Finding a pure alfalfa chaff

SamanthaG said:
If I must feed it?? Alfa A is not pure
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how pure do you want it? Alfa A lists ingredients as alfa plus a few herbs.

Dengie alfa pellets state 100% pure alfa although it isn't, of course, chaff.


you could grow your own then you'd know for sure it was pure :)
 
Alfa A original is molassed, Alfa A molasses free contains,Chopped alfalfa, alfalfa pellets, rape seed oil, mint and fenugreek. So again not pure. And yes as I mentioned I can only find a pellet.
 
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Alfa A contains Alfalfa and molasses which I assume the OP prefers not to feed.
Alfa A molasses free contains Chopped alfalfa, alfalfa pellets, rape seed oil, mint and fenugreek.


I've always fed the pellets when I feed alfalfa as they have nothing added to them, most have either molasses or oil or both to preserve. They used to have mould inhibitors too listed on the bag though not on the website but haven't checked a bag for ages.

ETA found the full list of alfa a ingredients
Ingredients: Alfalfa, Molasses, Mould Inhibitor, Antioxidant Contains permitted EC preservatives and antioxidants: Propionic acid and its salt, Sorbic and Phosphoric acid and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA).
 
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I feed the pellets for the same reason, i.e. pure alfalfa and nothing else. Also - weight for weight, the protein level is higher than in Alfa A.
 
Might be worth checking the actual label on Mollichaff Alfalfa Oil. The website isn't terribly specific, but it sounds like it might be just alfalfa with a soya oil dressing. I know it's not pure alfalfa, but depending on what you're aiming for, a bit of extra oil might be okay if it doesn't also have straw, mould inhibitors etc. Otherwise, Halleys.
 
SamanthaG said:
I'm struggling to find a pure alfalfa chaff in the UK. Not simple systems as it's a nightmare to get and very dusty. All I can find is a pellet.
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I feed the pellets soaked btw - as a partial hay replacer, so that might do you if you just want to feed a bucket of the stuff. It's a good carrier for supplements as well. The pellets soften reasonably quickly using hot water and expand lots! Smells lovely too!
 
Gosh that's sad. How hard is it to chop up a bale of Lucerne and put it in a sack. Why do they need to keep adding stuff to it? Market demand (or brainwashing), or is it to hide poor quality?
 
I can recommend emerald green feeds too. I have been in their place and seen how its produced. They don't add anything to their chaff or pellets.
 
Simple system tends to be dusty as it's not coated in oils or molasses, dried alfalfa tends to break up easily...If I were you I'd use the Lucie Brix, gives them something to do as well.
 
Radar Lugs said:
I used to feed SS however by the time I had to pay for delivery it wasn't cheaper. Not 1 feed merchant sells it in my area. :-(
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Simple systems will only sell via themselves/agents which is a pain, I'm lucky as I have a agent close by who delivers it to me but they won't deal with shops.
 
thatsmygirl said:
Simple systems will only sell via themselves/agents which is a pain, I'm lucky as I have a agent close by who delivers it to me but they won't deal with shops.
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They do sell through shops but have really annoying terms that they won't supply to a shop if another shop within an 8 mile radius stocks their products. (Think they like a bit o exclusivity).

In my case, it's a right pain as it means I have to drive miles to my nearest stockist. The local feed shop does Halley's which is the same stuff and cheaper so a win win in my view!
 
We managed to grow our own Lucerne hay last year, I mix it half and half with meadow hay and I have to say all my horses look great on it. Funnily enough Alfa A knocked 4 out of my 5 TB's of their feet. Using it has cut down on my feed bills as well - obviously the reason why they have done so well could also be due to the mild winter we've had. If you can find someone down south who has made hay out of it that might be the way to go.
 
Indy said:
We managed to grow our own Lucerne hay last year, I mix it half and half with meadow hay and I have to say all my horses look great on it. Funnily enough Alfa A knocked 4 out of my 5 TB's of their feet. Using it has cut down on my feed bills as well - obviously the reason why they have done so well could also be due to the mild winter we've had. If you can find someone down south who has made hay out of it that might be the way to go.
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Funnily enough, I had considered the possibility of growing Lucerne hay too. I considered just spreading some Lucerne seed in amongst our existing hay field to make a mix. Is this a silly idea or doable? We don't plough and reseed our hay field: just cut what grows.
 
I'm not sure that would work to be honest, Fiona. Lucerne grows so much quicker than grass - we got 3 cuts off it last year in May, July and September compared to our 2 cuts of grass in June and September. I think your Lucerne would probably be ready before your grass. Also you have to cut it at just the right time which is just before it's fully in flower. We got the first cut just right but the second cut was left a bit late because of the weather and is a lot stalkier. The third cut ended up being haylage because the weather changed so we feed that to our sheep. Also is takes longer to make than hay, we found it needed at least 3-4 extra days and also we found it was quite delicate so we couldn't turn it as much as grass. I think we turned it twice and then left it. We also had to set the mower to cut higher up the stalk - to try and get some air flow underneath it.
 
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