Do I want hay that's "limed, fertilized and weed-free" for my goats?

[Granolamom]

In my quest to find grass hay, I just came across this ad on Craigslist. Lime, fertilizer and no weeds doesn't really sound good for goats, or does it???

 

[buckeye chickens]

A Friend grows our hay, we have had it with weeds and without. the weeds are fine but, so is weed free. I like the week free better, it will be higher in protein and the goats, liked it better.

Do not buy any tall fescue hay.
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/fescue.html

 

[raindrop]

Lime changes the soil pH so the grass grows better.
Fertilizer makes the grass grow taller.
Weed-free may or may not matter to a goat. I think they like some weeds.

The hay should smell fresh, be green and not dry and musty.

 

[Granolamom]

Quote:
Yes, I get what lime and fertilizer do for the grower and seller of hay, I'm just wondering if the end result of grass that's been grown with the addition of various chemicals, especially the fertilizer, is so desirable for my animals to eat ( I try to go non-chemical with pretty much anything).

 

[ksacres]

Limed hay can lead to copper deficiency (lime causes another chemical to be present that interferes with copper absorption). I would avoid it if I could.

 

[Blooming chicks]

I had no idea limed hay could cause a deficiency--see what you can learn here!!

 

[MikelJohn]

They will eat just about anything you give them. Trust me. I have a bunch. If you spend too much money, you surely can't make any money!

 

[Granolamom]

Quote:
Well, these goats are mainly pets (unless I start milking the mom, which is a great possibility), and so making money with them is not what I got them for.
I know that they'll eat just about anything, if you let them (human kids do, too), but that doesn't mean you should feed either of them junk. I'm not trying to break my own bank, believe me, but I'm trying to do what's best for them, within my means.

 

[Skyesrocket]

I would buy a bale or two and let the goat decide. Mine do prefer weedy hay and alfalfa over everything else.
An alpaca farmer just discounted all of his limed, fertilized, weedless hay and I bought about 20 bales. Ugh...no one here wants to eat it. It's timothy. My brats...including the mini horse prefer the stuff grown out of unfertilized, unweeded fields. I guess they don't know the extra money was spent on preparing the field.
So it's best to get a small amount and see if your animals will eat it.

 

[Granolamom]

Quote:
... maybe they could taste/smell the added chemicals, and that's why they refused to eat it. Can't blame them. My (human) kids can almost always tell the difference between organic and regular (store bought) fruits and veggies, and will only eat the latter if forced to do so