# Hay Problem



## ollie_and_rosie (Aug 21, 2014)

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to goat ownership so I have a huge learning curve and I could use some help/advice on a hay issue I'm having.

We searched high and low for a 2nd crop hay source for our 2 goats and finally found one not too far away. The woman said that her hay feeds lots of sheep, goats and alpacas and it was green and very fresh looking, so we bought 12 bales. Well, the goats won't touch it!! They bleat and bleat to be let out to forage because they refuse to eat their new hay. They ate the other hay we got them from another source just fine, so what's up? Why is this kind of hay an issue?? It's green, looks and smells fresh and seems like the same stuff they had before. What am I missing? We have 12 bales, for Pete's sake! 

Is there a way to get them interested, or do goats know something I don't about hay?

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

Summer


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What is in the hay?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Is the hay that you purchased, very fresh? As in, cut within the last week or so? Hay should cure a few weeks before the 
goats will eat it. The curing gets rid of a lot of Nitrogen and Urea in the grass. If you should feed the new hay, watch for bloat
as some goat will bloat on freshly cut hay.

If your hay is fully cured and is has been awhile since baled, eventually, your goats will eat it, especially if they have no other options in the 
winter with frozen ground, snow etc.!


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## ollie_and_rosie (Aug 21, 2014)

Oh my gosh, I had no idea that the hay needed to be cured for a while! I bet that's the problem! I don't know when it was cut, but I know it was quite recently. Thank goodness I have plenty of forage for them while the hay cures. Thank you so much... what a great resource this is!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I talked to one of the old farmers at a local carnival today. I asked him exactly why we have to wait to feed hay to the goats, after cutting it. 
I knew about getting rid of the nitrogen, but never thought about why goats could eat grass but not freshly cut hay. 
He told me that after first cutting, many farmers add nitrogen to the field. Apparently this helps with the photosynthesis (greenness).
That is one reason hay needs to season before goats eat it. I know a lot of horse people let the hay
set for a few months. (I don't have that luxury, when June or July rolls around, I am out of hay!)


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## Frosty (Feb 13, 2010)

well I was thinking about this post all night and was going to ask a question and look here the answer is here before I can ask. Thank you Goats Rock. I am also out of hay and using the new I just bought and they are not eating it so good but I don't worry cause they are out to pasture all day so shouldn't be to hungry anyway. lol.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Sometimes I am lucky and actually know an answer to a question!  Just make sure the hay you have (new) isn't
sitting on ground and gets moldy while you are waiting for it to become palatable!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with what has been said.


Freshly cut hay is also too hot to feed, it may cause bloat, that is another reason to wait.
I would ask the person where you bought it from, when it was cut.

But we also don't know, what kind of hay it is? Some hay goats may not like as well.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I had bought some grass hay and it looks real nice , not freshly cut , but they don't like it. I have a few bales left so I'm going to let them sit and use my next shipment and see if letting them sit for a while will do the trick , then i will know. I know they love the 2nd cut i got but it falls apart once you open the bale and and go to grab a flake. But they sure do LOVE it , so i deal with it. They will pick up every last piece of it which is a godsend IMO  But sometimes that hay isn't available and i have to get what they have. The place i go to have some of the better hay , not best , but better then the other places , but its all hit and miss really. I have found first cut there is more waste , with my guys anyways. Alfalfa , depending on when you get it can be either really nice or really stemmy , if thats a word  Stems means waste with my guys. Anyways , with two goats , i would see what your alfalfa looks like . See how they do with that. But do make sure its not hot , cause you looking for trouble with that stuff. Im still trying to figure out what hay these goats will love and which they will laugh at me and walk away from it  IMO , its all hit and miss with goats


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

My goats like oat hay, rye hay and Alfalfa.

So I feed them oat hay or rye hay in the morning and alfalfa in the evening. 
It stretches the budget a bit and they do good on it.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I want to see if i can get oat or rye hay here. Im very curious to see if my connoisseurs will like it :roll:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Goats Rock said:


> Is the hay that you purchased, very fresh? As in, cut within the last week or so? Hay should cure a few weeks before the
> goats will eat it.


