Cost of feeding per animal

[YodelDogs]

I am trying to plan for the future and I need to know how many goats I can afford to feed before I start buying. I would like to have 1-2 Nubian wethers for pulling a cart and packing and perhaps start with 2-3 Nigerians too. I realize the majority of people here have fairly large herds but could someone calculate the approximate cost to feed each animal of these two breeds per month? Any help will be gratly appreciated.

[mygoat]

The problem with this is, each situation is different. It's not just feed that you'd have to pay for, as well. Worming, minerals, baking soda... Not to mention startup supplies, fencing, and equipment.

To keep the feed bill low, don't feed unnecessary grain. Wethers, bucks, and most kids DO NOT need grain. The only ones that need grain are lactating does and does in late stages of pregnancy.

Hay prices keep going up, another reason it is difficult to price feed for a year per goat.

[HazyDay]

Here is my costs (March 2007)
(They maybe outdated as most are dry now and it seems to last longer.)

Does-Milking- $.92 aday. (Hay and Grain)
Bucks-Kids-wethers- $.32 aday (Hay and Grain.)

This is for me and of course this isn't the cost of having a heated water buck,2 lights running most of the day,etc.

Everyone will be different, I will have to go back and look at all my records and get an updated price.

[Freeholder]

I haven't figured out a per-animal cost, but just wanted to mention that Nubians aren't considered the most desirable breed for packing. A few people do use them, but they have a reputation for lying down on the job and refusing to get back up and go. I tried to pack a young (yearling) Kinder doe one time (empty pack, she was just carrying the pack saddle and blanket, almost no weight) and she did the same thing -- laid down in the trail after about a mile and refused to go until I took the pack off her. (Kinders are half Nubian.) So if the packing aspect is very important to you, you might want to choose a different breed to keep.

Kathleen

[southerngurl]

LOL, I had never heard of that! I think they are just smart.

But really, if you had one that's friendly and follows you, you are its herd, I can't imagine it would allow itself to stay behind if you just keep walking.

[HazyDay]

I would say Nubians are just little queens! kidding! hehehe! I would try a Swiss breed, as I would think if they are from the Swiss why wouldn't they mind walking???

[DownHome]

We were told to feed a "flake" of alfalfa per day for 3 goats. We have 2, I still feed a "flake" per day. A bale lasts us anywhere from 7-10 days. A bale cost $6.00 for the good stuff. We feed a little grain each day, sometimes none. We buy it by the ton from a grain mill, costs nearly half price compared to the 50 lb bags (or whatever) in the store and that includes delivery.

I would guesstimate about .60 - .85 a day for 2 goats

[southerngurl]

I feed more like a flake per goat per day. Of course, all my goats are either pregnant, lactating or growing. But grazers and browsers thrive on lots of bulk.

[mygoat]

A flake per day per three goats is not enough, imo. Most free feed their hay, and I would always feed at LEAST a single flake per goat per day. This may be enough during the summer if you have excellent pasture for them to be on, but definitely NOT enough for the winter months.

[southerngurl]

Well, if you have excellent pasture, you don't need any hay, except maybe when it's raining.

[YodelDogs]

Thank you for your answers folks. Am I correct in assuming that the more browse you have, the less hay must be fed? Or should you put out the same amount of hay regardless?

[BlueHeronFarm]

We free choice our hay, year round. But they eat a lot less in the summer when there are more fun things to eat in the pasture.

When we first calculated cost in our area, square bales were $7-9 each (very droughty last year), grain was $10/bag, alfalfa was $10/bag. Our milkers priced out at just under $1/head/day.

The hay is cheaper now and the girls are drying up next month, so we'll be down quite a bit these days. ...haven't recalculated lately. I suppose we should.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by YodelDogs

Thank you for your answers folks. Am I correct in assuming that the more browse you have, the less hay must be fed? Or should you put out the same amount of hay regardless?

