# Money saving ideas....



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I would love to start some threads on money saving ideas, feed, hay, (loved the straw feeding thread), medications etc. Anything we can come up with to keep folks from having to sell down, or worse to sell out during this drought. Hay and feed prices are at an all time high and the quality of hay in the south is worse than ever. Even some ideas to help those who do have to sell down, make wise decisions on culling. Vicki


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

It's been about 2 months now, but I was able to switch to feeding just barley as the main grain for my milkers. Here I can get 500 pounds of bulk barley for about $58 dollars, and it lasts most of the month. Not only are they milking well on it, but they "waste" a lot too...some passes through their system, but, they are also planting barley! I can get that and wheat for about the same price, and already have my rye and will plant all of those this fall. Every time it rains here we get barley coming up all over the place and the girls love it as do the horses, although I'm not sure it will graze well with horses on it.

I'm feeding less alfalfa pellets too...still not sure about this one, but I've got a super good orchard and high clover hay that is just wonderful and the girls love it! I have not had it tested, but I'm hoping it's got more calcium and a little more protein than just a regular hay mix. It costs $40 per round bale, delivered. The rounds are small, maybe 400-500 pounds or so, but with the increase in summer forage growth, a round is lasting them almost a month! Everyone is super shiny and weights are great! 

The amish around here are known to have good prices on whole oats too....just have to track them down. 

I have not bought chicken feed in years. The chickens eat feed the goats spill. They also eat grains out of the manure that pass through whole. They spread the manure around daily, especially the horse manure so that saves me time in manure clean up, although it still does need to be done around the front fence line....

The horses get no grain at all...but they do get all the hay they can eat. Most of our land is wooded and not fenced, so we go though quite a lot of hay. I get 1200 pound round bales delivered for $40 each and a load of 4 lasts almost a month. The hay I'm feeding now is an orchard grass mix with tons and tons of seeds in it. Twice a day I drag a tarp fill with hay out into their paddocks. The tarp has holes in it and the seeds fall through. Also, by putting the hay in various places, the seeds fall through to the ground and the horses muck all over it. I've gotten quite a bit more grass in one small pasture that way and never tilled it at all....which saved money since we don't have a tractor. 

I look forward to hearing others money-saving ideas.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

One thing that has already been saving me a lot is the way I feed hay to my milking does. I used to feed in hay racks and was always frustrated about how much they spill. Also, the loss you have from having to throw away wasted feed in outside hay racks or the loss of quality while it's sitting out there. About a year and a half ago my husband and his dad built me a feedlane in the barn (so instead of a front fence it's wooden slats the does can stick their heads through) and in front of it are rows of feed troughs (I have the big old metal ones). The hay is fed in these feed troughs and the huge advantage is that spillage is minimal. The does don't have to pull out the hay, there's enough room for them to just stand at the feed lane and chew, so whatever drops down from their mouthfull of hay, drops into the feed through and isn't lost. Feed stays dry and clean, so no loss of quality, and I can decide what to do with left overs (depending on need/season the leftovers before morning feeding will either go to kids/dry does or will be used as bedding). I go through so much less hay now and I have to clean out less volume (just bedding, no waste) from the barn when I clean it out twice a year.

I realize that not everyone has a barn they can built a feedlane in, but this could also be done outside as a feed lane or a feed through with roof type system. We built ours from wood that we got from an Amish cabinet builder: the quality was not good enough for him, so we could just come pick it up. Biggest cost was the bolts to keep the slats in place.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Marion do you have a photo? Vicki


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## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

We took a huge financial hit with my mothers cancer & her passing..... Took over all of her financial obligations/medical expenses since her leukemia diagnosis in March & her final expenses when she passed in June.... I made some decisions on goat care that I wasn't sure of, but they actually worked well.

Feed here, any feed is $10.99-$17.99......I'm buying a 12% horse & mule feed & I started mixing in 2 parts of a local hay stretcher pellet to every one part horse feed (oats are $13.99 for 50, hay stretcher is $7.99 for 50lbs). I prefer my whole grains mix, but just can't afford it right now.

I have rice bran pellets for fat, but I bought it with coupons & now the price is insane, so I've gradually got them to eat feed top dressed with oil instead. Took them a while to get used to it, but I started slow and now they gobble it up. I won't be buying more rice bran if the prices stay where they are.

Used to feed free choice alfalfa pellets, but now I have to ration it. I top dress their feed with a spoon of calcium carbonate, and they get fed alfalfa pellets once a day..... About 1 1/2lbs-2lbs for each milker, about 1lb for my dry doe ..... Been doing this since April & production has held steady and everyone is sleek & in good flesh (one of my girls is almost too well conditioned  ), though Ginger sure does complain when her alfalfa pellets run out.

I changed my hay feeders so I have less wasted hay... I put fresh out each morning & by the following morning most is cleaned up & waste is minimal.... I have no graze, no browse so I have to provide everything. Squares of grass hay are $13-$16 here.... Rounds of good hay are about $120.... Which is insane given the prices I've seen in east Texas which are way cheaper than anything within an hour of me...

Started putting ACV in water troughs and it's keeping them cleaner longer.... Hubby gets free ice for his cooler from work, so when he gets off, I empty it into the large tubs & it cools them down really well.... Before I was having to dump & refill because the water was too warm and that was hard on my water bill.... I take 2 liter frozen soda bottles to put in the smaller barn tubs mid afternoon & that keeps those from getting hot.

