# What hay do your goats eat?



## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

I'm just curious, what kind of hay in particular do you feed to your goats?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

For the most part alfalfa. When they are dry and or short bred I’ll feed other stuff depending on what my dad will share lol right now I’m making feeders to feed some rye alfalfa, triticale is a good one I like to feed and they do well. But I have also fed oat and beardless wheat. Honestly though alfalfa is my favorite. Growing kids, bucks, and pregos do well on it. Just sometimes we get low on it and if I can I’ll go with something else before I pay double for feed store alfalfa.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Our fields are native Ohio grasses (one field, true organic) and the rest are grasses, clover, Timothy and trefoil. First cutting (until we are lucky enough to get a second cutting) and supplement with alfalfa pellets. I go thru 4000 bales a year, so, whatever I can get baled they get! (I wish we could grow alfalfa).


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Plain field grass, which is a mix of any kind of grass that grows mixed with weeds and some brush.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

We feed a variety of hay a but mostly Coastal Bermuda
Its the most abundant in NC 
I usually feed it through the winter but when it runs out in the spring the first hay cut here is usually oat
We had a good crop of oat hay this year
We also see some wheat hay 
Wheat and oat hay have to be cut at the right stage 
We supplement our milkers with alfalfa 
And sometimes orchard grass 
Goats get tired of the same thing all the time


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

coastal and alfalfa.


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

I fed straight alfalfa for the first two years I had goats. It was the most economical where I live. I did find a guy with nice triticale so now they get that mostly, and my milkers get some alfalfa. I love the smell of Triticale.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Alfalfa and oat or Rye hay.

Depending if I want to dry them off. 
If they are preggo or in milk ect.


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## ISmellLikeGoats (Oct 4, 2017)

CrazyDogLady said:


> I fed straight alfalfa for the first two years I had goats. It was the most economical where I live. I did find a guy with nice triticale so now they get that mostly, and my milkers get some alfalfa. I love the smell of Triticale.


You live right near where I grew up (Kansas Settlement) and definitely Alfalfa is about all you can get in the area, and cheaper than grass hay there.
Just the opposite here, in fact, the hay broker I live near buys alfalfa from Willcox to bring up to Oklahoma.

I feed prairie (native) hay to my dry does. Does in milk, babies, and my bucks get alfalfa.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I usually feed locally grown mountain grass, which in this area is mostly brome. I've also fed timothy and clover hay from across the mountain. I tried feeding alfalfa one year and ended up with selenium and copper deficiencies in all of my goats. I went back to grass and only feed alfalfa on a limited basis now.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

lottsagoats1 said:


> Plain field grass, which is a mix of any kind of grass that grows mixed with weeds and some brush.


Mine getthe same. Gee, you'd think we live in the same area. Oh wait, we do.



I'd love to give them alfalfa year 'round. But it's pricey here - at least it is at TSC. One bale of alfalfa is around $12 while I pay about $4 per similar size bale of grass hay.


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## 4-HGoatGirl (Jul 5, 2013)

Bahaia and very rarely coastal Bermuda....it’s good quality that isn’t too expensive in my area


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Mostly alfalfa, timothy or orchard grass occasionally.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> Mostly alfalfa, timothy or orchard grass occasionally.


Why orchard grass only occasionally?


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## ETgoatygirl (Mar 23, 2012)

I try to feed 2nd cutting, mostly alfalfa hay for my does when they're in milk, or pregnant. I occasionally feed 1st cutting alfalfa/grass when I'm drying them up, or in early pregnancy. My picky goats appreciate 2nd cutting.


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## bamaherd (Jun 14, 2017)

We feed Bermuda/coastal hay. We only feed alfalfa if we have a pregnant doe or growing babies. Our goats always look chunky so we try to limit alfalfa


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## Goat town (May 6, 2018)

I have 2 does and 1 buck that will only eat alfalfa at $20 a bale. Wish I could feed coastal Bermuda the horses eat. They’re ND


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I just started feeding serecia hay. The goats LOVE it, and seem to be doing well on it so far. I was feeding alfalfa, but they would waste half the bale, and at $10+ for a 50lb bale, it was just too expensive to waste like that. They don't waste nearly as much of the serecia, and it's only $5 per 50lb bale.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

singinggoatgirl said:


> I just started feeding serecia hay. The goats LOVE it, and seem to be doing well on it so far. I was feeding alfalfa, but they would waste half the bale, and at $10+ for a 50lb bale, it was just too expensive to waste like that. They don't waste nearly as much of the serecia, and it's only $5 per 50lb bale.


Serecia is a variety of Lespedeza. It is a legume like alfalfa and is sometimes called he "poor man's alfalfa".
Studies have shown it reduces worm eggs per gram counts when goats are being fed lespedeza.
We get some sometimes too.


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

ISmellLikeGoats said:


> You live right near where I grew up (Kansas Settlement) and definitely Alfalfa is about all you can get in the area, and cheaper than grass hay there.
> Just the opposite here, in fact, the hay broker I live near buys alfalfa from Willcox to bring up to Oklahoma.
> 
> I feed prairie (native) hay to my dry does. Does in milk, babies, and my bucks get alfalfa.


I drove through KS several times a week usually. We do get some nice alfalfa in Willcox. The Triticale is a couple bucks less a bale than the alfalfa and my goats love it.


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## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

Right now I'm feeding just alfalfa hay, the goats absolutely love it, and they don't waste much. < It's $19.50 per bale though, so they better not waste it! My Nubians didn't care for the alicia/rye hay ($7.50 per bale) I've been getting, and they were wasting a TON of it, and were looking thin, so I opted for the alfalfa although it's almost 3 times the cost of the alicia/rye. This summer has been pretty dry, so we don't have as much browse for the goats so I've been having a harder time keeping up with them.


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## Goats Galore (Aug 2, 2018)

All year round we feed peanut hat. It 100% makes a difference in milk production.


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