How much hay do I need for winter?
Enter your animals, your winter, and how you feed — get pounds, tons, bales, and what it’ll cost. Free, no signup, from the makers of Homestead Paradise.
Your animals
| Species | Head | Avg weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| Goat | ||
| Sheep | ||
| Cattle | ||
| Horse | ||
| Alpaca / Llama | ||
| Donkey |
You’ll need about
50 bales
- Total hay (with waste)
- 2,484 lb
- That’s
- 1.2 tons
- Per day, all animals
- 21 lb
4 goats: 18 lb/day → 2,160 lb+ 15% waste
Hard winter, late kids, or a doe in milk? Most folks buy a 10% cushion (55 bales) — hay is scarcest and priciest in February.
How this is figured
Livestock eat roughly 2–3% of their body weight in hay each day at maintenance — a 150-lb goat around 4–5 lb, a 1,200-lb cow 25–30 lb. Multiply by head and by days, add what gets wasted (about 15% from a feeder, closer to 30% off the ground), and that’s your winter. Pregnant, lactating or growing animals and hard cold push it higher — and a hard winter is exactly when hay is scarce and expensive, so most people buy a 10–15% cushion. This is hay only; grain and minerals are on top.
| Species | Typical weight | Hay / day | Rule used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goat | 150 lb | 4–5 lb | 3% of body weight |
| Sheep | 150 lb | 4–5 lb | 3% |
| Cattle | 1,200 lb | 25–30 lb | 2.5% |
| Horse | 1,100 lb | 20–22 lb | 2% |
| Alpaca / llama | 175 lb | 3–4 lb | 1.8% |
| Donkey | 500 lb | 8–9 lb | 1.75% (easy keepers) |
Averages — a Nigerian Dwarf isn’t a Nubian, and a dry cow isn’t a milking one. Change the weights in the calculator to match your animals.
Next winter, use your own number
A calculator guesses. Your records know.
Homestead Paradise tracks what you actually feed and what it cost — so next fall the hay number is yours, not a rule of thumb. Harold, your Smart Advisor, watches the feed line against your budget and points it out when spending is running ahead of plan, before the barn is empty in February.
Start free →Free plan, no card. Export to CSV anytime; we don’t train any model on your records.
More for the fall
Common questions
How much hay does a goat eat per day?
About 2–4% of body weight — call it 4–5 lb a day for a standard 150-lb goat, and 2–3 lb for a Nigerian Dwarf. Milking does and late-pregnancy does eat more. Over a 120-day winter that is roughly 500–600 lb per goat before waste.
How much hay does a cow eat in winter?
Around 2–2.5% of body weight a day — 25–30 lb for a 1,200-lb cow, more in bitter cold or when nursing. That is roughly 1.5–2 tons per cow over a four-month winter, before waste.
Round bales or small squares?
Rounds are far cheaper per ton but you need a way to move them and a feeder to keep waste down. Small squares cost more per pound, but for a few goats they are easier to handle and ration. The calculator converts either way — pick your bale type.
Should I buy extra hay?
Yes — a 10–15% cushion. Hay is cheapest at first cutting and scarcest in late winter, when a hard cold snap can push animals to eat a third more. Running short in February is the expensive way to learn this.
From the 2B Creations workshop
Feeders & waterers that stop the waste.
Homestead Paradise is built by 2B Creations — makers of precision 3D-printed feeders, waterers, and the original feed saver ports for quail and poultry. Made in the USA with 1,150+ five-star reviews and next-day shipping.
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