Biggest expense is the 5 doelings I have.... They are putting away the meat goat pellets, but I can't figure out a way to cut cost there if I want them breeding size by fall, so I havent changed anything with them.... I'm drying up 2 does and am weaning the March doelings which is upping the amount of meat goat pellets they consume, but I need less milkers so I can have someone watch the goats when I take the kids on a short, but much needed vacation...

I'm up to 9 goats & I still think that is too many for me...... I may be getting rid of one of my breeds & cutting back so it's easier for me.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Well, my breed eats less, that's nice. I'm not feeding them to milk heavy when I don't need the milk. I feed a 12% Sweet Mix from TSC that cost around $8/50 lb. We got good first cutting hay. We have a year supply - very blessed we have the big barn now to store hay. In the past I have fed round bales by peeling of the round. Good hay feeders are a must - we are planning to make a lane feeder too soon, within a few weeks. I don't skimp on my minerals...

I took a new photo of my Senior Doe Birdie. You can see on my website she's looking pretty good on this diet. I have allowed her to back off milk production... My doelings are allowed to nurse and my bucklings are put on mom once a day after they reach 3 months. This is helping keep kids growing.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> Marion do you have a photo? Vicki


I do, but not on my laptop. If I can get my ancient diesel computer started I'll put one up, let me see!

Quote: _Biggest expense is the 5 doelings I have.... They are putting away the meat goat pellets, but I can't figure out a way to cut cost there if I want them breeding size by fall, so I havent changed anything with them.... I'm drying up 2 does and am weaning the March doelings which is upping the amount of meat goat pellets they consume, but I need less milkers so I can have someone watch the goats when I take the kids on a short, but much needed vacation..._
I start with those expensive pellets too, you just can't get around them, but once the doelings are getting close to weaning I mix the pellets with leftover feed from my milking does. The Milkers get a large scoop, so they can sort out what they need, and the left overs go to kids/bucks, etc. This way my milking does get to sort through a bit (and with me changing feeds/hay quality they do sort out different things depending on what's in the hay feeders) and I cut cost in non-milkers feed.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Tried to upload photo, got this message:
The upload folder is full. Please try a smaller file and/or contact an administrator
Help???


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Put it through Photobucket.com Marion. 
Tam


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

If you can find a grain farmer to buy straight out of his combine, this will be big savings. I bought barley this way last summer, and will again this year. I feed about 1/2 my grain ration in barley. Then, I get bagged oats, corn, and flax (as a fat source) from two different mills. I also get beet pulp from the mill in bulk in the back of my pickup, which I take home and shovel into "bean boxes". They sell other things in bulk, but there is no real cost savings at the mill here, for some reason, maybe other people can find deals on bulk grains. I have called around to various places to find the cheapest grains. That's how I found the flax, which was the cheapest high fat product I could find here. Rice bran is outrageous, and BOSS is expensive as well. I use 2 tubs and weigh the feed ingredients, and poor back and forth to mix.

If you have any way to get your goats to feed themselves as much as possible, that is the cheapest thing to do (if there isn't a drought ). Pasture, or even better underbrush/bushes/weeds/small trees are great. I have an electric net fence that I can put them into areas that aren't permanently fenced.

Only give dewormers as necessary based on fecal exams, eyelid color. Rotate pastures and have the goats eat "up" as much as possible.

My hay feeder works pretty well too. It is a short length of cattle panel, with diagonal cut 2x6 and plywood attached, then we stuff the hay in the space, and the goats put their heads through to eat.

Cut branches and dry them for winter forage. If you have a pasture, if yours is set up for it (mine doesn't work), have someone come cut hay off it when it is growing faster than the goats can eat it; it's cheaper than buying hay, so you can at least save some on the feedbill.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

My biggest money saving suggestion is related to culling...if a doe requires a lot of feed to maintain production/condition what does she give you that is worth it? I will take a smaller doe (within breed standard) that will milk her heart out on less feed over a giant doe that sucks up the feed to milk the same amount. Bigger is not always better people! That is why people love minis ;-)

This is the time to analyze your breeding program, too- sell the does that aren't moving you where you want to go and sell the does that you wouldn't pay someone else for a kid from them. Sell bucks that don't make nice enough kids or move you in the right direction. If possible, lease a buck (sometimes for only care costs), or share one with other people. If a buck is costing a minimum of $500 a year to feed/care for, divide that by the # of does you will breed to him- would you pay that much per doe to breed to that buck?)


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

I've downsized drastically over this past year. When it became clear the drought was going to be a serious problem I was relieved to have done so! We've been paying $70/round for good quality coastal bermuda- marked up at the feed store but with gas prices no way I'm going to save by driving 2 hours east to get a better price. I finally caved and bought a bale of local fescue for half the price. It's as good a fescue you're going to find locally... and I remembered why I never buy fescue. They refuse to eat the stems, waste is insane, and I'm already having to make up the deficit by feeding extra alfalfa. There are clearly no savings with the cheaper hay in this case!