When we are in full browse(and in southern Missouri that means a LOT of browse!!), I do not feed hay unless it is raining. When it starts getting dry and the browse starts getting sparse, I start putting out hay again. Now the milkers should be getting some form of alfalfa all the time, be it hay or pellets.
But the does who are just feeding kids, bucks, etc, only get browse when its in full swing. Just watch your goats, you will see what they need. A properly fed goat should have a well-developed rumen.

[goatsareus]

I have hay before my goats at all times, 365 days a year. I like to see them get a belly full before they go out to pasture/woods everyday. I go overboard on the hay. I put more hay in front of them than they could ever eat.

[lgslgs]

OK - here's our numbers since January first. This is for 8 adult goats and one cow, nobody pregnant or lactating, active animals with full access to browse each day.

The critters are fed just a modest portion each night as a reward for returning to their night pen, and we also go heavier on the alfalfa pellets on super rainy days or during our one really lean browsing month.

Total: $147.55

That includes 8 bags of sweet feed, 5 bags of corn, 3 bags of alfalfa pellets and 2 mineral blocks.

We had 0$ expense for hay. Also 0$ for straw since we harvest and store fall leaves for bedding material.


Lynda

[goatsareus]

oh I forgot, the real reason I was going to post.....you only ask about the cost of feed. Have you taken into account all the other costs associated with keeping goats?

[lgslgs]

Originally Posted by goatsareus

oh I forgot, the real reason I was going to post.....you only ask about the cost of feed. Have you taken into account all the other costs associated with keeping goats?

Yes - do keep in mind that adds up.

We had:

$147.55 for food
$90.22 for supplies (halter for cow, chain collars for goats, a new feed bowl, etc.)
$37.61 for insect control
$587.47 for vet care.
Total so far this year = 862.83


The vet care was $122 for annual herd wellness check and shots for everyone. (We like to have the vet out to see the herd each year - both to catch any problems and to continue to build a great relationship with the vet.) The remaining $465.47 was fro two goat emergencies. (One $37 emergency vet call, and $435.47 total for a broken leg emergency, casting, before and after x-rays, and follow-up checkups during healing.)

Lynda

[Rowdy]

It really depends on your set up.

Personally, from late March/early april to late November/december my feed costs for six goats is $0 (not counting minerals.) I have three (soon to be four) acres that are divided up into one acre paddocks. When I get finished each acre will have lots of trees and brush to browse, but also grass to graze.

This year I have about half an acre of wheat/barley/oats/triticale mix that I am letting them graze. They really seem to like it... In fact they seem to like it so much that I may have to fence off the wheat from the rest of the paddock so that they'll finish cleaning up the brush while the wheat recovers.
I had also sown some rye grass/clover mix, but I got it into the ground a bit late, and we didn't get any rain from Sept to last week, so I've not seen any of it. My goal is year round grazing.

Due to the dry spell we had, I have had to feed six bales of haygrazer at $3.50 a bale so far this fall/winter. Now that we've gotten a rain on my wheat mix, I've turned them into that paddock, between the wheat mix, brush and this year's acorn crop I should not have to feed any more hay for at least three weeks. At that time I will turn them into the bermuda/sandy land mix paddock and let them graze it almost to the ground. Hopefully by then the rye grass/clover mix will be up, or I will have the fencing finished on another paddock that has never been browsed. By that time I might be able to turn them out on the wheat again. If not, I still have 25 bales of haygrazer put up.

This was my bermuda/sandy land mix paddock last winter after the goats had browsed all the brush and I cleaned it up:


This summer after I seeded the Sandy land mix and let them graze a little.



October, After they grazed it and I clipped what they did not eat. Hadn't had any rain in awhile, so it was dry. If not for that, I would probably have some grass stockpiled there right now.



My goats will start kidding in late March/ April, so I'll have to feed some grain near the end of the winter, and as that I am still clearing out brush I'll cut down a tree every so often so that they can clean up the green briar and whatever oak leaves are left.