all the time. If he doesn't I just buy 2nd but it's only for about a month out of the year.;-)


Ahh ok I see. I guess it might be hard to store in Seattle for the whole year. I find it hard to keep hay completely dry and I'm in California! We have been having some icky humidity lately.


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## KristiStone

grindylo said:


> It seems like when talking about alfalfa you all are referring to the hay. What about when using pellets? Are they pretty good or do you consider them too rich?
> 
> For those of you who don't feed grain except to does in milk or kids: do you only feed hay and browse? No pellets of any kind? At what point do you consider a kid to be grown enough to not need the extra?


I'd like to know this too. My guess is that pellets' protein levels are much more able to be controlled and are likely something in between the richest and least nutrient-rich cuttings, but that's just me thinking--nothing to back that up. I'm curious as to whether I'm right, though. It seems like pellets would be such an easy way to control the richness factor.

I don't feed grain either, so I'm interested in your questions as well.


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## nancy d

Gahh my post didn't go through.

We raise Boers, a dairy herd would be fed differently.

Everyone gets a 17% protein pelleted grain along with free choice alfalfa.
Including the buck.
Does do not get grain until the day of kidding & through out lactation. Kids get it as long as 8 or 9 months, depending on how they are developing.

We also do what is called flushing; feeding grain shortly before breeding for a few weeks then gradually cutting it out a week or so after coverage.

They are basically on dry lot. Our program works for us, other Boer or meat breeders probably do it differently.


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## Jessica84

Everyone does things different and it also depends on your goats. I only feed alfalfa about a month before they are due to kid to weaning, basically It would kill me money wise if I fed it all year long lol my goats do fine on oat/wheat or what not while they are dry.....and that when I have to feed them because there isn't any brush weeds grass whatever close by for them to eat. Now I do have 2 girls that didn't take on breeding, I'm can't just put those two away from the moms and feed separate so they got alfalfa while being open and dry. I am very much on the line of being worried about their weight lol so this is another reason to add to not feeding alfalfa all year long lol


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