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## In it for the Bucks! (Mar 12, 2012)

My first money saving tip has to mostly do with those of us in the warmer arid climate. I buy feed in bulk. By that I mean everytime we go to the feed store we buy ALL of the feed that we are going to need for the next 3 months. This usually means at least 1 ton of pig feed (usually 2), and 1/2 to 1 ton of pellets for our goats. We then empty everything out into big barrels with lids. It keeps alot longer and we loose ALOT less from the weather and varmits.(our hay is bought localy)
Also, our chosen feed store is 2 hours away. We try to make everytrip count so, we gather as much animals that we can that are a decent price (craigslist, and newspaper) and take them to auction (same town as feed store). Profits usually pay our fuel bill to get there. And, before we go we ask around to anyone we know if they need anything. We don't charge for fuel (altho people usually offer). But we know that next time they are going we will get the same call and it saves everyone on fuel and the little things that you pick up but you don't need when someone else goes shopping for you.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

I agree with Michelle about appropriate culling being one of the most cost effective things to do. Keeping goats that have to be pampered is expensive. Certainly you can't expect them to perform without proper nutrition but they shouldn't eat more than the other does to produce the same amount of milk. 
There are some things that I will "splurge" on. The bluebonnet minerals are one of those things. I didn't use them for a while and had to give everyone extra bo-se at kidding last spring. It is not worth it to buy cheap minerals and then have kids that can't stand or suck or does who simply don't have enough nutrients to maintain health.
Another consideration is having a long term vision for your goats (for your life, really). Then when you are making purchases, whether feed or new stock or fence, weigh it against your long term goals. It really does help you keep from spending money on things that you really don't need.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I also make sure and use every drop of milk that my goats give. It makes little sense to have dairy goats, then dump out the milk. If I can't sell it, turn it into cheese, etc. I pick up calves to put the milk to. Pigs, chickens, etc work too. Bum lambs can make good profits, if you can get them for free or very cheap.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I am taking all the garden vegetation and drying it in the barn. Corn husks, silk, bean greens and such will all get dried for storage. Then in August I will plant our fodder plots, gives the goats a variety of beans, beets, carrots, corn. lettuce...you get the idea. All I do is take all the seeds together and spread it out on a plot, I do not plant them, and then cover with goat stomp. Grass and alfalfa grow up in with the veges so there is that too. It is fed as green and then dried for winter. This year I actually have squash planted and will store those for the goats too.
Tam


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I use the milk for the house, the dogs and the chickens.

I am keeping the doe kids on their dams until fall breeding.

I am raising a single buckling for the freezer, a first for me. He will stay on his dam until he goes to freezer camp this fall.

Instead of using the hay racks, I put the hay on the outside of the fence panels and let the goats stick their heads thru to eat it. Less waste and what they don't eat goes to the horses. I am going to rig a hay and grain feeder that runs the length of one panel instead of just throwing the hay on the ground. This way I can feed them both hay and alfalfa pellets outside the fence and they can't soil or waste it.

Changed to a cheaper pelleted feed, from a dairy goat pellet to a dairy cow pellet. Since we don't have much in the way of grain grown up here I have to use pelleted feeds or go broke. When fall comes around, hopefully we will have native oats again and i will feed those 50/50 with the pellets.

The kids and the buck get the same pelleted feed as the horses for their evening feed, with the medicated grower pellet in the morning.

Fecal before worming.

I have been letting the edible weeds grow all over the yard and bring the goats 1 feeding of weeds a day, replacing the hay.

I grab all the branches I can find for them to replace some of the hay.

I use alternate fly control like cedar chips, vanilla car deodorizers, concentrated fly spray, white vinegar mixed with garlic and or citrinella. I also use lots of fly strips. I also clean out the wet spots in the goat stalls twice a day and sprinkle with shavings and old sand.

I grow veggies in the manure pile for whoever will eat them.

My friends save me corn plants and husks and such for the goats, leftovers for the chickens.

I get meat scraps for the dogs and chickens free from a meat shop. The extra eggs go to the dogs or back to the hens.

I buy the best dog food I can because I can feed a lot less.

I try to arrange shopping trips so that I can get everything in 1 days trip.

I dry out horse manure to burn in the wood stove to supplement the wood.

I buy the best minerals I can get in large bags. I order my injectable prescriptions from a local small animal vet who charges me what he pays for them.

I buy worm medicines yearly when on sale, in fact I try to get all my supplies on sale. 

I got rid of my bucklings before weaning this year to save on grain.


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2012)

I save all my feed bags and every year collect tons of dried maple leaves for feed, they love them.. oak too.. and dried weeds and carrot tops from the garden.. usually get quite a few bags of them.. Also let the grass and lawn get very long, cut and dry it.. I have cut back on amt of animals that I have, also let them graze more now that i have a fenced in acres or take them for walks in the woods to let them eat there.. I sell jars with feta cheese in them.. they buy the jars only.. 
and of course my soap and lotion sales help alot.. 
I am thinking of making large poo tea bags of my donkeys poo for gardeners.. it makes excellent fertilizer for gardens.. I have alot of donkey poo to do this with.. 
Barb


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

Has anyone used a Fodder system? I was just signing onto this forum to ask if anyone had any information on how goats do on sprouted grains and saw this at the top. Crazy. Anyway, if you type in Fodder Pro or Fodder Solutions there are you tube videos and tons of info. Please let me know what you think. If I were in an area I could not feed great alfalfa year round I would have already purchased one for my horses. Good 3rd crop goes for $150 a ton and it is right across the street but I think the live food year round would be very beneficial.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

I have been looking at fodder systems- but I am thinking that with the cost of grains going higher, the cost of fresh fodder grown that way may be higher than hay.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I've been thinking about doing this for months. I didn't realize there was a whole system available for it, sure would make it easier! I used to sprout wheat and barley for juicing and thought this would be a great way to grow animal feed. I've got bread racks I use for curing soap that I could try it with to see if they even like it. Trying to figure out what to line them with so the seeds don't fall through.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I've started composting with worms. They turn the old bedding and manure into something amazing. Perhaps over time I'll even have another product to sell. At very least I'll have amazing fertilizer for the garden.

