186 MODERN MILK GOATS 



clover or alfalfa hay rather than oat hay. If the herd is 

 large enough to support a silo, it must be observed that 

 the crops most usually planted for the purpose of ensi- 

 lage are again on the carbohydrate side — corn, the sor- 

 gums, etc. — so that again this form of succulent feed is 

 most useful to supplement alfalfa or clover hay. 



Hay. — Under this head comes the principal item of 

 diet for the dairy goat. No matter how good the pas- 

 ture or the range, hay is an essential portion of the dairy 

 rations, and no goat keeper can safely neglect its im- 

 portance. Two or three points must be noted in regard 

 to its use. Goats are of all animals the most wasteful of 

 hay. They love to pull it from the feed boxes or racks 

 and scatter it on the floor, and once it has fallen nothing 

 will induce them to touch it again. For this reason the 

 inexperienced goat keeper is recommended to adopt the 

 type of feed- box suggested and illustrated in Chapter 

 XVII, which has proved successful in preventing this 

 costly waste. Second, goats greatly prefer a fine stalked 

 hay, whether clover, alfalfa or grain hay. They clean 

 this up so much better than hay of a coarser sort that it 

 pays very well to obtain this sort if it is to be had in the 

 market. Last, do not forget that your doe is capricious, 

 and, when laying in your stock for the winter, provide if 

 possible more than one kind of hay. She will eat more 

 of it, waste less, and will produce more milk for you if 

 you thus humor her native love of variety. 



