Determining the Best Hay for Goats

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When goats can’t browse, they need hay (3% to 4% of their body weight, per day) for their rumens to function properly. This can be fed free-choice or twice a day.

Categories of hay: legume (alfalfa and clover), grass (timothy, brome, orchard grass, bluegrass), cereal grain straw (oat hay, cut before the seed heads mature), and mixed (legume and grass).

Protein content and Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) should be below 35% for goats. The higher the fiber content, the lower the digestibility. Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) is the sum of the digestible fiber, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate components of a feedstuff or diet. (TDN is directly related to digestible energy and is often calculated based on ADF.)

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PATRICE LEWIS is a wife, mother, homesteader, homeschooler, author, blogger, columnist, and speaker. An advocate of simple living and self-sufficiency, she has practiced and written about self-reliance and preparedness for almost 30 years. She is experienced in homestead animal husbandry and small-scale dairy production, food preservation and canning, country relocation, home-based businesses, homeschooling, personal money management, and food self-sufficiency. Follow her website www.PatriceLewis.com/ or blog www.Rural-Revolution.com

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