I have looked at the fodder systems before, but didn't feel I'd really get a return on my investment, although I do love the idea of being able to provide those fresh greens.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I am also drying wild plums to take the place of cranberries and animal crackers as after milking snacks. There are so many great ideas out there that if one looks...they will find a way.
Tam


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Great idea Tammy! We have this whole row of plums that were either planted by some previous people that lived here, or wild ones, not sure which, but they look wild now at least!


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I make my own treats for the dogs, horses and goats when I have time. I also take the meat scraps and de-hydrate them as treats for the dogs.

I pick apples at my friends farm. I feed fresh to the horses and goats, then I make applesauce for the house, unsweetened for the critters. I use that as a base for the treats, adding whole grain flours and whatever else I have (cheese, eggs, fruit, veggies, meat) that that type of critter likes.

I try to grow or pick medicinal types of herbs to supplement main stream medications. Since pumpkin works for both scours or constipation, i try to grow those. The smaller ones i throw to the dogs. They use them as toys for a short time, then they eat them as a snack. Same with apples, tomoatoes, squash. The larger ones I cook and freeze for mid winter snacks or as a treatment if they need it. I was also thinking about sun drying some of these things as a snack for them or as another way of preserving them for medicinal use. I think maybe the goats would like squash and such better if they were sun dried. 

I don't have any place to store dried leaves for the winter, but I do feed them out as they fall in the autumn. I do scrounge the area for pines, cedar, fir and spruce branches or limbs that come down in the winter.

I also supplement some bread from the "dead bread" store in the winter months as a way to keep a layer of insulating fat over those bones. That's probably more for my feelings than a benefit for the goats/horses/chickens or dogs, but they sure enjoy it.

I also like going to the dollar stores and places like that. I buy cookies and graham crackers as treats. My goats LOVE real ginger Ginger Snaps, especially when they are pregnant.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

I like to pick up a load of 'Old Bread', too, but I have a hard time keeping it mold free in the summer. From my last load I threw about half away due to mold, and I haven't figured out how to prevent that, so i guess that will stay more of a 'cooler-weather' system for me, too. It does lower feed costs: I get a full-superfull Pick-up load for $30. Can't beat that!

Another thing I am trying to do is working together with others to reduce costs. Today I talked to a lady who has a wild life refuge. She buys goat milk from me for the fawns she recues and we always talk about animals, feed, meds, etc. Turns out goats and deer are alike in many ways. Anyway, I gave her some of my feed tags so she could see what I feed (I buy my feed an hour's drive away, best price I could find when buying a ton or more), and now she found a close by feedmill that now custom mixes a feed very close to mine for her, and she buys it in 80 lbs bags. Now we are contemplating if we could both save money if I find a cheap bin and we can both feed that feed, buy it in bulk and get it delivered to my bin, and she picks up feed at cost here when she comes and gets milk. I still have to make sure her mix will work well for my does, but if it does, this could work very well for us. Always thinking!


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

Bread is hard to keep from molding in the warmer months, even up here in Maine. In the summer, if I feed it, I buy it by the flat. I usually get 5 of those which would last about a week for the goats, horses and chickens. I can keep that much from getting moldy if I open the bread bags and keep them out of the sun.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

If you have a bunch of fridge or freezer space, you could store them there. My bread for me, I always keep in the fridge, cus sometimes I have a hard time using it up before it molds.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

I really like the ideas about using wild plums and such. We have acorns abundantly in the fall and hackberries. We also have poison oak and briars that stay green way into the fall because they are protected under the trees. That gives the goats forage almost year round.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Michelle-I know people say that drinking milk from goats that eat poison oak/ivy gives some kind of immunity to people, but I've always wondered, how do you milk them, without getting the juices on your skin and therefore getting a rash?


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

If you dehydrate bread, will it keep longer? You know how you can buy canned bread crumbs or crackers - those things don't get moldy...


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

My goats eat poison ivy every chance they get and so far I've never contracted it from them. I think it's because the ivy grows up trees and up our garage and they don't have to rummage around in it while eating it and so don't get covered in the oils. Or maybe I'm immune to it?


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Nancy, I used to be horribly allergic to poison ivy/oak. If I got even the smallest patch on my skin I would start wheezing and get hives all over and the rash from the actual poison ivy would be so very swollen red and weepy. My eyes would even swell shut. For three or four years, I suffered horribly. And yes, i did get it from my goats and the dogs and cats, to the point I thought I would have to give up on my idea of having my little homestead here. Now I hardly have any trouble from it. If I do get the oil on my skin, it is a normal type reaction, with a red itchy rash that clears within days. I would like to think that drinking the goat's milk helped me. but I really don't know how I got immune to it.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

I was thinking the same thing. angie. If you dumped the bread out to dry here it would be completely dehydrated in hours!


