6 Best Alfalfa Cubes for Goats
For picky goats that waste feed, alfalfa cubes offer a solution. This guide ranks the 6 best options for high palatability and minimal loss.
You toss a flake of beautiful, green alfalfa hay into the feeder, and within minutes, your goats have pulled half of it onto the ground. They meticulously pick out the leaves, leaving a tangled mess of stems to be trampled into the bedding. This isn’t just frustrating; it’s a significant waste of money and nutrition. Alfalfa cubes offer a practical solution, concentrating the entire plant into a uniform, bite-sized package that goats can’t sort through.
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Why Goats Waste Feed and How Cubes Can Help
Goats are browsers, not grazers. In the wild, they select the most nutritious parts of plants—tender leaves, shoots, and flowers. This instinct carries over to the farm, where they apply the same selective eating habits to their hay.
They will always go for the high-protein, easily digestible leaves and leave the fibrous stems behind. This behavior results in staggering amounts of wasted feed, as the rejected stems pile up underfoot. You’re paying for 100% of the bale but your goats might only consume 60% of its nutritional value.
Alfalfa cubes solve this problem elegantly. The hay is chopped, mixed, and compressed, so the leaves and stems are distributed evenly in every single cube. A goat can’t pick out the good parts; the whole cube is the good part. This simple change in form ensures they consume the entire plant, drastically reducing waste and providing a more consistent nutritional profile in every bite. Cubes are also less dusty than hay and far easier to store and measure, bringing efficiency to your feeding routine.
Standlee Premium Alfalfa Cubes for Palatability
When you’re dealing with a truly picky eater, palatability is everything. Standlee has built a strong reputation for producing highly palatable, sun-cured alfalfa products that goats often take to immediately. Their cubes are known for a fresh, sweet smell that entices even hesitant animals.
The key is their consistent quality and texture. Standlee cubes are firm enough to hold their shape but break down easily when soaked into a soft, appealing mash. This texture is often a winner for older goats with dental issues or young kids transitioning to solid food. If you’ve struggled to get a doe to maintain condition or a new goat to eat well, Standlee is frequently the brand that turns the tide.
Of course, premium quality often comes with a premium price. Standlee is typically one of the more expensive options on the shelf. It’s a fantastic choice for targeted feeding or for small herds where the cost is manageable, but it may not be the most economical solution for feeding a large group if a less expensive cube will suffice.
Lucerne Farms Gold: A Tasty Alfalfa & Oat Blend
Sometimes, pure alfalfa just isn’t tempting enough. Lucerne Farms Gold offers a different approach by blending chopped alfalfa with whole oats and a touch of molasses. This creates a sweeter, more textured feed that can be irresistible to picky goats.
This blend is an excellent tool for specific situations. The added carbohydrates from the oats provide a significant energy boost, making it ideal for does in heavy lactation, growing kids, or any goat that needs to gain weight. The flavor combination can be the key to getting a goat back on feed after illness or stress.
However, it’s crucial to remember this isn’t a direct replacement for 100% alfalfa. The inclusion of grain means you must factor it into the goat’s total daily ration to avoid over-feeding carbohydrates, which can lead to digestive upset. Think of it as a fortified forage, perfect for animals with higher energy demands, rather than a simple hay substitute.
Mountain Sunrise Organic Cubes for Purity
For homesteaders committed to an organic system, sourcing feed can be a major hurdle. Mountain Sunrise specializes in certified organic forage products, offering peace of mind that your goats’ feed is free from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Their alfalfa cubes are a go-to for anyone prioritizing purity.
These cubes are often distinguished by their deep green color and rich aroma, which indicate high-quality alfalfa harvested at the right time to preserve nutrients. The organic certification isn’t just a label; it represents a verifiable production process that many farmers value. Feeding organic cubes ensures you’re maintaining the integrity of your farm’s ecosystem, whether you’re producing milk, meat, or fiber.
The primary tradeoffs are cost and availability. Organic products are almost always more expensive due to the higher costs of certified farming practices. Depending on your region, you may also need to special-order them or travel further to find a supplier. For many, the benefits of feeding a clean, trusted product make the extra expense and effort worthwhile.
