Goats are notorious for their waste of hay. They pull down big chunks in their efforts to get that perfect mouthful, and once it is out of the feeder they won't touch it. They walk on it, mess on it and it ends up going in the compost bin.
Mine seem a little less picky. They steal hay from the chicken boxes, the goose nests and even occasionally eat some off the floor.
Yet, the feeder continues to empty, and the pile on the floor under it continues to grow. With hay supplies depleting in the loft, and mowing season a long ways away, how to stop them squandering it!?
It turns out, the trick is to address the true culprit.
Yup. While goats have a terrible rep - and are by no means completely innocent in the food waste game - it turned out the growing pile this spring was not their fault.
Yup! A little digging uncovered a pile of goose eggs under the hay rack! Little Momma apparently decided that this was the perfect place for a nest, but I think she has been burying them so deep she loses them! In addition, two were found pushed to the side and broken - likely the result of feeding goats and hard hooves.
We have now moved the hay feeder to the other stall, Little Momma has settled in and hopefully, in a few weeks, we may have more honking troublemakers!
Comments