Milk Goat Feed Question

southerngurl · #21 05/10/07, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryHaven

Oh, for those of you who say you don't like mixing feed and prefer to keep it simple--you're looking at it all wrong... lol, really. I LOVE mixing feed. (Okay, I don't LOVE carrying all the bags, but that's what I have a husband for... at least that's what I tell him), but the actual mixing... I love doing that. I sit there with the bags all around me and the big can I mix into (one of those big garbage cans used soley for feed storage), and I feel like a mad scientist at work. It's fun. I imagine the theme song to some mad scientist movie playing in my head as I scoop and mix -- Im sure if someone walked in on me doing it I would indeed look quite 'mad'. haha

LOL, I enjoy it too. I almost feel like feed can't be good unless I have added something to it or mixed it myself.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #22 05/10/07, 02:12 PM

Yes Steph, small world...he is Tater Chip out of our Sweet Tater Pie out of Sweet Shoofly Pie 91EEEE and Lynnhaven Great Expectations 90EEEE....his full sister is in my herd she is Tater Tot

Makes you want to vomit doesn't it

Vicki

Liese · #23 05/10/07, 03:46 PM

For those of us not in goat country what could we ask for as to a Calf Manna knock-off? I can just hear the young clerk at Southern States in town say "huuuh?" I have to be very specific. And TSC is even worse, LOL!

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #24 05/10/07, 05:09 PM

Calf manna is a soy mineral supplement it is made by Manna Pro and is the first food you feed to calves after weaning from milk replacer...think a high mineral, milk replacer in a pellet form...but folks soon learned it is a wonderful addition to poor quality products to bolster protein, fat, minerals and vitmains...we even used it in our rabbits. The lost their patent after several years...so every mill has a knock off of it. Wendlands is Supplement Pellet...there is Head Start, there is Show Bloom, there is Milk plus...all contain whey so in some areas it will state whey others it will state animal by products...which is acceptable to me because it is dried whey (remember it is a milkfed pellet first and foremost....

There isn't a nickles worth of difference from the high priced ones to the $15 per 5o pound one I can find...TSC does usually carry manna pro's very expensive one, I think you can get 25 pounds for 12$

OUCH! Remember it's a supplement not a feed. Kids love it, as they do soybeanmeal...if you are of the anti-soy lot, disregard this

Vicki

HomesteadBaker · #25 05/10/07, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryHaven

Good point on the sweet feed vicki and I am planning on phasing that out. I had put it in because most of the girls were used to sweet feed prior and the taste of it got them eating the 'dryer' feed. I think I'm going to up the barley and oats in my mix and do away with the sweetfeed in the next mixture.

Any idea what your mixture breakdown will look like once the sweet feed is removed from it? Also, where does one find beet pulp?

Kitty

squirrelgirl · #26 05/11/07, 05:46 AM

Is there anything like claf-manna that dose not have soybeans? I have a dd that is allergic to soybeans and worry about it coming through the milk. She is very sensitive.

DQ · #27 05/11/07, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squirrelgirl

Is there anything like claf-manna that dose not have soybeans? I have a dd that is allergic to soybeans and worry about it coming through the milk. She is very sensitive.

there are feeds designed to be added to oats to boost protein and mineral levels for horses, the bag usually says something like "Feed Extender" or "mix with oats to get x Lbs of feed". you might try poking around your feed store and asking if they have anything like this and checking the feed tag for soy. Around here there is no place where I can ask an employee :baby04: , I just ask if I can go into there warehouse so I can browse feed tags, be aware that feed store employees might have no idea what you are talking about even though they carry it or whatever product your looking for. Just an idea

I haven't looked into these feeds seriously as of yet.

CountryHaven · #28 05/11/07, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomesteadBaker

Any idea what your mixture breakdown will look like once the sweet feed is removed from it? Also, where does one find beet pulp?

Kitty

Hi Kitty. My current mix is

1 bag cracked corn
3/4 bag sweet feed
1/2 bag oats
1/2 bag rolled barley
1/4 bag shredded beet pulp
1/4 bag black oil sunflower seed

I plan on changing it to replace the sweet feed in my next batch with

1 bag cracked corn
3/4 bag oats
1 bag rolled barley
1/4 bag shredded beet pulp
1/4 bag black oil sunflower seed

Also--beet pulp is found at just about any feed store including the big chains. Ask for it just by 'beet pulp' and they should know what you're talking about. Most livestock suppliers know about beet pulp I think.

