Feeding my new goats...???

[MTplainsman]

I see there is already an active post about goat feeding, but I want to ask questions pertaining to my personal setup. I have a small fenced in pasture by my house and will ad some hot wires. I have nothing for browse to speak of, and all my shrubery has been fenced out, save a few current bushes. I want to knwo what I will have to feed my goats year around if I only have straight grasses to offer them??? Will the goats be expensive to keep if they have to be on feeds year round? My big pastures are 11 miles away from my house, and if I turn them out there to browse in the coulees, the coyotes will devour them in weeks. What can I do and/ or what can I feed? I don't want to be stuck feeding processed commercial feeds neither. I have access to filed peas, lentils, barley, and of course wheat and hay. Thanks for any help. Joel

[BlueHeronFarm]

We have mostly pasture - and our goats happily eat the bermuda grass that grows there. Do you hay at all? I saw how gorgeous your pastures were in the cattle forum. Goats do fine on hay. They like barley, too (and probably all that other stuff, though barley is the only thing on that list our gals have tried) but you don't need to grain any goats that aren't being milked, if you don't want to.

[FD2N4P]

there are a bunch of wonderful folks here that will give you the best advice. so hang in there, you will get the answers. i am new to all of this and an learning. i feed the big NO NOs, the commerical stuff. they are only pets and spoiled ones at that. you can read back posts that talk about feeding and lean much..................still praying! sue

[mpillow]

I feed 2nd cutting premium square bale hay $3.50(timothy clover rye) out of the field year round here in Maine. My pasture is a whopping 1 acre but I tie out on 2 acres of lawn....I also "walk" my goats in 400acres of hardwoods/softwood behind us....1hr walks in summer for 7-8 goats is fun provided I have enough bug spray on. I use a bale a day plus commercial grain on the milking stand. They get cornstalks, pumpkins, bean plants etc. each Fall from our garden. A bale a day is feeding 7 adults and 6 kids born last Spring. Cheaper hay can be had but feed value cost $$.
Lots of others feed alfalfa as it grows readily in their local. You may try a combination of what you have available to see what satisfies them....14-16% protein and decent mineral content. Goats are actually picky eaters compared to cows. 1 cow = 5 goats in the dairy sense feed-wise.

[MTplainsman]

BHF, I buy all my hay at the moment. I have 350 ton of good bottom hay, and some of the less valuable CRP hay.

Sue, I've been getting a lot of help on here, and I have a lot of questions to ask yet...I'll hang in there and learn. Thanks so much for the prayers too, They are already helping me in many ways.

mpillow, thats intersting you take the time to walk the goats. What do your neighbors think though??? I beleive I can hook a large amount of square alfalfa bales next year if that make a good roughage for the goats. Question though... Will the goats just eat out the fines and trample the stocks? Are they picky like deer and horses?

[fishhead]

Yes goats have reputation for wasting hay if you don't have the right feeder. I've seen mine paw at a slice of hay until it was almost gone and they won't eat much that has been walked on.

[mpillow]

Just wanted to add...

Our calf does a good job of cleaning up the waste that the goats make of their hay. It also makes good heat in compost when the barn gets cleaned out. I figure the waste is feeding the calf, providing layered bedding (I use a pack for winter heat) and making rich compost that will hold alot of water on the garden. I try to feed outside as much as possible when no snow/rain (goats hate to be wet). I rake up the tailings in the Spring to use on my potato patch. The hay gets used entirely....