Drought has dried up all my grass! What are you feeding?

[CelticOaksFarm]

Our feed hasn't jumped recently like it had been. Luckily I am able to get whole grains at 14.95/ 50lb bag still. The Mazuri feed is never cheap, but takes less to feed them too.

Now hay prices, for get it. We are paying 15 a bail for first top quality Timothy or alfalpha. Found oat hay recently at 5-7 a square bail. It's nice a soft and the goats seem to enjoy it.

 

[Cottage Rose]

$15. a BALE?!!! OH my land! $3.50 to $5.00 a bale around here for alfalfa hay.
Isn't "oat hay" merely straw?
A lot of oats are grown here in Michigan and the dried plant part is yellow straw.
There would be no nutritional value to that, only fiber.
Not that long ago ( a few years back) we use to pay $6. for 50# of whole oats.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I am getting nice hay for $4 a square, but I use one a day. Probably more in the winter. The rounds are cheaper, but they can get moldy too fast.

I have a whole house worth of old douglas fir windows. Most of them need re-glazing and some paint. Have been meaning to do something like this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Greenhouse-From-Old-Windows/

But a little more...French, maybe.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Vicky, for the goats the oat hay (it isn't straw, will get a picture to share) is very soft, and green not the golden yellow of straw. Plus since we have more grass than rough browse the oat hay is perfect for them.

We don't see straw down here since almost allow our hay is trucked in. We even bed nesting areas with hay since no one will bring in straw because of cost. I can usually find 3$ squares for bedding down.

 

[thasista]

I am anticipating hay to skyrocket as everyone missed their second cuttings due to the drought. I just bought 200 square bales of fescue/clover mix for $4 and 100 square bales of alfalfa for $6 a bale. We will need to repeat this order to make it through the winter. Our farmers are glad they took out crop insurance this year. Those I have spoken to are anticipating a total loss and insurance will only pay their costs to put the initial crops out this year. Feed will be outrageous I predict.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I'm in the desert so rarely have grass. My geese eat a pellet made for turkeys. They refuse to eat alfalfa pellets or any sort of hay.

They get greenery in the spring and then the rest of the year, I pull the weeds from the veggie garden, which gets irrigated. It's not enough to feed them, but at least they are getting some fresh green feed.

I grow turnips, collards, and snow pea plants for the waterfowl. I grow fruit trees, so there are apples and pears for them in the fall.

 

[flockman]

I live in Northern Indiana and the drought has dried up our grass too. I put in a pasture in May and have had to water it a lot. It is about the only green space in our area. If it wasn't for that I don't know what I would do.

 

[zooweemama]

Here in Cali I pick up the straw hay for like $8 a bale. I haven't tried anything else as we have been using it as bedding. Would the geese like to munch on alfalfa hay? We have random patches of grass right now and despite watering certain patches- we aren't getting any green going here. But the geese are finding enough because they have some bright green poo sometimes. On the days I don;t have time to walk them around the property (so far only once this week I didn't have time) I offered them salad (mustard greens) and they ate that in addition to their Mazuri. I am hoping that since we are pretty grassless (hopefully we will prep the ground in time for spring this coming year so we can have a lawn around the house). Hoping that the patches of green they find + Mazuri + the occasional kale or other green salad we offer is sufficient. I cannot imagine having more than 2 geese right now though with no grass like we do now. Those little things are winged mowers! I am thinking of turning over a small portion of the lawn and tossing a packed of kale seed and watering it and seeing what happens. We have wild turkey, jack rabbits and deer though. :|

 

[kimberly35042]

Ditto what all the others have said. We had drought conditions here most of June, but emptying kiddie pools into the grass when the guys were younger kept the grass green. Walmart sales romaine whole heads for 1.50 so I give those as treats. Watermelon has started going on sale also and some of mine like tomatoes which are plentiful right now also.
If using sprinklers isn't feasable, supplementing with salad is about your only option.

Keep the faith -- we are currently in a flash flood warning in my county this afternoon ....

 

[zooweemama]

I wonder if a local farmer would be willing to sell their limp greens at a discount? Some of these farmers have extra after the market. I wonder if they would be willing to sell the greens for half off? (not rotted greens- literally just limp and no longer sellable because they are no longer crisp and alive looking after sitting out all morning)- just soak them in cold water and chop them and good enough for the geese (well and you too).