Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Kris5902]

I'm curious, I've always heard it said that cows and goats and donkeys can eat moldy hay and it not hurt them. I do not mess with any of those so I've never really looked into if there is any truth in that. I do know giving moldy hay to a horse is colic waiting to happen. Someone I know lost their 15 month old colt by accidently feeding moldy hay a few years ago. Some may say we are obsessive over our hay. Besides trying to properly store it each time we cut into a bale we inspect it before feeding it out. Horses are always trying to find ways to kill themselves. The last thing we need is to help them on their quest by feeding moldy hay. The same goes for their grain, a few times we have opened a bag of grain to find it had mold in it. Those have been promptly returned to tractor supply.

I don’t know about donkeys, but the cows will not eat the moldy bits, the goats won’t either, but then my goats hardly eat hay… they have a human bringing them tasty tree branches and picking ferns for the when they have to stay inside because it’s doing the “acid from the sky” (rain… goats hate getting wet). The cows
Will sort through and toss out any moldy bits and eat what is salvageable. Horses are much more delicate I suppose or less discerning? A couple times they have broken into the barn and eaten things to excess like a bag of barley, and a bag of sheep texture… they will certainly gorge themselves given the opportunity, the cows won’t and I don’t think the goats will either. Given half a chance the sheep will merrily eat themselves to death. I like DH’s description of them “they look like actual crackheads getting a sight of their drug dealer when they see a person with a bucket”

 

[featherhead007]

I don’t know about donkeys, but the cows will not eat the moldy bits, the goats won’t either, but then my goats hardly eat hay… they have a human bringing them tasty tree branches and picking ferns for the when they have to stay inside because it’s doing the “acid from the sky” (rain… goats hate getting wet). The cows
Will sort through and toss out any moldy bits and eat what is salvageable. Horses are much more delicate I suppose or less discerning? A couple times they have broken into the barn and eaten things to excess like a bag of barley, and a bag of sheep texture… they will certainly gorge themselves given the opportunity, the cows won’t and I don’t think the goats will either. Given half a chance the sheep will merrily eat themselves to death. I like DH’s description of them “they look like actual crackheads getting a sight of their drug dealer when they see a person with a bucket”

I didn’t know that goats don’t like to get wet!

 

[Kris5902]

I'm aware goats are far lower maintenance than ponies, but horses are my dream animals, whereas goats are little devils with furs and beards.

We're definitely not as isolated as you, but still sufficiently that it would be difficult to have someone come up there just for one or two ponies. Sharing a trailer or finding out if someone could lend or rent us one would definitely be useful.
As for the hay, for the time being we are hauling hay out from our land to our neighbors who breed cows on our backs as it's too steep for tractors, and the parking where they can bring the hay baler is another 300 m away....so having to haul some in will probably not be worse . We're used to having a bunch of people coming in to help us for that.
Horses are not the most simple animals to care for so I'd rather take more time to anticipate some of the worse problems!

Ummm not as isolated but you are literally hauling hay out by hand??? Wow, you’re dedicated! And we are going to need to see more pictures of the land too; It sounds absolutely beautiful! And yes, goats are definitely little devils with beards and furs, and don’t forget the pointy bits! All the better to stab a person innocently bringing them their branches for the barn!

 

[bgmathteach]

Is there a prize if I got it right?

Yes, if you get it right, the prize is:
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expanding your expertise beyond chickens!

 

[rural mouse]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words....I don't have storage space for ANY videos, so here's a picture story (backstory: they all somehow got locked out of the coop, and the hobbit lot proved they can drink out of the nipple waterer.)

First in.

Babes back there too. Enough of this hullabaloo !

Spoiler: The rest of the story

They finally settled under her, one outside her feet, covered by her wing and the other between her feet, both facing the other way from mama.

 

[Kris5902]

I always was taught that moldy hat was not too be used with any farm animal. But my dad might have been overly cautious. That is his nature.

I’m with your dad on this, personally. Regardless of common practices here. I won’t even use the moldy stuff for bedding… I mean really! Think about it. Would you want to sleep in a pile of moldy nastiness? I wouldn’t, so I won’t expect my precious little Goatlings to either.

 

[bgmathteach]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words....I don't have storage space for ANY videos, so here's a picture story (backstory: they all somehow got locked out of the coop, and the hobbit lot proved they can drink out of the nipple waterer.)

First in.View attachment 3108220
Babes back there too. Enough of this hullabaloo !

Spoiler: The rest of the story

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They finally settled under her, one outside her feet, covered by her wing and the other between her feet, both facing the other way from mama.

They are pretty clever being able to follow mum up there! And the two of them on her back..Swoon-worthy!

 

[Kris5902]

I am very puzzled and have to be on alert constantly. We keep the lawn cut short and the edge of the pond trimmed.

It’s probably the crazy weather that is bringing them to different places than usual.

 

[bgmathteach]

I always was taught that moldy hat was not too be used with any farm animal. But my dad might have been overly cautious. That is his nature.

My dad always said 'there is no excuse for moldy hay!' If it rains shortly after the cutting, just be sure to dry it well. If it rains on the hay when half or more dried (ish), no good for feed, but again, dry really well...that is landscapers' and highway company hay! We had an implement shed that, if hay was almost dry, but not dry enough to be baled, & was going to rain we would pick up the field by hand/pitch fork, toss it onto the trailer(s) loose [at least the good stuff, not so much the outer windrow] and back the trailers into the implement shed...tractors stayed out with a tarp.

My father was adamant about hay being dry so not only wouldn't mold, but wouldn't catch fire! (but not so dry it was just straw)We used to do about 3-4k bales a year for a while there. Only a few hundred on our property, but there was a large farm next town over that no longer farmed, and we hayed it to keep the fields open. First couple of years my siblings and I spent DAYS going through the freshly cut fields pulling milkweed and such out. We also hayed part of the reservoir near us when their teamster retired...and another farm we would split the hay. They owned field& mowed it, we raked & baled.

Of course, dad always had lots of FREE labor in us 5 kids....

 

[GregnLety]

It truly is a strange year

It’s probably the crazy weather that is bringing them to different places than usual.