Sacate Sun-Cured Cubes for Consistent Quality
Goats have sensitive digestive systems that thrive on routine. Sacate has built its brand around one core principle: consistency. They produce sun-cured alfalfa cubes that deliver a remarkably uniform product from one bag to the next, which is a huge advantage for herd management.
This consistency minimizes the risk of a goat suddenly refusing a new batch of feed or experiencing digestive upset from subtle changes in forage quality. When you open a bag of Sacate, you know what to expect in terms of texture, smell, and nutritional content. This reliability makes it a workhorse product for maintaining a stable, predictable diet.
While they may not have the "gourmet" appeal of a blended product or the special certification of an organic cube, their value lies in their dependability. If your main goal is to find a solid, reliable forage source that won’t change from month to month, Sacate is a strong contender. It simplifies your feeding program and removes one more variable from the complex equation of animal health.
Producer’s Pride: A Widely Available Option
For many hobby farmers, convenience and cost are major factors in any decision. Producer’s Pride, the house brand for Tractor Supply Co., is arguably the most widely available and budget-friendly option on this list. You can find it in nearly every town with a farm store, making it an incredibly practical choice.
The product itself is a no-frills, standard alfalfa cube. It gets the job done for a large number of goats without breaking the bank. For a herd that isn’t excessively picky, the cost savings of feeding Producer’s Pride can be substantial over the course of a year, freeing up funds for other farm needs.
The tradeoff for that accessibility and low price can sometimes be variability. The quality, color, and texture can differ more between batches compared to premium brands. It’s always a good idea to inspect the bag for freshness. While it’s a perfectly sound choice for many, a particularly finicky goat might notice the difference, making it a bit of a gamble for the toughest cases.
Ontario Dehy Cubes: A Low-Dust Formulation
Dusty feed is more than just a nuisance; it can be a serious respiratory irritant for both you and your goats. Ontario Dehy (often shortened to O.D.C.) is a Canadian company that excels at producing exceptionally clean, low-dust forage cubes. This makes them a top choice for animals with respiratory sensitivities or for use in enclosed barns where air quality is a concern.
Their process often involves rapid dehydration in addition to sun-curing, which helps lock in nutrients while minimizing the fine particles that create dust. The resulting cubes are very clean and uniform. If you’ve ever opened a bag of cubes and been hit with a cloud of dust, you’ll immediately appreciate the difference a low-dust formulation makes.
Availability can be regional, as they are most common in the northeastern United States and across Canada. If you’re in their distribution area, however, they are a premium option worth seeking out. For anyone who prioritizes animal respiratory health and a cleaner feeding environment, O.D.C. cubes are hard to beat.
How to Soak and Introduce Cubes to Your Herd
Feeding alfalfa cubes isn’t as simple as just dumping them in a feeder. The most important rule is to soak them first. Dry cubes are extremely hard and dense, posing a serious risk of choke, especially for goats that eat quickly. Soaking transforms them into a safe, digestible mash.
A good starting point is a 2:1 ratio of water to cubes by volume. Place the cubes in a bucket and add twice as much water. Hot water will break them down in about 15-30 minutes, while cold water may take an hour or more. The ideal consistency is a soft, fluffy mash similar to oatmeal, not a watery soup. You can adjust the water amount to your goats’ preference.
Never switch feeds abruptly. Introduce the soaked cubes gradually by mixing a small amount into their current grain or chaff. Over the course of 7-10 days, slowly increase the proportion of cubes while decreasing the old feed. This gives their sensitive digestive microbes time to adapt to the new food source and helps convince skeptical goats that this new texture is, in fact, delicious.
Ultimately, the best alfalfa cube is the one your goats will eat reliably and that fits your farm’s budget and goals. Whether you prioritize the palatability of Standlee, the energy of a Lucerne blend, or the accessibility of Producer’s Pride, switching to cubes can transform your feeding program. By eliminating waste and ensuring complete nutrition in every bite, you’ll save money and support a healthier, more contented herd.
