Feed advice wanted

[jerseylovinliz]

I have a couple of Jerseys in milk, pigs, goats & chickens who I'm feeding. I was hoping somebody would have an idea of something that would feed all of them or at least a couple? I'd like to be more efficient...

Jersey's are eating alfalfa hay while milking w/dairy lactation grain (4 lbs 2xdaily), alfalfa pellets(4 lbs 2xdaily) & 12% sweet grain(4 lbs 2x daily) all mixed in. One of them is ridiculously picky about what she'll eat. She'd rather starve than eat something different. It's how she came to us (we added the hay b/c I was trying to eliminate the pellets). This seems ridiculous to me. She gets about 11-13 lbs of grain twice a day & 2-3 flakes of alfalfa total daily. They have lots & lots of grazing land too.

Pigs are eating hog finisher (14% protein I think?). They get 12 lbs 2 x daily plus 2/3 the leftover milk from milking (2xdaily).

Chickens dig through everybody's bowls for leftovers. They get 1/3 the leftover milk daily (2xdaily). They also have oyster shell powder available & chicken feed available. They norm leave the feed & hope for leftover sweet grain.

Goats are eating non-medicated sheep/goat feed/pellets not sweet (apprx 16% protein) & grazing. They'll clean up leftover alfalfa from milking too.

I'm hoping to buy feed more in bulk but don't have a need for 2 tons of each different kind. I am just feeding what prev owners have fed or the feed store recomnds but I think there's probably a more efficient way to do it. All suggestions greatly appreciated! I'd love for somebody to tell me I'm crazy & try this....

It's pretty impossible to offend me lol so lay it on me! ;D

[allmuxedup]

Wow! Your feed bill must be outragous!!!
During Summer, we feed pasture, pasture & more pasture. We also give minerals & sea kelp. The pigs need a source of Lysine as well, so we put a sprinkling of Lysine in their mineral & give them some without. We give w/ & w/o for anything we add to anything. That way they 'can't' OD on it. We give whey when a friend gives it to us. We've planted apple trees, for the pumice we'll have from squeezing for apple cider. Both are excellent sources of Lysine.
During Winter, we replace the pasture w/ hay (made on our pasture). We're adding alfalfa to our pasture (contrary to our 'rule' about only what occurs naturally in the pasture.) The only problem I anticipate is that they'll waste more. But, we have excess & it grows every year. So, I'm OK if we provide more mulch & seed for the pasture. We always spread seedy bales out thru the pastures. To spread seeds out.

We don't want our milkers giving so much that they can't maintain it on pasture alone. We don't want to give our stock grain, because we don't like what it does to them or us thru them, we're Cert'd Nat Grown, and because we're cheap. But, since yours give so much, maybe you're making cheese & want something to do w/ the whey?

For our chix, we make them go out & get their own. We only give them enough to get them back in their mobile coop at night. They get scratch on the floor when they come in at night. That keeps them coming in at night & keeps the bedding in the coop stirred up. Other than that.... it's outside on your own, baby!!! We have 200+ chix, turkeys, ducks & geese at any given time. They wander over our 50 acres, keeping ticks, flies, grasshoppers & other critters we don't like... at bey. We like that idea, a lot. How many critters can turn nasty, biting bugs into meat & eggs? We love it! And, did I mention that I'm cheap?
The animals all grow well, and produce well. We don't demand a lot of them, so we don't have to put as much into them. They are all robustly healthy, so I figure it's working out.

[Jenn]

The goats are dairy goats, yes?
They can eat what ever the cows are getting...they don't need a separate feed....especially not one approved for sheep too...it won't have enough copper in it.
Pigs can get fat on skim milk.
-Jenn

[christa]

Our dairy goats and cow all get alfalfa and sweet COB (only a few pounds a day, at milking time), besides what they graze in their small pastures. They only get the grain when they are in milk. They also get mineral salts, a block for the cow, and loose for the goats. When we have pigs, they get whatever is cheapest in bags for pigs, a little alfalfa, and leftover milk. The chickens get lay pellets and milk. So fewer kinds of things than you are feeding. It would be wonderful to have enough land for them to get everything they needed, and be able to make hay, but with only 4 acres, there just isn't enough. The chickens have a nice yard, but when we let them range, they go over to the neighbors house and tear up the lawn and flower beds.