Posted by GoatWorld on October 28, 2002 at 18:42:01:
In Reply to: Feeding round hay bales ? posted by Amy on October 27, 2002 at 22:05:59:
Hi Amy,
Good luck keeping goats from soiling or wasting any hay at all no matter how hard you try. Really, there is no surefire way to keep goats from wasting a portion of their hay but I've had some success with putting round bales outside the fence and letting them stick their heads through the fence to eat. Then when the hay starts to get low, you just push the round bale a bit closer to the fence. Of course this isn't the best idea if you have goats with horns.
Another method is wrapping the round bale with a cattle panel but again, not a good idea for horned goats.
In the messages below I wrote about a hay feeding system I saw used at a dairy cattle farm. It involves slanted boards ( / / / / ) where the stock can get only their heads through - you control the amount of hay they receive daily.
I think that is the key to getting the most from your hay - round and square bale alike. Control the amount they receive - feed only small portions at a time. Alot of people will just as likely throw an entire square bale to the herd (myself included) and call it even, but anymore, I give them flakes of hay instead of bales at a time.
And of course there are pros and cons to round bales; one advantage is they seem to have more volume and cost a bit less in comparison. A disadvantage is that you will almost always get a certain amount of mold where the bale sits, had been stored, or depending upon how it is cured and wrapped. This mold of course is a no-no and can be cause for listeriosis.
Best regards,
Gary