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Junior Member
 
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Last Login: 5/13/2013 7:55:08 PM
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| We are having a horribly wet summer this year. My hay field is been very wet, and I haven't been able to make much hay this year. There will be plenty of corn stock bales this year, I think. Is it possible to substitute some of my hay with corn stock for my Buck, one sheep and non milking goats? Do any of you do this for your goats?
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New Member
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Last Login: 9/2/2012 8:50:30 AM
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| I wouldn't see why not. I give my goats the corn stalks after I pick my sweet corn.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 9/18/2011 8:56:05 AM
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We give our Boers corn stocks, and will use dried ones to bed the sheds during kidding and they just stood and ate it, so I would.
There are two types of people:Those who can walk away from the farm and those who cannot. Those who can walk away should not walk but run to a much easier lifestyle.
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 2/11/2011 2:43:12 PM
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I wouldn't rely on it for much nutrition, if any. Baled corn stocks are already dead and dry before baling, at least in my area. Corn stock bales can also mold easily, so be careful with that. Goats CANNOT have mold.
Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians and Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net
Morningland Dairy Raw Milk Cheeses. www.morninglanddairy.com
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 12/8/2010 5:25:50 AM
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| I been feeding my goats and cows horses and pigs the left over corn stocks. they all eat them pretty well except for the pigs. In iowa seem like they just started baleing the corn stocks bout 10 to 15 years ago. they feed them to the cows. which may help out reduce the cost on feed but it also a disadvantge i see it for the wild life. but thats hundreds of acers thow. I still feed mine the same I just cut back on the grain and feed them more corn stocks I dont have that many but the animales like them.
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Advanced Member
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Last Login: 9/23/2010 4:13:39 PM
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As with everything in life...it depends!
Dry corn stalks can be an excellent feed if used with other feeds like high protein hay, or haylage or even balage. But when the corn is harvested is the more important part. If its been left to dry out in the weather, then those sugars have been converted to starches and its not really all the beneficial. Us dairy farmers (and sheep farmers) use corn silage as a feed, but its harvested at just the right time so that once it is ensiled in a silo, we are not feeding straight sugar but complex carbohydrates. Put simply, we are feeding sauerkraut that the animals love.
Its not an easy feed to feed out. Just as you would never give your kids 100% pure sugar, you would never give your animals pure corn. In only a few months their internal organs would fail for lack of nutrition. So you have to fortify the energy that comes from corn, with high protein feeds like alfalfa hay, haylage or balage. Those feeds balance out preotein to energy levels. The ideal by the way, is 60% protein feeds, and 40% corn feed.
But there are two words of caution. The first is, watch out for the kids and lambs. Their rumens are not big enough to pack in enough of these feeds to survive. Their stomachs will be full, and yet they will die of starvation!!
The second is the mold that was mentioned by another member (Ozark Jewels perhaps???). Anyway listeraosis is a huge problem in this moldy feed and it kills 3 weeks later...no remedy...so be wary.
One final word of caution. I will be feeding out 100% corn silage/haylage this year to my sheep, but it came with a stern warning from the boys on the dairy farm...no sheep nutritionist...no silage. It is a very tough feed to calculate out. You really need to test it and have a professional calculate out what it does and does not have in it, before feeding it. You can literally kill your animals toying with this stuff.
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Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
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