I've been on a quest to find lespedeza seeds to plant in my pasture, as well as lespedeza pellets to feed my goats. Lespedeza is a natural dewormer, which has been studied quite a bit by the researchers who studied copper oxide wire particles, and when goats graze daily or eat pellets or hay daily, they don't have worm problems. Anyway, I've found some in Alabama here:
http://simsbrothers.com/index.htm
Problem is that UPS charges $41 a bag to ship it to Illinois! I'll be in Memphis at the end of this month and am going to see if I can find some around there. The very nice lady at Sims Brothers said their pellets are carried by Faithway Feeds, and I have found a dealer online that is about an hour from Memphis. I'll be calling before driving out there, however, to be sure they have it and it is in stock.
Anyway, just thought I'd mention this in case anyone is interested in trying it! I know we have quite a few southern members on here and thought you could probably find someone close to you that sells the pellets. They are $15 for a 50# bag. The seeds are $200 for a 50# bag, but it's a perennial, so should keep going once planted.
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Sounds good, check that out!
Come to think of it...I know a lady over in that area who raises Nubians who is actually pretty educated about deworming. I was gonna buy a goat from her before I found Velvet. Wonder if she's who got all the lespedeza? If she is she can probably tell me if it had an impact on milk flavor because she milks hers.
Bummer...Loxahatchee is on the other coast from me. Would cost me way more than $40 in gas to drive over there. The shipping cost doesn't really freak me out, I have been shipping organic grain to myself for 20-30 bucks a bag since I've had my animals.
I was kinda thinking...the bottle of Ivomec I bought was something like $50...I'd rather spend the money on a natural feed than a chemical & the research stands behind this stuff. There is a good PDF about it for free here:
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=217
I need to go back & try and figure out how much I would have to feed for it to work
But you're right, Margaret, I should try and contact those people in Loxahatchee on the off chance they or someone buying from them is coming this way.
Well shipping on 50lbs. to Deb in Ill. is $41 and I think it was going to be $28 to me, so you can bet it would be steep! That's why it wouldn't be real practical for the pellets. Now to get the seeds to plant and grow might be worth it, (they are also $200. a bag though) but I might can help you find the pellets closer to you. When I talked to the lady at the feed company the other day, she asked me about how far some place in Fla. was from me, because some one there had bought like 60 bags of pellets in case anyone in there area wanted any. Don't know if they would be adding to the cost, since they brought them in from way up there but that is possible also. Anyway they may not be to close to you but they were down in that part of Fla.. A long way from me. Loxahatchee! Found it in my mapquest history! That's where they are, if that is not to far from you, I believe that the lady can tell you how to get a hold of these people!
Not Mrs. Sims! The lady at Faithway Feeds! They have a fb. If you go to their fb the phone number is right at the top and you can call and see if she can get you in touch with the people in Loxahatchee that bought all those pellets and maybe this will work out for you. Hope so! Even if they are a ways away, you should call and talk to them anyway to see if they travel toward your area any and could let you meet them! You never know. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that thelady at Faithway would happen to be coming within 20 minutes of me next week! Think I will let her bring me some down here too!
I just sent an inquiry to see what shipping is to my area...I wonder what it would make the milk taste like if they were eating this on the stand instead of alfalfa? For some reason all those tannins make me wonder if it would make the milk taste bad. If I can afford the shipping I am going to try it anyway...my two Nigerian does are not the best in the parasite department and I am in the worst area, too.
hmm.... "Sericea lespedeza has high levels of protein; it also has high levels of condensed tannins. Condensed tannins bind with dietary protein in the gut and render it unavailable to ruminal microbes."
from this article: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/Sericea-lespedeza-not-just...
Yea, right! Exactly, we really need it, but didn't have enough people quick enough to get it ordered this time, in that big of a quantity, but hoping we can do it a little later on. If enough people want it later or I can just outright buy it, I will have my son pick it up for me on the way from Tennessee some time when he is coming!
I want some but I'm in Florida...land of crappy livestock feed :( And super duper year round parasites
I was going to say "Please put me in for 5#" (it isn't much to help out with, but I'm having to be very careful right now).....but on trying to find growing info for my region, I have come across opinion that it's not likely to prosper (climate may be too cool). I ran into suggestion for chicory forage varieties....and I think I'll contact my C.Extension (starting at state level to a certain fellow) and ask about lespedeza for here - and chicory.
maybe of interest:
http://www.southernsare.org/Educational-Resources/From-the-Field/A-...
http://www.northcentralsare.org/Educational-Resources/From-the-Fiel...
www.extension.org/pages/19420/goat-pastures-sericea-lespedeza
www.scsrpc.org/SCSRPC/Publications/part5.htm
Sandra Hess
Heartland Midwifery
Fresno, Ohio
I'm noticing!
Sandra Hess
Heartland Midwifery
Fresno, Ohio
Here are the box sizes:
https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-flat.htm
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