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## Sans Gene Goats (May 15, 2011)

I weigh out my hay. I have a hanging scale set up by the hay, put a flake or two of hay in a bucket or in the nylon baby sling. I portion out by pen and how much I think they should eat (based on their weight and body condition). I found I was way overfeeding, and since I've starting weighing it out I have a lot less waste. Weighing also lets me know just how heavy those bales are and what the true purchase cost per pound is.

I also buy a variety of hay; top quality alfalfa and orchard grass, and local grass hay. Goats with higher nutritional needs get primarily alfalfa and orchard grass, and the others get mostly local with a little of the other to boost nutrition. Locally grown hay around here isn't very green and usually only one cutting. But for the dry does and "fatties" it gives them something to munch on and the waste gets used as bedding. The local hay costs about the same as straw. 

Another thing I've started doing is "recycling" the shavings in the milker's overnight stall. About twice a week I rake out the too-dirty-leave-in-there but not wet stuff and use it to bed in the horse stalls. The horses only come in at night so they only need it to soak up urine, etc. The horses also will eat the alfalfa stems and dropped the goats won't eat.

Since I started doing things this way I've cut my hay bill by 15 - 20%. I'm not sure yet what I'm saving on bedding, but so far I haven't bought any shavings or bedding pellets for the horses this summer. At $4.50 a bag for bedding pellets and $7 for a bale of shavings, any bit helps!


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

doublebowgoats said:


> I was thinking the same thing. angie. If you dumped the bread out to dry here it would be completely dehydrated in hours!


Here too this summer - everything is toast now. Last week I was thinking - well, there's still enough green to keep it pretty here, but not this week. This week everything is brown and crumbling. Where do you get a hold of this cheap bread? I had a friend whose dad drove a bread truck, but for the price he wanted for a bag of leftovers, I could have bought a bag of feed so I didn't pursue it.


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Great ideas, Dixie.
That reminded me of my alfalfa pellet feeder. I have a gravity type feeder that I designed a couple of years ago to free-feed pellets to the goats. I had been using hook over the fence feeders and tubs on the ground. I cut the amount of pellets I was feeding literally in half so that was a huge savings.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Why did they eat less? Was it cause with it being out all the time there was less competition? Or did you have problems with waste before?


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

It was a waste problem. Turning over the buckets and that kind of thing.


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## Sans Gene Goats (May 15, 2011)

doublebowgoats said:


> Great ideas, Dixie.
> That reminded me of my alfalfa pellet feeder. I have a gravity type feeder that I designed a couple of years ago to free-feed pellets to the goats. I had been using hook over the fence feeders and tubs on the ground. I cut the amount of pellets I was feeding literally in half so that was a huge savings.


Thanks Michelle  Your gravity-type alfalfa pellet feeder sounds wonderful! Any chance you could post a picture of it?


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I am terribly allergic to Poison ivy. Even if I drink the milk after they have eaten it, I still get it. Passive immunity doesn't work on me. sigh.

I always end up with poison ivy every year from the goats or dogs. They get into it, then I touch them and the next morning I am covered. If the goats got into it and I milk them, I get it on my hands, up my arms and on my legs.

I feed my hay outside the pen now, they have to put their head thru the panel to reach it. Any left goes to the horses. The inside buck pen gets raked out daily and the hay goes to the horses too. This saves me a lot. When my back was better, I was pulling up weeds and giving them the weeds for 1 feeding, saving the hay that I usually feed during the late morning feeding.

Any grain the goats waste or leave behind gets fed to the growing pullets.

I just started mixing the goats feed. I buy the dairy cattle pellets (high energy/20% protein) and mix it with corn, oats (when I can get native oats), beef cattle grower (3% calcium to .5% phos!) and alfalfa pellets with Rice bran as a top dress. That gives them a good mix at a better price than what I had been feeding. It's a pain mixing it all, but if it saves me money, I'll do it.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Dixie-how much hay do you feed to each class of goats?


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## Sans Gene Goats (May 15, 2011)

fmg said:


> Dixie-how much hay do you feed to each class of goats?


When dry-lotted, I feed 2-3 pounds per head for adult nigerians, depending on size/weight,and body condition. I feed a little more toward the 3lb range if it's local grass. Except for milkers, they don't get any hay if they out munching greenery all day. In general, they get:

Wethers, non-rut bucks, and dry does: 1/2 lb orchard grass or alfalfa, rest local up to 2-3 lbs total per head. It's OG or alfalfa depending on body condition and what I have a lot of at the time. Orchard Grass and Alfalfa cost about the same here.

Bucks in rut: They get all orchard grass. If they rut themselves too lean, I feed up to half their ration alfalfa and give them some grain mix until their weight comes up.

Milkers: Straight alfalfa if they milk lean, 50/50 alfalfa & Orchard Grass if they tend to be fatties. If they are out browsing all day, I give them 1/2 lb each alfalfa hay at night. Mine don't get to go out and graze every day so I feel it's important to keep hay in their diet. They get alfalfa pellets on the stand with their grain mix, they might eat a cup or two worth of pellets each at milking. I count alfalfa pellet cost in with my grain cost when feeding it on the stand.

Babies: until they are about 6 months old get all they can eat; 1-2 lbs each and I alternate alfalfa one day, orchard grass the next. They get about a 1/2 cup dairy mix until they are 4-6 months old.

