Normally, we start feeding hay around Thanksgiving, but not this year. Somehow, the pasture has held up and allowed the cows and goats to continue feeding on the grass. I think the rains coupled with moderate temperatures (no freezes as of yet) helped the pasture grass provide some forage for the livestock. Perhaps the hay lasting longer was The Good Lord allowing things to last longer than it ordinarily does. It wouldn't be the first time:
Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. So you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without shortage, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes which I am commanding you today; Deuteronomy 8:4-11
The Providential grass ended toward the latter part of last week. All the animals' heads were down, and they were finding things to eat, but they were looking for more. Sort of like I do when I eat a meal, but am looking around for a little something sweet like pie or ice cream once the main course is gone.
January 1st seemed as good a day as any to roll out the first round bale for them to eat. These are bales that I purchased back on March 29, 2024. It is good quality hay, but cost me $40 per bale delivered. I think that is a very fair price. We kept it covered by tarpaulins, so it is still in very good shape.
A couple of things to notice in the photo above. LuLu is in the barn being milked so she hasn't seen the bale yet. Rosie and Elsie are eating a little sweet feed. You can see their rear ends at the barn. They didn't hear me as I stealthily pushed the bale out. The goats are in the corral and the bull is in a separate pasture. It would be only a few short minutes after this photo was taken that all the livestock discovered their New Year's bounty.
Cows and especially goats waste a lot of hay. I'm going to experiment with something this year to mitigate that. If you look to the right of the barn in the background, you'll see a cattle panel. I'm going to allow the animals to eat the hay in the morning, but in the evenings, I'll run the animals out of the hay area and close the cattle panel behind them. If you leave them all day, they begin "playing with their food," stepping on, and pooping on the good hay. We'll see if that works.
Last year it took the animals 6 days to eat one round bale. I have 9 round bales in inventory. Those 9 should get me through the coldest of the weather. I still have about 70 square bales of hay up in the hay loft to feed them and I have lots of turnips planted. I feed them the roots as I'm not a big fan of turnip roots. I do like turnip greens, however. The cows will have to fight me for those!
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