This certainly isn't true for alfalfa. It's all I feed and I will feed it straight out of the field, just baled and the goats love it. It can be hot so you need to be careful of bloat. Keep baking soda out and limit access if goats aren't used to it. Most of mine get free choice alfalfa though. I've never seen a goat turn their nose up at freshly baled hay.

As for the curing... The hay cures as it sits and dries in the windrow. Any hay that's been properly cured and dried before baling is safe to feed immediately. There is no reason to let it sit before feeding.


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## ollie_and_rosie (Aug 21, 2014)

*Type of hay? No idea!*

Well, before I read these posts, I thought there were only 2 kinds of hay: green and yellow. The hay I got was from a lady who advertised it as 2nd cut feed hay for sheep, goats and alpacas. Can I figure out what kind of hay it is by looking at it? It's green and falls apart when I cut the ties on the bales. What does "hot" hay mean? Is it actually hot? How can that be?? Gosh, I feel like such a newbie. There's SO much to learn!!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

KW- around here they often do spray the fields with Nitrogen- that is why we have to let the hay sit- 
Maybe cure was the wrong word, but basically, the nitrogen goes away. 
Horse people around here won't even feed hay until it has sat for 6 months! (I think that might be excessive!).


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

ollie_and_rosie said:


> Well, before I read these posts, I thought there were only 2 kinds of hay: green and yellow. The hay I got was from a lady who advertised it as 2nd cut feed hay for sheep, goats and alpacas. Can I figure out what kind of hay it is by looking at it? It's green and falls apart when I cut the ties on the bales. What does "hot" hay mean? Is it actually hot? How can that be?? Gosh, I feel like such a newbie. There's SO much to learn!!


Yes, some people do know what kind of hay it is by just looking at it.
When buying hay, ask what kind it is, the seller will know what it is. 
Green might be Alfalfa, not sure without a pic or seeing it.

Hot, doesn't mean hot to the touch. It means it can be too rich to feed and may cause bloat if fed to much too quickly. Being really freshly cut and baled hay. So feeding only a little to start and gradually increasing over time is a better way, for being a hot feed. 
It is like if you put a goat out on a field of Alfalfa growing, that feed is way to hot(meaning, too rich).
Hope that answered your question. No worries being a newbie, we were all there at one time, even me. ;-)


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Goats Rock said:


> KW- around here they often do spray the fields with Nitrogen- that is why we have to let the hay sit-
> Maybe cure was the wrong word, but basically, the nitrogen goes away.
> Horse people around here won't even feed hay until it has sat for 6 months! (I think that might be excessive!).


That's a new one on me.

Some people say the hay needs to sweat before feeding, but that really depends on the moisture. It shouldn't need to sweat if it's been cured and baled properly.

Any rich hay like alfalfa should be introduced slowly and carefully. If you want to let it sit before feeding, obviously it won't hurt, go for it. We grow our own alfalfa and I have no problem feeding it out of the field.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

KW Farms said:


> That's a new one on me.
> 
> Some people say the hay needs to sweat before feeding, but that really depends on the moisture. It shouldn't need to sweat if it's been cured and baled properly.
> 
> Any rich hay like alfalfa should be introduced slowly and carefully. If you want to let it sit before feeding, obviously it won't hurt, go for it. We grow our own alfalfa and I have no problem feeding it out of the field.


I was thinking the same thung. We grow our own and I took a bale straight from the field and gave it to the girls. But I guess we also didn't fertilize that field this year so that may be the difference.


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## tsmith1499 (Sep 9, 2014)

Another hay question. We have had our 2 Myotonics for about 2 weeks now and I give them hay in the morning in a hanger and they have access to it 24/7. Is this a bad thing or is it okay. It's stemmy 1st cutting mixed orchard and timothy hay and they pic through it and what they don't eat they use for bedding in the field. Which I was told by some friends/goat owners is normal. Is it okay to let them have access 24/7? What say ye goat experts??