Kinda sounds complicated when I write it all out, but really it's not. The most important thing I've found is weighing the hay. I used the calculators from Langston - http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/nutreqgoats.html to help me figure out how much they really should need of the hay I was feeding. Mostly I used the ones under the heading "diet formulation". Took awhile to do, but worth it.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

> Your gravity-type alfalfa pellet feeder sounds wonderful! Any chance you could post a picture of it?


I am hoping for a picture, too :biggrin


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Ok. Here is my pellet feeder. I consider it a prototype because a metal one would be way better. This one holds three or four bags of alfalfa pellets, a weeks worth when I had nine goats.


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## Fiberaddict (Jun 4, 2009)

We feed from round bales now, instead of square. Square Sudan is $7/bale (because I pay to have it delivered and stacked - I can't stack hay myself, my wrist is too wonky); we were buying 100 bales. It lasted about 6 months. Round coastal bales (crap coastal, but not as crap as the Sudan) are $50, and last about 1.5 months. Little more work at feeding time, but the cost savings makes it worth it.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

I get my bread at a local bakery outlet store for $30/pick-up truck load


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I buy the big round bales too. I go thru 2 every other week between the goats and horses. The 2 bales, delivered, are $55.00 for both. Square bales are a minimum of 3.50 for 35 pound bales up to 5.00 for the same size. All are just plain mixed grass/weed hay. I couldn't afford to feed everyone square baled hay. They also like the hay from the big round bales better, I think it's because it's not as pricky.


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## Qz Sioux (Feb 21, 2009)

Well, for me, the way that I am saving money is simply to allow the girls to browse, browse, browse. I even take them foraging to the property across the street from me. It is wooded, and no one has lived on it, ever. The girls LOVE browsing over there and can spend hours doing it, if I let them. On week days when there is no traffic on our little dirt road, I will open the front gate and let them browse on their own as long as I can see them. Of course if they hear any noise that sounds "odd", they all come running back through the gate.

I am so very glad that I invested in a microscope for fecals. I am fairly confident that I'm identifying the right eggs, and I use all the pictures I have on my pc to help. I have found that keeping fecals done on a regular basis, and worming according to what I identify on the fecal, helps to save money for a couple of reasons. One, I'm not just blindly worming every month or 6 weeks in hopes that I get what needs gotten. Two, I'm not pouring feed down a goat that isn't getting the nutrients due to a worm load.

My goats are healthier now than I think they have ever been. I am not wasting money on meds that I hope will fix a problem that I don't even know what the problem is. I know that my management still needs some tweaking, but I feel I'm well on my way. I'm still needing to get my vet to give me prescriptions or sell me the prescription meds I know I need to keep on hand. I'm working on it.

Now, if I could just get some good, cheap feed mix recipes. I'd really like to mix my own feed if I can find one cheaper than the expensive, "mystery" pellets I'm now feeding. One friend of mine mixes her feed, which contains lentils or dried split peas, some corn, a tiny bit of oats and a little BOSS. I just don't know her formula, or if it will work well with my dairy goats. Her goats are different breeds. Some are dairy, some are mini's, some are boer, and some are crosses of the different breeds.


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I wish I had someplace to take them browsing but there is nowhere. I think i will ask the neighbors if I can clip small saplings and trim bigger trees on their property that are in the way. I don't mind dragging branches and such back for them. I used to have my horses go to a friends house each summer to graze her old grown up sheep pasture. There are a ton of poplar, aspen and such that I cut and dragged home every day. Plus there was a few apple trees that provided me, the horses and the goats with apples and apple by-products. Unfortuanly I lost my friend to cancer and the place was sold.


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## debmac (Nov 19, 2007)

We had a new feed mix company open down in town. I started getting calf and chicken feed from them and cut my bill in 1/2- down to about .12 /lb both were costing me .32/lb.Everyone looks great. We are working on a goat feed- using Sondra's mix with the addition of canola oil. Noble is costing me .24/lb. They will mix as little as 500#at a time- comes in one of those giant totes. 
Deb


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

Where do I find Sondra's mix?


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

http://www.dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?topic=16528.0 Scroll down until you see the ingredients.


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

thanks I'm thinking of going back to feed co op made up grain. I found a new Co Op in the area


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## Grumpy Old Buck (Feb 5, 2011)

Trysta said:


> I like to pick up a load of 'Old Bread', too, but I have a hard time keeping it mold free in the summer.


 **Old bread molds because of the moisture. If you have old screen doors, rabbit wire, anything from old wire racks to fencing, etc. that you can lay it out on, one slice not touching sides and let it air dry for a day or two--it will become very dry like 'stuffin' cubes. The goats love the 'crunch' of it, and once it is dry you can place it in old feed sacks, plastic tubs (without airtight closed lids, etc. The feed sacks can be tied closed with hay twine and hung up out of the way in your barn area. The key is to keep small mesh wire over the bread so birds and cats etc. cannot get to it while the drying process. We did this for the rabbits many many years ago and referred to them as 'bunny cookies' and used them over the years subsequently for goats as well.


