Something to consider when raising your goats, is whether or not what you’re feeding them will provide enough nutrition for them to survive. We love our goats, so we want to give them the best care. But is feeding them a steady diet of hay even enough?
Hay is not a clear balance of nutrition, and if it is closer to straw than hay, then your goats cannot live off of the hay alone. If however, your hay has been verified as a good source of nutrition, then the hay alone should be fine.
So how do you know if your hay is quality hay or not? And what can you provide for nutrition if the hay is not quality hay?
The varying types of hay
When choosing which type of hay to use, you need to consider how many different kinds there are and what nutritional value that each kind has. Every type of hay has a specific purpose and can only be used at a specific time.
The varying types of hay are;
- Legume: This is normally found in varieties known as alfalfa, clover, lespedeza, and birdsfoot trefoil. Any of these four legume hay types, are considered to be highly digestible and often carry a multiplied nutritional level of much greater value. These are often used to feed young goats and lactating does.
- Grass: Grass hay is normally found in varieties known as Timothy, Orchard, Brome, and bluegrass. Any of these four Grass hay types, are considered to be suitable maintenance hay for goats. however, they are not fully digestible for goats, unless the plant is still young and immature.
- Cereal: Cereal hay is normally harvested before grain is produced, or after the maturation of the seed head. However, cereal hay is dangerous, as when the cereal hay is not harvested at the right time, it can cause nitrate poisoning. It can also cause bloating and urinary calculi, harming the goats.
(Source: Are You Feeding Straw or Hay for Goats? – Backyard Goats (iamcountryside.com))
How do you know when Hay is of good quality
Visually analyze your hay to verify for the best quality. You can do this by:
- verifying the stage of maturity
- checking the leaf to stem ratio
- checking the color
- touch
- smell
- checking for debris
But how do these methods help us determine whether our hay is good enough to feed to our precious little friends?
Hay should have a higher leaf to stem ratio, which helps us to verify the maturity of hay. As we learned before, this may be vital to identifying nutritional value.
The color however, can be quite deceiving in the end, as sun can bleach the hay. In order to truly verify if it is good hay, you must open up the bale to see if it retains that healthy green color all the way to the middle.
When you touch or play around with the hay, it should bend easily. Be aware, that if your hay breaks and doesn’t bend, then it is too high in fiber. A high fiber hay can cause digestion issues within your goats as fiber cannot be digested.
The smell can also be an indication of good hay, as good hay should smell sweet. If the smell is sour or musty, then this is not good hay for your goats to eat.
Warning: A musty or sour smell could signify that the hay has molded somewhere inside the bale.
As far as debris goes, any dirt mixed into the bale not only can increase the expenses used to pay for the hay, but it can cause damage in the respiratory system of your goats when they inhale the dirt or debris with their food.
(Source: Are You Feeding Straw or Hay for Goats? – Backyard Goats (iamcountryside.com))
What a good rounded diet looks like
Just because they can live off of alfalfa, does not necessarily mean that they should. Alfalfa can be too rich for our goats. In fact, goats will be healthier and happier on a diet that is varied more around other things. Such as;
- shrubs
- leaves
- tree bark
- salt/mineral blocks
Be sure to verify that the salt/mineral blocks that you give to your goats are specifically created for them. Their salt/mineral blocks must contain copper. Copper is an important mineral that goats need in their diet.
Warning: These blocks will not work for sheep, and may poison any sheep that you have at home.
Tip: also be sure to give your goat the occasional treat to increase their livelihood and joy. Treats such as the occasional chopped apples, carrots, or a handful of grain. However, even with all of these varied foods, goats still need a good supplement of hay.
(Source: What Goats Need (petgoats.org))
What to be aware of when feeding your goat
Before feeding your goats, consider the following;
- What is the health condition of my goats?
- Have I stored my feed in a safe place to help keep the nutritional value to it’s fulness?
- Has my feed gotten wet, been infested, or contaminated in any way?
- Are my goats being fed in a way that can be considered as hygienic?
- Is my hay of high or good quality? Will it hurt my goats?
- Is half of the goat’s diet coming from forage? Or is the diet off balance?
- Are there adequate vitamins, green feed ingredients, and minerals in their feed?
- Is this a change in their feeding habits that may be too sudden for them? Or am I remembering to gradually adjust their feed routine to a proper one?
- Am I making sure to ensure colostrum for newly born kids?
- Am I keeping the formulated food far away from the goats?
- Am I always providing my goats with sufficient clean and fresh water according to their demands?
If you are not keeping up with the above, then you may be causing problems with your goats. So be sure to review this list of questions each time that you feed them.
(Source: What to Feed Goats (agriculture.com))