This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > When I bought my fjords I was told to never feed them alfalfa and I > haven't. But here in Las Cruces that's all I can find. [...] Can > fjords eat alfalfa? I'm running out of hay fast (6 bales left)
I'm in the "don't feed them alfalfa" camp. It's too "dense" in calories, i.e. if you feed them a "full sized" ration, they turn into blimps; if you cut back to the number of calories they need, they don't get enough "chewing satisfaction", so take up eating the barn and/or fences, each others' manes, etc. Folks on the LONGEARS list who live in your area have a similar problem finding appropriate hay for their donkeys and mules. When they can't get timothy hay (it's trucked in from Colorado), they feed a little alfalfa (for nutrition) with a lot of something "filling", like straw. One of them even goes out hunting tumbleweeds (yup, dead, dry, rolling ones), which she brings home to let her critters munch on! If you must feed alfalfa, try to get it from a cutting that's not so lusciously leafy. Fjords would do better on stemmy hay (but watch out for anything moldy). It used to be that, around here, the only choices were alfalfa hay, or oat hay (both too rich for my easy keepers). I contacted the local Farm Supply, and asked if they knew anyone baling "pasture hay" for their cattle. They did, and I bought from him for years. Now, due to increased demand, most of the hay stores at least carry timothy hay, or rye grass, or orchard grass. Anyway, keep bugging your hay stores about wanting GRASS hays. And, see what you can do thru other channels, like ranchers. "Good hunting"! Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 30 mi SSE of San Francisco, Calif.