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## kerryandjennie (May 27, 2011)

Recently, I've been looking up ads on Craigslist for free bamboo. It's cheaper than hay (we don't travel far) and the goats get their ruffage, and there're no shortage of bamboo!!!! I also look for ads where people are offering "free wood" and call to see if I can have any fresh branches that maybe people don't want to take along with the tree they cut down. Basically, anything green I can get for free within a close distance to my home, I go pick it up and put it out for the goats. They've managed to browse down 6 acres of woods this year and keep it mowed back, so it's either buy hay or bring in roughage.


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## PrairieTrail45 (Nov 28, 2011)

Feed is outrageous here too. I finally had to switch my kids to the milkers feed because the meat goat feed kept going up .20-.50 cents per week! It is already up over $15 per 50 lb bag. So far the kids are doing great on the milker feed, they actually look better on it than they did on the meat goat feed. Of course, they aren't hardly kids any more. Two are January kids who will be bred either next month or in October and the other is a March kid that I am considering breeding in November or December just to get her in milk. I don't really want to spend another year's worth of feed on an unproductive goat if I don't have to.

All of my goats get alfalfa, but they are fed twice a day only as much as they will clean up. Alfalfa is very hard to find here and already $10-$12 per bale. I know someone who paid $160 for a large square bale of alfalfa. My main group of does have a round bale of grass hay out for them and all of my goats have access to pasture to graze.

My cows have been getting our older square bales of grass to keep them full, in addition to being on pasture. We have enough land we have been able to rotate them so they still have some grass to eat. I usually creep feed my calves, but with feed so high I have decided not to creep feed them this year to cut costs. The calves are growing great and look fantastic. Most of the bigger ranches around here raise their calves the same way, on mom's milk and grass.


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## IndyGardenGal (Jun 11, 2009)

Feed prices here have gone up quite a bit. We were talking to the local feed barn about getting a custom mix. The owner was telling us that prices are going up. Purina Noble goat has gone from $14/bag to $17.50. 

We are developing a fodder system here to help us get our laying hens off of bagged feed. Fodder feeding systems seem to be more efficient in terms of using grain, as sprouted, animals utilize more of it. What we are finding is that for every pound of grain we get about 6 pounds of sprouted fodder. Now, I know that there are people utilizing the fodder systems to feed goats, but we are a bit concerned as fodder can easily mold. We don't have the money to throw into a pre-made system either, so we are just testing small batches before putting money into our own homebuilt system. Our goal is to move all of the animals onto fodder for their grain rations (pigs, chickens, goats, etc). Barley seems to be the best grain to sprout for both protein and nutrition, but we don't have access to it locally. I am going to play a bit more with trying to come up with a good sprouting mix for the goats. I'd be happy to document more about our trials with this so that more people can benefit from it.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

We would love for you to do a thread on this Mary!


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Please do Mary! I'm curious if you will continue through the winter? We aren't free ranging as much as we are used too cause the chickens were being real pests on this farm (just a different set up I guess). Where do you get the grains to sprout?


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## IndyGardenGal (Jun 11, 2009)

swgoats said:


> Please do Mary! I'm curious if you will continue through the winter? We aren't free ranging as much as we are used too cause the chickens were being real pests on this farm (just a different set up I guess). Where do you get the grains to sprout?


Kern, Kirtley, and Herr Elevator. I've been using wheat to sprout that I bought from the Wal-Mart in Avon. I would think that sprouting through winter would be easy, and we will continue trying throughout. I also have raised beds and a spot in the garden we are covering with low tunnels to grow greens during the winter. But that's more for us and the rabbits.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

You found wheat at Wal-Mart? Is this wheat berries for human food or something in the garden section?


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Do you buy your feed at that elevator Mary? Sorry, if I've asked you this before. That's closer than TSC. Ever get oats there? I'm paying around $9/50 lb for Sweet Mix. I quit looking at feed after I switched cause I figured I could get any cheaper than that. I had gotten oats a couple places that weren't very good quality. And at TSC they are ridiculously high.


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## IndyGardenGal (Jun 11, 2009)

They do. They are the organic producers co-op, so they have non-GMO, transitional, and organic grains. I don't have prices off hand. You can call and get prices from them. THey also special order stuff too. It's where I get my Right now Onyx mineral. If they do a custom mix, it's by the ton. The wheat berries are in the baking aisle at the Avon Wal-Mart. They usually only keep a bag or two on the shelf, and they are the closest one that has them. I think I drove by your house the other day too. I'd seen your barn on your blog, and we were taking the county roads home. Are you down the road from one of the big hay guys?


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Mr. B is right down the road from us and the civic theatre. I bet you did drive right by me. We are hard to miss being practically in the road :lol That's really neat the wheat berries being at Wal-Mart, that's kind of unusual.


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## todog (Dec 10, 2011)

Hello Angie and Mary in indy, I am only a couple of hours from u in ohio. Small world isnt it. Well my money saving tip is, shop around. I was buying all my feed from a local feed store, not tsc, but a friend told me to check the elevator 6 miles the other way and my goat feed went from 16.95 per 50# to 11.50 per 50#. Chicken feed went from 15.95 per 50# to 10.95 per 50 #. In gredients and nutrients are the same. I only get a monthly check for 486.00 that will drop to 386.00 in october so I have to cut my costs. Good luck everyone, for the next year or two will be a rough one for all.