DixyDoodle · #29 05/11/07, 11:37 AM

What if your goat doesn't like alfalfa?

My buck won't touch alfalfa pellets and just picks at hay. He gets a corn/barley/oat mix and likes that better. Do you think I should be pushing the alfalfa more or will he do alright on mostly feed?

Also, what about dandelions? Are they a diuretic or will they cause diarrhea? There are tons popping up around here and he loves them. Not a big problem right now since he's in an enclosure but we are enlarging it soon to include the pasture with the dandelions.....and there is clover there too. I was under the impression that one kind of clover is ok, the other not so great.

ozark_jewels · #30 05/11/07, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixyDoodle

What if your goat doesn't like alfalfa?

My buck won't touch alfalfa pellets and just picks at hay. He gets a corn/barley/oat mix and likes that better. Do you think I should be pushing the alfalfa more or will he do alright on mostly feed?

Also, what about dandelions? Are they a diuretic or will they cause diarrhea? There are tons popping up around here and he loves them. Not a big problem right now since he's in an enclosure but we are enlarging it soon to include the pasture with the dandelions.....and there is clover there too. I was under the impression that one kind of clover is ok, the other not so great.

Most goats will pick feed over hay....they are like children, they'll pick the candy unless you make them eat the salad.

If he was mine, I would cut way back on whatever grain he is getting(just give him a handful), and make him eat the hay and pellets. No, he will not do well on mostly grain and is liable to get sick. Goats are ruminants and need green, leafy foods.
Do the pellets smell fresh and are they a good green color?? Is the hay sweet-smelling with no mold or dust?? If the hay is poor quality or moldy, he won't do as well on it. Good goat hay should be leafy, with not too much stems, and NO mold. Weeds or brush in it is just fine, as long as its fresh-smelling. There are two stores around here that I do not buy pellets from because they are a green/brown colour and smell odd. My goats hate them. The sweet-smelling alfalfa pellets from the other place are bright green and smell just like alfalfa hay.
So make sure your pellets and hay are palatable.
My goats love dandelions and I don't think they can hurt them. Clover as far as I know is fine as long as its not too lush and they don't overeat on it. My goats won't hardly eat clover unless its in hay.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #31 05/11/07, 05:18 PM

My bucks have no choice. They get alfalfa pellets each day period. I only feed grain in the form of grain pellets that contain ammonium chloride. I wouldn't feed my bucks grain without it. I fill their feeder with grass hay for the winter and when it's rainy, but they live out in a heavily wooded pen/acreage...I want them out foraging for food. Vicki

Oldntimes · #32 05/12/07, 06:46 PM

So if I wanted to mix a cob mix for my does what % would I use of each. Would I go 50# each of Oats and Barley and 25# of Corn??
I would also be adding Alfalfa pellets and Beet Pulp, but I know how much of that I would use, I just did not know how much of the Corn, and barley basicaly I need to add.
Thanks

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #33 05/12/07, 07:07 PM

50/50 oats and barley is fine, but I would not use anywhere near that much corn. Corn is about energy and fat and low in protein...also if it does not come from a tested source I would not use it at all. Vicki

Qvrfullmidwife · #34 05/12/07, 10:31 PM

Define what you mean by "tested source"? What exactly are you looking for when you test?

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #35 05/13/07, 12:14 AM

Other than deer corn, corn is USDA inspected in Texas for antifloxins and aspirgillus....OK I can't spell that. Why in Texas you don't use the cheap deer corn they use to lure deer. In other states corn and alot of other grains, and mills are not inspected or tested...remind me to tell you LeeAnn about Minnesota. Vicki

DixyDoodle · #36 05/13/07, 05:16 AM

My buck will eat timothy hay (I chucked some of the horse hay in there) and he likes that just fine, but turns his nose up at the alfalfa.....go figure? I guess he doesn't have rich tastes! No, the hay is good; no mould or anything. The pellets are deep green and smell wonderful, so I don't get why he doesn't like them, the horses love 'em! Maybe I just have one weird goat.

I wonder if it might also have to do with him still being young, he's 5 months old. Maybe some of those things like pellets are an acquired taste? He doesn't get a ton of grain, though. He must be eating some of the pellets as well as the hay, or he wouldn't still be a good weight.

I have corn, and bought some oats and wanted to get some barley to make my own feed but why is it so hard to find it around here? ARGH! Most of the feeds are pre-mixed things. Ditto for the calf starter, none to be found, wouldn't that be a popular item since I'm in cattle country? I guess not! .