[Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do when the hay supply runs out next spring before my pasture comes in. I can't find small bales anywhere locally and those that are farther away are going for up to $12/bale. So I'm wondering about alfalfa pellets or cubes. I know of only two sizes--pellets for rabbilts (1/4 in. diameter or so) and cubes for horses. I've learned thus far from a goat site that I trust that you can feed the cubes in conjunction with hay, but not as a total replacement. Sheep and goats need the long fiber in hay for their rumens to work properly. The cubes are too chopped up and processed to be a total replacement. The site also said that sheep will not be able to eat those hard cubes "as is"and that I should either break them up with a hammer or soak them in warm water. That's a lot of work I'd rather not have to do. Do any of you have any experience feeding alfalfa pellets and if so, what quantity and what size pellet and what worked? Carol Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
Carol: I also tried cubes but found that the sheep would only nibble at them. it The fibers are too processed in the cubes, then I would have to assume that the pellets would not be any better, only worse. I only feed alfalfa to my flock when the weather is extremely cold. They will founder on alfalfa all the time. I use it to generate extra heat in the rumen during the coldest nights, or when they have a struggling lamb. The rest of the time they get prairie hay or Johnson grass hay and some corn gluten pellets and do just fine. This mixture is also a lot cheaper to find... Cecil in OKla On 10/22/2011 6:03 PM, Carol Elkins wrote: I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do when the hay supply runs out next spring before my pasture comes in. I can't find small bales anywhere locally and those that are farther away are going for up to $12/bale. So I'm wondering about alfalfa pellets or cubes. I know of only two sizes--pellets for rabbilts (1/4 in. diameter or so) and cubes for horses. I've learned thus far from a goat site that I trust that you can feed the cubes in conjunction with hay, but not as a total replacement. Sheep and goats need the long fiber in hay for their rumens to work properly. The cubes are too chopped up and processed to be a total replacement. The site also said that sheep will not be able to eat those hard cubes "as is"and that I should either break them up with a hammer or soak them in warm water. That's a lot of work I'd rather not have to do. Do any of you have any experience feeding alfalfa pellets and if so, what quantity and what size pellet and what worked? Carol Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
Carol, Can't help you out with that one. Thankfully I have never had to feed alfalfa pellets, hopefully I am not jinxing myself now. But what I have heard is that the lesser quality alfalfa is used in making the pellets, and may have green coloring added. This is just what I have heard, and have never used them. When I lived in Arizona for 5 years, I tried chaffhaye. What I remember of chaffhaye it is a fermented alfalfa, and has the long stems for rumen health. I think it cost about what a bale did, and they all cleaned it up. It has to be used fairly quickly one the wrapper is broken or it gets a white flush on it. The goats and alpacas loved it. Used to buy it from a guy who was only 30 miles from us. I wonder what the cost of that is going to be with the hay shortage. I just bought 2 stackers of hay, one second cut orchard grass, and one 3rd cut alfalfa, the end of August. Hoping that that will last me. I paid $7.50 per bale, for 60# bales. I have 6 Nubian goats and 6 katahdins. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Liz Radi Idar Alpacas, Nubian goats and Katahdin Hair Sheep Nunn, Colorado 970-716-7218 idaralpaca.blogspot.com ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
We have used the pellets here in MIssouri. They have been running anywarhere from $10 to 12.50 a bag. They are guarenteed to have 17% protein. The sheep love them and they seem to stay with them. And there is no mess to clean up. We also feed hay alflafa /orchard mix but are haveing to use some lesser hay since there is such a shortage due to drought and everything else going to Texas. We have 50 to 55 lb mixed bales for $5 . But there is always left overs that need to be cleaned up. Big bales are non existant now. Farmers are keeping everything for their cows., Nancy Quoting Elizabeth Radi : Carol, Can't help you out with that one. Thankfully I have never had to feed alfalfa pellets, hopefully I am not jinxing myself now. But what I have heard is that the lesser quality alfalfa is used in making the pellets, and may have green coloring added. This is just what I have heard, and have never used them. When I lived in Arizona for 5 years, I tried chaffhaye. What I remember of chaffhaye it is a fermented alfalfa, and has the long stems for rumen health. I think it cost about what a bale did, and they all cleaned it up. It has to be used fairly quickly one the wrapper is broken or it gets a white flush on it. The goats and alpacas loved it. Used to buy it from a guy who was only 30 miles from us. I wonder what the cost of that is going to be with the hay shortage. I just bought 2 stackers of hay, one second cut orchard grass, and one 3rd cut alfalfa, the end of August. Hoping that that will last me. I paid $7.50 per bale, for 60# bales. I have 6 Nubian goats and 6 katahdins. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Liz Radi Idar Alpacas, Nubian goats and Katahdin Hair Sheep Nunn, Colorado 970-716-7218 idaralpaca.blogspot.com ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
Nancy, do you happen to know if the pellets were for rabbits? Also, what quantity of pellets were you giving each sheep and was it their only feed at the time? Sheep need approximately 4% of their body weight in hay each day, so a 100 lb ewe will need about 4 lb of hay. I can't imagine giving a ewe 4 lb of pellets, but maybe that's not as unreasonable as I think it is. I like the idea of no waste; it makes the cost of the pellets more bearable. I'm also going to contact a feed mill about 60 miles away that does custom pelleting and see if they can make a pellet somewhere inbetween the size of a rabbit pellet and a horse cube. Liz, I tried chaffhay many years ago and it was okay but the sheep wasted even more of it than they do hay. Also, I don't know of a chaffhay distributor close to my town any longer. But I may have to start searching a little harder! Carol At 08:26 AM 10/23/2011, you wrote: We have used the pellets here in MIssouri. They have been running anywarhere from $10 to 12.50 a bag. They are guarenteed to have 17% protein. The sheep love them and they seem to stay with them. And there is no mess to clean up. We also feed hay alflafa /orchard mix but are haveing to use some lesser hay since there is such a shortage due to drought and everything else going to Texas. We have 50 to 55 lb mixed bales for $5 . But there is always left overs that need to be cleaned up. Big bales are non existant now. Farmers are keeping everything for their cows., Nancy Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