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It is OK, only if they are not getting too fat or have loose stools.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

My goats will not eat hay from a new bale every time I get hay. I buy 2 600 pound round bales at a time. The hay comes from the same field. They still refuse to eat it for the first day or so. I keep it in front of them until they have to eat it. I go thru this twice a month.

I always feed the hay as soon as it's cut, have for years and years. Never had a problem.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

MY goats can get funny like that too. ^^ I had gotten a nice grass hay one week and they were picking at it , i wasnt happy about that but i had some of the other second cut left so i gave them that along with some of the newer hay. I went out later and decided to give them a bit more hay , i brought out the grass hay first and went back for the other hay. When i got back all the grass hay was gone , every last bit of it :shrug: I wouldn't have minded at all but i had just placed my order for that week and the grass hay was cheaper , i passed on that cause i figured they don't like it , just get the other hay which was a couple dollars more :wallbang: Sometimes you just can't win :GAAH:


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## ollie_and_rosie (Aug 21, 2014)

*Protest!*

Well, my guys STILL aren't eating their hay and now they seem to be protesting by eating my morning glories and other plants that are close to the house. We live in the woods where there's PLENTY of forage, but it's like they're trying to tell me that they aren't happy with their hay by eating my plants. ARG! I'm going to get them some hay from a different source tomorrow. Figures I'd have a shed full of hay they won't eat....


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You could always sell it.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree, sell it and try to get different hay. Good luck.


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## cheyenne (Aug 21, 2011)

"Hot" hay around here means it isn't cured and YES! It does get hot!!! As in when you open a bale and stick your hand in it, it does feel hot to the touch. This is what causes round bales to burst into flames in the field! 

Many years ago, my horse colicked on freshly baled timothy hay. Almost lost him that night!!! The vet told me my hay was 'sweating' and to let it sit for a month then it should be ok to feed it. And it was. But I never bought hay from that guy again!

The grass hay that I get now, is cured properly in the field and I haven't had any trouble with sick animals in the years that I've fed it right out of the field (from the same supplier). 

The big problem here now is they are wasting so much of it! I think it's because this year the grass is still green. Normally this time of year it's all brown and crunchy... if not gone altogether. So maybe they are getting enough green stuff that they just aren't all that hungry? I too, am always questioning my hay!


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## ollie_and_rosie (Aug 21, 2014)

*Timothy Hay...??*

I called the lady I got my hay from today and she said that she hasn't gotten any complaints from her other goat/sheep/alpaca people and the hay is a "Timothy mix." Ollie and Rosie are still refusing to eat it, however, so we bought a bale from another source this afternoon to see if they'll eat that. I'll know in the morning, as I filled their rack before their bedtime tonight. I'm absolutely confounded by this hay situation. :hair:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

cheyenne said:


> "Hot" hay around here means it isn't cured and YES! It does get hot!!! As in when you open a bale and stick your hand in it, it does feel hot to the touch. This is what causes round bales to burst into flames in the field!
> 
> Many years ago, my horse colicked on freshly baled timothy hay. Almost lost him that night!!! The vet told me my hay was 'sweating' and to let it sit for a month then it should be ok to feed it. And it was. But I never bought hay from that guy again!
> 
> ...


 The Hot as you are describing means, it was baled too wet to begin with and the dampness from that starts to smolder and turns to mold. 
Yes, it can feel hot to the touch and yes, it can start on fire.

The hot feed I am stating, is to rich, so it must be fed a little at a time. This hay is baled properly, it is just too hot ( rich) to feed, such as it will cause bloat, if fed too much. As it sits and ages, it gets less hot(rich). :thumb:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

^Exactly.


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## cheyenne (Aug 21, 2011)

toth boer goats said:


> The Hot as you are describing means, it was baled too wet to begin with and the dampness from that starts to smolder and turns to mold.
> Yes, it can feel hot to the touch and yes, it can start on fire.
> 
> The hot feed I am stating, is to rich, so it must be fed a little at a time. This hay is baled properly, it is just too hot ( rich) to feed, such as it will cause bloat, if fed too much. As it sits and ages, it gets less hot(rich). :thumb:


I understand the 'hot' that you are talking about, just around here the terminology is different I guess!


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