commercial grain?

[toomb68]

hi folks

what kind of grain do you feed? there ins't a mill close by, and i don't have many goats, so i have been using bagged grain. specifically, i've been feeding blue seal products...caprine challenger. my local feed stores don't stock it and i have to special order it. they do stock a house brand( 18% sweet feed) and Nutrena naturewise goat feed. prices for all are about the same. any thoughts?

chris

[Charleen]

We used to feed Caprine Challenger but found that it was very inconsistant in molasses. One bag would be dry and the next would be so sticky. Our supplier pretty much shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't help us, he just trucked it over from the Blue Seal plant. And the cost was just too high for us. When we quit buy it - probably 2 years ago now - it was up to almost $10 for 50#.
We wound up switching to a dry pellet (16% protein) that we buy at a feed mill approx 45 minutes south of us. We go once a month and bring home a ton (literally). Last week it was $10.70 per 100#.

Our goats are milking better (we had 2 Oberhasli in the National Top Ten last year) and I believe the milk tastes better without the molasses.

If/when you change feed, remember to take into consideration what type of hay is available for your herd. If our second cutting alfalfa runs out, I add an alfalfa pellet to the mix. I boost the corn slightly in the winter and I add BOSS also.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

My job will never be done until the very first question asked is "What kind of hay do you feed your goats?"

You would not have to be relying on grain if you would find good alfalfa/grass hay. Then the only grain you would need would be some carbs, fat and calories, for growing kids, does in the last part of pregnancy, bucks heavily used (which doesn't include most folks bucks) and does being milked or nursing kids...all other goats don't need any grain, fed good enough hay.

If you can't buy or keep good hay (like us here in the humid south) than feed alfalfa pellets..same thing then use grain for all of the above.

I am not a fan of most goat feeds, speciality feeds have little to no real work in nutriton done with them, it's more of the whatever the buyer will bear and pay...ground up least expenisve items, covered in molassas to disguise those items, and a goat label stuck on it. I prefer horse products, I don't feed molassas, I use dry mixes. The most advertized labels Purina etc...is not necessarily the best. Our best quality mixes in Texas are Bluebonnet and Pilgrims. Quality grains with quality mineral mixes added.

Always ask yourself if most grains...corn oats barley...mixed together equals 12% protein...than what is the mill adding to it to get it to 18%? The answers are shocking. And if oats are running $8.60 per 50 pounds right now, how can a sweet feed cost $6 per 50...because there never was any whole grain, only the leftovers after making the premium feeds, swept into the hopper to slurry with the outside part of the corn to make that cheap sweetfeed, which in some cases is 25% molassas...how much you spending for a bag of feed that is 12 pounds worth of sugar in that 50 pound bag.

Good hay (alfalfa pellets if that hay is not alfalfa itself) good clean race horse oats, perhaps some flaked or crimped corn, as long as you know the source tests for antifloxins, and a good loose mineral for your area. The rest is fluff...expensive fluff. Vicki