Carol I found a product called "forage feed' designed for older horses that cannot chew up their hay very well. http://www.lucernefarms.com/ I found it was a very clean (lack of dust) way to have hay for my rabbits when they live indoors-- The packaging is about the size of a bale of peat moss or shavings-- and is quite compacted, yet the feed fluffs out very nicely. I have fed the compressed cubes tothe sheep-- but yes, soaking them first is a must-- and you can get compressed timothy. Alfalfa pellets are just going to cause trouble if they are a main source of nutrition--- BUT--Beet pulp can be used to up the fiber content of a homemade mix of rations. Of course, whole oats, and even BOSS, in the shell, excellent working fiber when all is said and done. Terry W NE OHIO ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
I'm wondering if you have access to the large rectangular bales. Sort of like a round bale, but the large 3x3x7 foot bales are heavier than a round bale and they are flaked like small bales. The large bales I get are about 850 pounds, that's quite a lot of small square bales and I only pay $60 for the large bales. They last me, 7-8 days and I am feeding 6 horses and 13 sheep. Small bales around here from the same hay guy are $5.00 a bale. If I use small bales I use 4 bales a day, that's $20 a day! If you have a tractor and a place to store them, I have found they are definitely saving me money. Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: "Carol Elkins" To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 7:03:34 PM Subject: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do when the hay supply runs out next spring before my pasture comes in. I can't find small bales anywhere locally and those that are farther away are going for up to $12/bale. So I'm wondering about alfalfa pellets or cubes. I know of only two sizes--pellets for rabbilts (1/4 in. diameter or so) and cubes for horses. I've learned thus far from a goat site that I trust that you can feed the cubes in conjunction with hay, but not as a total replacement. Sheep and goats need the long fiber in hay for their rumens to work properly. The cubes are too chopped up and processed to be a total replacement. The site also said that sheep will not be able to eat those hard cubes "as is"and that I should either break them up with a hammer or soak them in warm water. That's a lot of work I'd rather not have to do. Do any of you have any experience feeding alfalfa pellets and if so, what quantity and what size pellet and what worked? Carol Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
I have used both cubes and pellets for horses. After my experience, I would never use the pellets again. The alfalfa pellets made my horse founder terribly. The cubes are fine, when you soak them, but my sheep don't really like the wet alfalfa, which is what it winds up being. Southern Stages and other supplies sell hay forage, which I used for my older horse who couldn't chew the long stemmed hay. It was the same hay, just chopped up so the horses who didn't have great teeth could get their nutrients. My sheep absolutely love the forage. Around here it comes in 40 pound bales, the bales are very compressed, when you empty it into a can, it fills up a Large trash can. They will get fat on it though, you have to learn how much to use, but it may be an option for you. Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: "Carol Elkins" To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 7:03:34 PM Subject: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do when the hay supply runs out next spring before my pasture comes in. I can't find small bales anywhere locally and those that are farther away are going for up to $12/bale. So I'm wondering about alfalfa pellets or cubes. I know of only two sizes--pellets for rabbilts (1/4 in. diameter or so) and cubes for horses. I've learned thus far from a goat site that I trust that you can feed the cubes in conjunction with hay, but not as a total replacement. Sheep and goats need the long fiber in hay for their rumens to work properly. The cubes are too chopped up and processed to be a total replacement. The site also said that sheep will not be able to eat those hard cubes "as is"and that I should either break them up with a hammer or soak them in warm water. That's a lot of work I'd rather not have to do. Do any of you have any experience feeding alfalfa pellets and if so, what quantity and what size pellet and what worked? Carol Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes
This is the forage I was talking about. I have also used beet pulp for my horses, only we needed to let it soak in water like the cubes. If I didn't soak in water, they would choke. I did have a sheep choke on it once, she got into it and really liked it and sucked it down too fast and started to choke> Nancy L. Johnson imgr8a...@comcast.net cell: 301 440 4808 - Original Message - From: "Terry" To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info, lizr...@skybeam.com Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 4:31:05 PM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Alfalfa pellets/cubes Carol I found a product called "forage feed' designed for older horses that cannot chew up their hay very well. http://www.lucernefarms.com/ I found it was a very clean (lack of dust) way to have hay for my rabbits when they live indoors-- The packaging is about the size of a bale of peat moss or shavings-- and is quite compacted, yet the feed fluffs out very nicely. I have fed the compressed cubes tothe sheep-- but yes, soaking them first is a must-- and you can get compressed timothy. Alfalfa pellets are just going to cause trouble if they are a main source of nutrition--- BUT--Beet pulp can be used to up the fiber content of a homemade mix of rations. Of course, whole oats, and even BOSS, in the shell, excellent working fiber when all is said and done. Terry W NE OHIO ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
