# Hay Waste and Timothy Pellets



## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

My two laddies, George the Nigerian buck and Artie the boer wether, are horrible hay wasters. I mean, I know goats waste hay, it is just part of life. But these boys REALLY waste hay. Almost half of what they get ends up out of their feeder and on the ground, where it obviously goes uneaten. My girls Yoko and Suzie get hay in the same manner, and they waste a small fraction (Suzie will even eat clean hay off the ground, which none of the others do). 

It seems that the boys just pull out huge hunks of hay from their feeder and drop most of it. It is kind of frustrating, because soon after they get their hay, they're looking at me hungrily when the feeder is empty. Of course, there is a huge pile of waste on the ground. Funny enough, if I scoop up that waste and plop it back in the feeder, they are happy again. No, it isn't poopy or urinated on when I do that, since it is clean under the feeder and I'd only given them the hay not an hour before. 

What can I do to reduce their waste? I want more going into their bellies and less on the ground. The hay isn't stemmy and icky, they eat it with gusto. I can give the girls all they want to eat, but I break up what I give to the boys into 'meals' so they don't dump it all in the ground and go hungry all day. 

I am thinking of adding some timothy grass hay pellets into the diet of the boys. How much can I give them? They will still get actual hay, they need it for a healthy rumen. But at least with pellets they don't/can't dump them. How much can I feed them, of timothy pellets? Does timothy in pellet form have the potential to cause bloat, like alfalfa pellets can (that is what my vet told me, she sees more cases of frothy bloat from alfalfa pellets than actual pasture forage)?

Or should I use hay stretcher instead? Isn't that what it's purpose kind of is?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What does your feeder look like? Could you put 2x4 fencing inside it so they couldn't pull out large wads?

Just make sure your boys total diet (hay, pasture/forage, feed/grain) is a minimum of 2:1 Calcium to Phosphorus as far as adding the timothy pellets.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Ksalvagno made a great suggestion.
I know what you mean, the girls waste plenty but the wether REALLY does a number on it. His feeder is 2x4' spaces but he stands with front feet on the top rung pulling out hunks.


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## Tlambert95 (Oct 16, 2012)

I use the timothy pellets. It took a couple of times for them to come around to them but now they consume them like maniacs. I have had no problems with the pellets for my goats but they do still get free access to hay and are fed feed twice daily. The idea of the 2x4 fence in the hay feeder does sound like a good idea.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

We have started using hay nets and they have helped with waste. We only use them outside so they won't get tangled overnight, so far so good!


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## KarmakeeFarm (Jun 3, 2012)

I use 1/2 of a 55 gallon barel with 2x4 inch fencing inside the feeding hole-this has dratiscally reduced the waste-except for Wild the Alpine-that girl! i am going to have to put a cover on hers as she eat from the top too!


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

If you only have the 2 boys and they get along really well maybe look at keyhole feeders. I know they can be dangerous but in this situation they might just work. 

I've been building a low waste feeder for a week. Should be finished up today and I can't wait to see if it works. I could post pictures if you like.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

We just made this feeder. has a tray in the bottom to catch the hay so it doesn't fall to the ground. This one has 4x4 wire in it, but I would prefer trying 2x4, we just don't have any. Needs to be the thick welded fence panel wire, not the rolled wire.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I dont know if you can see the feeder in this pic or not but it's a hay feeder used for bigger livestock but my husband put smaller fencing over it..no wasted hay


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## Jen2848 (Aug 29, 2014)

We have the same problem with our goats wasting a large amount of hay. We just recently bought a bag of timothy hay/alfalfa cubes. We read that we have to crumble the cubes so the goats don't choke. Does anyone have any advice on using the cubes. Thanks.


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## Suntoo (Nov 14, 2013)

Jen2848 said:


> We have the same problem with our goats wasting a large amount of hay. We just recently bought a bag of timothy hay/alfalfa cubes. We read that we have to crumble the cubes so the goats don't choke. Does anyone have any advice on using the cubes. Thanks.


My goats are used to those cubes. They have NO problem with them.
The alfalfa cubes seem to be much harder to break than the 80/20 cubes. 
I break what I can and then the goats are on their own.
I love them because the wind doesn't blow them all over. The 80/20 cubes are much better for chewing. My goats love them.

The feed store says to moisten the cubes but my goats hate them moist unless I soak a few in cod liver oil. They prefer dry.

If my goats can eat the pellets (and they love them too! the 80/20 pellets), I don't know why they'd choke on the cubes.
I tried smaller cubes by Standlee, 80/20 Mini Cubes, and my goats go crazy over them! Yet the feed store says that horses choke on them, (and yet again, horses don't seem to choke on the much smaller pellets!)It seems Standlee won't be making them anymore. Bummer because my kids LOVE them.


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## Frosty (Feb 13, 2010)

My girls waste a lot of hay. I hate cleaning their stalls cause its so many wheel barrels full. I am going to try the fencing inside their feeder had to wait til someone was here to get it down for me it is stored in barn loft. Let you know how it goes.


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## Buck Naked Boers (Oct 15, 2012)

We have 2X4 wire in our feeder and still we loose alot of hay.....I like the barrel above...that would work I would think. We are trying to figure out how to put somethign beneath the feeder to catch the hay that falls to the ground. Even with 2X4 wire in teh feeder they still pull alot out! Silly goats!


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## sally's boys (Dec 29, 2017)

Stacykins said:


> My two laddies, George the Nigerian buck and Artie the boer wether, are horrible hay wasters. I mean, I know goats waste hay, it is just part of life. But these boys REALLY waste hay. Almost half of what they get ends up out of their feeder and on the ground, where it obviously goes uneaten. My girls Yoko and Suzie get hay in the same manner, and they waste a small fraction (Suzie will even eat clean hay off the ground, which none of the others do).
> 
> It seems that the boys just pull out huge hunks of hay from their feeder and drop most of it. It is kind of frustrating, because soon after they get their hay, they're looking at me hungrily when the feeder is empty. Of course, there is a huge pile of waste on the ground. Funny enough, if I scoop up that waste and plop it back in the feeder, they are happy again. No, it isn't poopy or urinated on when I do that, since it is clean under the feeder and I'd only given them the hay not an hour before.
> 
> ...


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## sally's boys (Dec 29, 2017)

i had a lot of waste in hay, now i cut it into 4-5 in. long. it cuts waste down greatly. those that have larger herds cut your bale in half with a saw. sally's boys


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## intrepid-dreamer (Jan 2, 2017)

I would offer the timothy pellets free choice and buy them a bale of alfalfa for their long stem forage. Then you can thrown out a flake at a time of alfalfa to bring up the protein and calcium, and your waste should be reduced.


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