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## IndyGardenGal (Jun 11, 2009)

I've been sprouting wheat in 1/2 gallon jars. It works, the chickens love it, but I would much prefer a setup that allows for constant draining from the sprouts. I'm going to see how many garden trays that drain I have, so I can try those out next. I'm also going to buy barley, as it is supposed to be the best for fodder. The most important thing is to clean the trays after every use. I think a bleach solution, while effective, would wear out plastic trays much faster than perhaps a food grade hydrogen peroxide solution for cleaning.


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

I am actually looking into a Fodder Pro system at Farm Tech. I think the goats will not need as much of the fodder to get their nutrients but I believe they will still need a grass hay to keep the digestive system active and provide fiber. What are your thoughts? I have horses as well and the fodder system has been on my wish list for years. Have you looks at You Tube yet? If not just type in fodder systems. Lots of info out there. What I have not found is how they keep down the mold in these systems. You cannot add bleach because it kills very important enzymes as well as, as you said. be hard on the system. We buy food grade hydrogen peroxide. I think I will grow some sprouts with and 1 without and see how it goes.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

Jennifer let us know how that purchasd system works out. I am interested but need a,large system - 1/2 gallon jar systems while maybe nice for a single goat wouldn't even be enough for a treat for the number of goats in our herd.


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

Wow....I must have been tired when I wrote that last post. Sorry if it was hard to understand. I will put together what I know and share my numbers when I get them together.


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## IndyGardenGal (Jun 11, 2009)

I wouldn't recommend the half-gallon jars for much, unless it's just for a treat. I would clean the trays between use, but the Farm Tek systems shouldn't have a problem with mold while growing. I have noticed that most people keep the systems in a climate controlled environment. I know if I tried to keep mine outside in this muggy weather, it would probably mold. I was thinking about buying these trays to grow it in. http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/cambro/1826clrcw/p9983.aspx


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

Good find, Mary. The holes look too big. Are you thinking of using a screen over them, then the seeds? The climate controlled environment is going to be my problem here in the winter. We have lows into the single digits for a couple of weeks a year. I need to find out if my garage stays warm enough or not. I would give up my garage in the winter to have a fodder system in there. Now that's saying something.


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## IndyGardenGal (Jun 11, 2009)

I think we'll go with drained black gardening trays. I might try setting up some shelves on a shelf in shower. I bet DH will love that. :biggrin


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

Lol...gotta love us, right?


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## happy vagabonds (Jun 24, 2012)

I have been wanting to share this tip with you all, but only remember when I am out in the yard and forget by the time in get into the house...

I made 2 of these PVC mineral feeders:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gTRg-926aiE/RZbncPDxXXI/AAAAAAAAACs/FDWGbdFTe3g/s400/PICT0060.JPG

One thing that bugged me was that there is a bit of dead space at the bottom where the goats cannot access the minerals and essentially it goes to waste! So I discovered that a peanut butter jar happens to fit very nicely into the bottom of the feeder, eliminating that dead space and the waste!

On my feeders, I actually added a length of pipe to the bottom to accommodate the dimensions of the screw fitting, so the jar is actually the perfect size. For those who don't have this extra length, you can cut the peanut butter jar to fit. Or use another appropriately sized jar.


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## melwynnd (Oct 17, 2012)

IndyGardenGal said:


> I think we'll go with drained black gardening trays. I might try setting up some shelves on a shelf in shower. I bet DH will love that. :biggrin


You know your husband loves you when your living room looks like this and he doesn't complain.....










Sherry


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Wow, that's commitment 

I missed your tip Frankie. I was annoyed by the same thing. What I do is fill the bottom with dolomite, then put the minerals on top. If they eat a little dolomite, it won't hurt them, but mostly it just takes up that space they can't really get too.


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## Cannon_farms (Nov 17, 2009)

The greatest way for us to cut cost was looking into what we where feeding.
I had some nice looking hay, goats liked it but once it was tested I found out why I was feeding so much grain to keep them in shape, it had 7% protein where as typical rye has 12-16%. Finding a better hay saved me about $30 a week on grains and pellets. 

Also keep in mind crude fiber isnt much your friend as it just comes out the other end.

Right now Im using a local mill mix for starting calves, its 18% for $10, I think its funny because the dairy goat which is the exact same thing is $15 per bag. Im using about 200lbs every two weeks, 25 goats and 900lbs of hay roughly. 

I have kept my goats plump just off an all stock but fat isnt always healthy and you could see in their hooves that it wasnt doing it for them.

I save money by doing the cattle panel around the round bale with one of those heavy duty tarps, I still have some waste but not near as much as I did feeding squares. Rounds are $30 squares are $7 so you can see where i saved some money on that.
Rice bran and beet pulp are high here, alfalfa pellets are cheaper but not by much so I give the goats more oats instead of pulp or bran since oats are cheaper. With my rye hay being high in calcium I only feed my very pregnant and milking does alfalfa pellets.


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

I usually boil 2 whole chickens a week on differant days for salads and cooking but ,I save all the bones,skin and what stock I dont use for cooking ,I mix with warm water and pour on dry dog feed for my 3 LGD, I also save used grease from cooking and make gravy with the stock/water mix and pour over their dry feed ,I also get scraps from my son and I seldom ever buy canned dog food anymore .

I also trim all my plants down for winter that my goats can eat before the frost/freeze kills them , my herd has had banana tree leaves for 4 days now but they still have pasture also.

This is not the site I had but it seems to be working for locating hay

http://www.hayexchange.com/ There is Hay around my Tyler area !


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