I'd agree with the others on the list that the key is making high
quality baleage for goats.
We've always found that goats seem exceptionally sensitive to moulds in
hay and baleage.
When we were milking goats commercially we tried using baleage a few
times and did run into listeria-like problems with a few goats, and we
quit using it for that reason ( a couple of good does died, and others
were sick but came round).
Of course, the major problem was the custom guy cutting and wrapping
the baleage -- a sloppy job meant lots of air exposure and lots of
mould, despite our providing a more costly and higher quality wrap than
absolutely necessary. Some of the mould was inside the bales, not
visible from the outside.
We ended up selling the remainder of the second year's baleage to a guy
who was milking cows for the export market without quota, and his
animals seemed to have no problems with the stuff.
The goats do love to eat the baleage and they milk very well on it.
It's a great way to get more volume and quality out of a hayfield,
especially in a wet year in our climate in southern Ontario.
A friend of ours who also milks goats commercially uses baleage
extensively and at times exclusively (to my mind, using not nearly
enough dry hay in the ration -- we'd always keep a bale of dry hay in
front of the milkers at all times, in addition to a baleage bale). That
farmer does lose several goats a year to listeria-like conditions but
seems to figure it's a cost of doing business. Not how I farm, but to
each his/her own.
Mark Hall
Lover's Creek Farm
Grenfel Ontario
Pasture-raised beef, pork and goat
