Subsistence Living for Goats

[Ernie]

My goats refuse to leave the barn and look for forage with snow on the ground. They're spoiled.

I had planned on feeding them a minimum ration of grain and hay all winter long, intending that they find the rest of their nutrition on the 5 acres I allow them to graze, yet that didn't work out with them not leaving the barn.

So how much hay should I be providing for goats who won't forage? How many pounds of hay per adult goat will suffice? They aren't giving milk right now, nor are they (yet) pregnant. They are getting lots of vegetables in the form of table scraps.

[southerngurl]

About a flake per goat probably.

If it were me I would be dragging some goats around. I bet if you got them to take the plunge, they would get over their snow phobia.

[fishhead]

I took mine out through the snow this weekend and they followed me all over with no problem It's new to them (at least this winter) so I'll bet if you lead them they'll get over it.

[Janis Sauncy]

I'm of the belief there isn't much food value in anything they browse this time of year, so my goats always get supplemented in the winter. If they want to go out and browse, that's fine; they still get their full feeding from me.

Janis

[Blossomgapfarm]

Kind of depends on where you are and what you grow. Down here, there is still a lot of green out there - brambles, weeds, blackberry briers. Also, the winter rye is starting to come up and the sheep and goats love that. We also have bamboo that they will eat the leaves off of as high as they can reach. Later in the winter when everything else except the rye is brown, the bamboo stays green and we will cut long poles of it for extra feeding.

But then, we will be lucky to see one inch of snow in late January or February so my goats would not know what to make of the stuff.

[4Hmomwyo]

Ours liked to play "Queen of the <Snow> Mountain" last winter!

[topside1]

3% of their body weight...

[Freeholder]

Even dry and covered by snow, browse should still have good feed value. That's what wild animals (deer, mustangs, etc.) survive on in the winter. They may get a bit thin because they have to work harder to find food, and because the weather is cold, but the browse itself has good feed value. For goats getting browse in the winter, I would also give them some hay, though, especially if you plan to breed them. They need to be gaining weight when they are bred, not losing it.

As far as getting them out in the snow, make trails for them to the feed. They don't like to break trails in the snow. They are also wimps and would rather stay inside where it's dry, if you don't force them to go out!

Kathleen

[Goat Servant]

When its cold, they need hay/alfalfa for body warmth.

My girls don't mind the snow its the rain. Most of the time they sleep out under a car canopy with the feeder. But last night they went into the barn before sundown & didn't come out till 9am...grabbed breakfast & ran back in.

I feed alfalfa free choice.

[Ernie]

I've been giving them 3 flakes for 4 goats and then 32 ounces of mixed grains. Plus they get a lot of table scraps (banana peels, apple cores, rice, leftover taters, etc.) and then some mineral mix every few days. So it sounds as if I'm where they need to be. They were actually a little overweight going into the winter, so I guess they'll do fine between now and May.

Out in the pasture I have plenty of green stuff poking up through the snow, and if you dig down through the snow the clover is still beautiful and lush. It's northern Illinois, not tundra ... but you wouldn't know it from their behavior. This is their second winter, so you'd think they'd be better at it. However their owner last year kept them in the barn all winter long so they think they should be catered to.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

No snow here but once bred and now not going through the milking routine, the older girls do think their feeders should be full all the time for them. Other than when it's raining, lock their ample butts out of the barn! Hay is for night, so it's a fresh amount filling their rumens they have to ruminate through to keep warm. You don't want them not getting exercise.

And why are they not bred if you are not milking them? Vicki

[DocM]

Shoo them out with a broom and lock the door. They should have some place to be "dry", but eventually their stomachs take over and they browse. My goats are living proof that snow and rain won't kill them. We're currently in the middle of a horrendous hurricane force storm, 12" of rain in the last 24 hours, and my goats are outside. They're fine. As for there not being much browse, I don't agree. I'm at 1000' in the coast range of Oregon. There is lots and lots of green stuff, ferns, evergreen trees, lots of little leafy stuff growing along the trails, vines I can't identify, lots of ivy. They can pig out if they choose to, they'd just prefer I feed them alfalfa in the comfort of their toasty barn.

[Ernie]

We're breeding them in a couple of weeks. We're just finishing drying the one remaining milker off. A buddy of mine has a Nubian buck we're going to breed to, though I'm not entirely sure I care about keeping any offspring as pure Nubian. One of mine now is a Nubian-LaMancha mix and she's probably the best goat out of the bunch. Also haven't decided if we're going to keep any females and expand our herd.

So many decisions between now and spring.