Pelleted feed?

[Wags]

I feed my goats alfalfa pellets for a few months in the winter. The content of the 100% alfalfa pellets is:
Protein not less than 15%,
Fat not less than 1%,
Fiber not less than 35%
Zinc(min 50 ppm)

I buy directly from the farm and pay $7.50/50lbs. Alfalfa hay runs $17.95 /133lbs. So pellets are cheaper, easier for me to store and handle, and create a lot less waste.

Are there any problem with feeding Dexter's pellets in the winter? They would still have access to plenty of graze/browse, but the nutrition level of the grass wouldn't be all that great. Would 100% alfalfa be to much for them?

For the same price I can also get what is commonly called "1/2 & 1/2" although it is actually 50% alfalfa, 25% grains, and 25% grass screenings. The guaranteed analysis for that is:
Protein not less than 14%,
Fat not less than 2%,
Crude Fiber maximum 20%


I don't want to short change my girls, but I also don't want any unnecessary work/expense either.

[wstevenl]

I imagine that with pellets you would not waste as much, assuming you feed in a bin and not on the ground, but simply by the pound the hay is cheaper. According to what you wrote alfalfa is .15/lb in pellet form and .13/lb in hay form.

It's too bad they don't do a 1/2 grass and 1/2 alfalfa pellet.

[Wags]

With my goats there is zero waste with pellets, and with hay they waste 1/3-1/2 of a bale. I figure it would be similar for cows.

I have a friend that feeds her goats oat hay, and she doesn't care about the waste because she figures it reduces her bedding costs as she uses oat straw for bedding. Seems like expensive bedding to me.

[Wags]

Just discovered the feed place does a pellet that is 99.5% grass and .5% molasses.

Protein not less than 9%
Fat not less than 2%
Crude Fiber maximum 27%

Price is equivalent for what grass hay is going for around here.

I have tried feeding my two Dexters the 1/2&1/2 pellets and they certainly clean up their feed pans without any spillage.

I'm assuming that if they are pregnant/milking that they will need something with more protein then the straight grass pellets provide. Is that correct?

For my fellow Oregonians in the mid-Willamette Valley I get my feed at Venell's just south of Corvallis. www.venellfeed.com/index.php?mid=products