Goats and Sheep: Nutrition/Diet 2 (Feeds)

So, what to feed the sheep and goats.

As for hay...

Unless you can grow your own feed or order a lot of feed for someone else to grow it for you, there really is not a lot of choice here in California, at least in Kern County, anyway. You can get alfalfa hay (a legume), sudan grass hay, or 3 way hay (a mix of oats, wheat, and barley). 

Alfalfa

Alfalfa, is a very nutritious, high-protein feed(--about 25-30%). It grows really well once established and can be cut several times a year. Alfalfa is the milk and horse industry standard out here. So, this is obviously the best choice, right? Well, yes and no. Dairy animals and growing animals can use the high-protein content in this hay to their advantage, but dry animals (not in milk) and males don't need this much protein.

Castrated males (steer, wethers) and even intact males can get urinary calculi (stones in the bladder and urethra) from the high calcium to phosphorus ratio in alfalfa hay as well as from the high protein. Urinary calculi are serious and can cause the death of the animal. Such high protein can also cause bloat when the animal eats this hay too quickly or too much. 

Moreover, legumes can rob the animal of much-needed iodine. This is especially important in goat husbandry, because a lack of iodine results in sick, hairless, dying, dead, or a complete lack of doe kids in the flock. Doe kids (females) need a lot of iodine in their formation.

Alfalfa is excellent for livestock--in moderation. Alfalfa hay is expensive to produce here in Kern County because it is a very thirsty plant.

Sudan grass is relatively new here in Kern County, as far as I know. It tends to be inexpensive, (although the Chinese seem to be snapping these bales up before we can buy them here). Sudan is a hybrid grass that is drought tolerant; it grows well here. I often feed my dry, open (non-pregnant) does, dry, open ewes, and male animals sudan grass.

Sudan Grass

The protein in this hay is a lot lower, about 9-12% but still good for non-lactating animals. Lactating and pregnant animals require higher protein levels--about 15%--to remain healthy. The protein levels can be augmented, however, by adding a considerable amount of grain to the diet. One must also be careful of the quality of the sudan grass and the honesty of the hay maker.

Sudan grass naturally has a higher moisture content than alfalfa and if it's not dried with care, the hay will be moldy. Mold can cause health problems, including miscarriage and organ damage.  Another precaution that must be taken with sudan grass is to age it at least two weeks from cutting before selling as feed. Once sudan grass is damaged or cut, it naturally produces enough prussic acid, a highly potent toxin, to kill even a cow. It takes two weeks for the prussic acid to be broken down and rendered harmless.

Oats Wheat and Barley

3 way hay is inconsistently available here. (as far as I know.) It can be difficult to grow properly because it's three grasses ripen at slightly different times and yet the hay needs to be harvested all at once and at the right time. If properly done, this makes an excellent hay; it's protein can be as high as low- to mid-grade alfalfa when harvested correctly. This hay can also be very palatable (tasty); more so than the sudan grass. I'm just learning more about this hay, myself.

There are other things to know about hay, such as: was the hay harvested at the peak growth time of so it's highest nutrient value? Was it cut at the proper time of day to not only reduce the probability of mold, but because the natural sugars in the plant run higher at certain times of day and this gives it more palatability? Is the hay sun cured or cured with the use of chemicals? We use sun-cured hay. Was the hay put up at the right stage in the drying process so that the sun has not bleached out valuable vitamins and it's not so wet that it molds? Was the hay left uncovered in a rain, allowing it to potentially mold? Hay growing and curing is not a simple process as it first seems.

What about pasture? There's not a lot of water here in Kern County anymore ('cause they won't let the water come down from up north like it naturally would) and the temperatures in summer reach 120F at times and summer can start as early as April/May. This high temperature so early in the season in combination with winter frosts can make the growing season difficult to pin down and short without extra water to keep the plants hydrated. The extra water is expensive, and the farmers don't have access to their full allotment of water here, either (that they've paid for!) and this adds to the cost of hay and makes growing pasture much more difficult and expensive.

Ultimately, though, despite the difficulties and costs of growing pasture, it is our hope to grow a small supplemental pasture in the near future and to eventually buy enough land for all of our pasture/feed needs. I believe that responsibly grown pasture is the best possible food for livestock, but I realize that pasture is not always a viable option, either because of space, climate, cost, or winter/time of year. I also believe that poor pasture and poor pasture management is not only a poor choice for livestock compared to properly grown hay but can actually harm or kill your livestock! A farmer who cares about their animals should choose a good-quality hay over pasturing if they can't properly pasture their animals.

Hopefully I can get into grain an other supplements in another article!