# Moldy hay



## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

I have about 30 bales of alfalfa in my barn and 1/2 of them seem to have moldy centers. The man I bought then from was feeding these bales to his horse. So I figured they would be at least good if not great quality. Wrong. Seems like every other bale has a issue. The problem is I have nowhere for new bales until these get used. I believe "quality in quality out" so I'm worried about feeding these bales to my milk does. 

Here's my questions: 
Would you feed moldy alfalfa hay to your goats? Will it effect milk taste? My doe is due 4/10. Will it be safe to feed kids? The other option will be to feed them alfalfa pellets when they start on solids. 

Thanks in advance.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I definitely would not feed her the moldy part. If you can pick out the good parts you can give her that, but be extremely careful (especially with a pregnant doe). Moldy hay can cause polio and Listeriosis.


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

DO not feed moldy hay. I have a friend whose goat dies of listeriosis. I think it can also cause abortions. If the outside smells fresh and nice then you could feed her those bits but as milkmaid said be exteremly careful.....


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I have always wondered just how much mold it takes to kill a goat. We had some that had mold in nearly every bale. It was obvious where the mold was. I was very careful not to let them eat the mold. I saw no ill effects from that. I know it can be deadly but I do not know if it takes a lot or just a little tiny bit.
So, as others said; don't let them eat mold. Be careful picking out the good stuff.


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## naturalgoats (Jan 3, 2011)

I hear yah about how much... I just figure better safe than sorry... especially with babies


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

I had bought some hay a couple years ago for my goats that looked okay to me but they wouldn't touch it - lo and behold I got to the center and found mold. It was only 12 bales so i used it in my garden.

Last year i bought some hay (just one bale) that looked good but again my does wouldn't eat it. I brought it to my regular hay guy (who had run out of hay) since he was a better judge than I what was good and what was not, and he detected a faint musty odor. So my goats at least will not eat bad hay.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

That is great that you goats know better. I am sure mine would gobble it up. I do judge as much by the smell as the look of the hay. If it smells at all off I do not use it.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

My goats will do the same thing.... They won't eat it so I toss it and when I give them new stuff (most of the time) they gobble it up!


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

Oh wow :shocked: I had no idea it was that bad. Good thing I posted. I've fed two moldy bales so far  Feeding it made me nervous and I should have trusted my instinct. They seem to waste a ton so maybe they are picking through themselves. I really hope my newbie mistake isn't a deadly one. 

Any idea on what to do with the bad hay? Can other animals use it? I could give it away. We already have one heck of a compost pile from cleaning the stalls out. My husband hand turns it. So he won't be happy about this new addition.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

We just trow it on our manure pile..... you could cover grass seeds if you plant any..... or on your garden.....


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Yes, definately don't feed them moldy hay...it can make them sick and in some cases can kill them. 

How long have you had the hay? If it was moldy before you purchased it...i'd haul it back to the guy you got it from and let him know. He should refund your money or give you good bales. Otherwise, you can try and give the bales away. You want to make sure to get those moldy bales away from the good hay. If it's wet in there...they will heat up and can catch on fire with the right amount of air....and that heat can spread to other bales if they're packed tightly and ruin them.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I had some bales this year with moldy spots. I pulled out as much of the moldy stuff as I reasonably could (but I'm sure there was still a little mold left) and fed them to my pregnant does. Two does had healthy twins. The third kidded triplets: one healthy, one weak, one small and dead. I read that Listeria, found in moldy hay, can weaken or kill unborn kids. So I suspect it was the hay - but I'm not sure.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

My horses will eat around some mold, but the goats won't touch it. I would have this guy come pick these bales up and give you your money back! people are afraid to do this as they feel they are being a pest to the hay guy, but if they are bales you cannot feed then they are worthless to you and a waste of money. If he is an actually hay grower and wants a good rep, he will take them back.


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## DDFN (Jul 31, 2011)

I agree with having him come pick them up and refund your money. We do that all the time here in TN. I have very good hay guys but when the weather is not agreeing with the getting the hay up he always is sure to tell me if I get any of that hay if I see anything let him know and I will get free replacement of that hay and just get rid of the bad hay (that or he can pick it up). It is the honor system here. I haven't had to deal with much mold in years but years ago it was impossible to get good quality hay around here. I was spending probably $600 a month to get alfalfa from a big hay producer that had farms outside of TN. We ended up with one full pallet of alfalfa that the insides where moldy. So we sat it aside in the hay barn as we found it and was going to exchange it on our next trip to them. Well one young buck some how was sneaky and got in there and ate some. He had a cough for a bit but was fine. (side note we never feed alfalfa to our bucks as the risk of UC).

Basically hay people/producers want you to be happy and recommend them. If your not happy you will tell more people and that is less business for them! There is too much to risk over bad quality hay and even the best hay guys can end up with it in some bales. Hope it works out for you!


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## jberter (Jan 21, 2010)

I would deffinatly get back with the person who sold the hay to you,, remember,, they only know about the hay if you contact them and inform them of the problem,, otherwise they think nothing is wrong..... :shrug:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Great advice given by all.... glad you asked.... :hug: :wink: :thumb:


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

Quick update. Returning it would be ideal but I'm not sure if it's realistic. 

Here's the back story. We purchased our house in September '11. The family we bought it from had horses. We liked having them around so we said the horses could stay until they were sold. So the hay was already in the barn when we moved in. When I purchased my goats I fed them alfalfa pellets because there was no room for new hay with theirs in the barn. When they sold the last horse last month they offered me the alfalfa hay at $5/bale. I thought it was perfect because the hay was already in the barn with my goats. I can't really return it but I could ask for some reimbursement. To further muddy the water they moved into another property just a few blocks away. To keep things neighborly I might just chalk this up as a learning experience and eat the $.


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## SCOOTER10 (Nov 27, 2015)

Iam scared. I just have two male bucks, but to save money we got a bale. My son has been feeding them hay and no way to keep the old from getting to them in eating. Now one goat is coughing a lot and runny noe . Please help. I am not computer literate i realize it is no reply and a question. I love them so.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

First to be on the safe side I would get a temp on them to make sure pneumonia isn't what's going on. If they are good on that change the hay if it has mold. Still to be on the safe side watch for any high fever or them acting off in any way.


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## SCOOTER10 (Nov 27, 2015)

Ty jessica 84. The thing is they have been fine until the bale of hay i thought would go a long way has all this mold, dust. Now the trouble begins. Could he be allergic or have an infection you may know how i can treat . I am not able to get to nor afford my vet. AND WE HAD SUCH FLOODING FROM THE HURRICANE MONTHS AGO, HE BROUGHT ONE BALE, IT WAS SO BAD I CALLED AND HE WAS NICE ENOUGH TO BRING THIS ONE I THOUGHT LOOKED GOOD, BUT WHEN MY SON GOT DIGGING I SAW ALL THE DUST AND MOLD. IT IS A LOSS BUT I SURE WANT MY BABIES TAKEN PROPER CARE OF.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

It's probably just the dusty stuff with the mold that they are breathing in. It could be allergies as well you can give them benadrile (sp check) but honestly I just leave them be. Are they acting ok except for the coughing and runny nose? I can't tell you how many times I've had a sick goat and swore it was because of one thing and it was really from something else so that's why I'm suggesting keeping a eye on their temp. Now what you can do for feed, hopefully, is gather some leaves off of trees to feed to them, even some weeds that you have growing around the house, just make sure they are not poisonous.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Hows your goats doing?


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