Has anyone tried haylage out of soybeans or corn or whatever for goats and sheep and is haylage appropriate for these species. I know that silage can be deadly if not cured right. I would like to know how to decrease my winter grain feedbill if possible with haylage.Can you use a regular round bailer to make haylage. I figured you could not do on corn and that the legumes would have to be dry as in the midwest here in Missouri.

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), December 05, 2001

Answers

Terry are you milking these does? With breeding season all but over bucks need very little grain and just good hay. With does bred they need very little grain and actually a poorer quality of hay gets their rumens in better shape than fancy legume hay. If you feed to much grain, other than fat, your goats will actually be in worse shape than a goat raised on good hay and a small amount of grain.

We have talked about hay/silage before. I simply haven't been able to find quality animals that are raised this way. With the loss of just one animal to poor quality feed, wouldn't that just about wipe out the money you saved? If you have access to corn and soybeans for haylage than why not just use the two of them with a good mineral mix for your grain mix? Actually corn, oats and soybeans or soybean meal is the bases for most grain mix, just mix them yourself.

Lining up your hay for the winter at the best price is what saves you money with winter feeding, no matter what stock you raise. And winter, when your goats are bred is when you can take advantage of using all the first cutting, less expensive hay that was sold! The weeds and native grasses which make this hay less expensive may not be desirable for horses or even goats during lactation, but its wonderful right now! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 05, 2001.