Raising Kids in Chanding Times

[christij]

Once again I was thinking over comments from the grain worries thread and I wondered if anyone would change their kid rearing methods. I think all prevention methods would stay in place, but what if those Alf pellets just get out of this world in price or you can't get alfa hay?

[CookingPam777]

Alfalfa has calcium and that helps her produce more maybe a calcium supplement? You can give them some human meds so I wonder if you could give them a vitamin?

[yarrow]

If things get too dire, I will possibly back off a bit on how I feed the adults (they may find themselves eating more grass hay. Hay looks great here this year, so I bought 800 bales! 500 of it, is already safe & sound in my barn. The rest to be delivered in a month)...but.. NO.. I'll continue to pour the alfalfa pellets to the kids (no matter the cost. As long as the feedstore has them, I'll buy them) For us, with the kids, they have to have the best start they can get. Good food, good management & prevention. Milk, can't forget the milk...for kids I keep for myself, I feed bottles until they are AT LEAST five months old, sometimes six. I don't want to have to raise my kids prices, so I'll cut costs elsewhere on the farm.
susie, mo ozarks
ages ago acres nubians

[joyceb]

I wondered the same about vitamins - is a human B complex OK?

I don't use alfalfa hay - they have a huge area with access to lots of grass, weeds, mulberry, maple & walnut trees to browse. Plus we bring trimmings from willow & pine to them about once a week. They do get a bit of mixed grain each morning and evening. In the early spring when the grass was very green and wet I would hay them at night so they could munch that and fill up with the dry to prevent bloating. But that was just orchard grass/timothy hay.

We currently have only 3 goats - so the price of grain isn't hurting us too much. Plus hay prices aren't as high here (keeping my fingers grossed!). But we are adding a doe and her twins today. Our core herd should stay around six at any given time. Future kids will be grown out for meat.

JoyceB

[deafgoatlady]

If you are worried about calcium issues. I would just give tums for the goats. Give it them once a day. Just give couple of tums for them. I know there is a lot of people do that instead of using the alfalfa pellets..

[mpillow]

Comfrey is easy to grow and high in calcium.

[CookingPam777]

Originally Posted by mpillow

Comfrey is easy to grow and high in calcium.

Not if you have clay for soil .

[CookingPam777]

I like the tums idea. When do free CVS shopping and afalfas exspensive. And yes we really do get things 100% free sometimes they owe us and we have to get things hehehe.

[AnnaS]

Tums are made of calcium carbonate, which is available in 50 lbs bags at most feed stores for under $10. Much cheaper than 50 lbs of even generic Tums! Most feed stores will also have a dairy mineral formulated for milking cows on corn silage or grass, containing the correct cal/phos mixture.

I have my hay tested- it costs about $11- so I know what my goats need grain-wise to meet their needs. There is a super goat feed here in MN, Big Gain, that uses non-commodity ingredients like wheat middlings and beet pulp. The price has stayed stable and there are many 3000+ lactations made on this feed. Thinking outside the box of corn/oats/beans/BOSS may help with grain costs.

[Alice In TX/MO]

My neighbor in Missouri has cattle, and when we discussed alfalfa hay, he mentioned top dressing the feed with calcium carbonate powder. He does it in the late winter/early spring for his cattle when they are calving/nursing.

[DQ]

I think there will be more distinction between justifiable care for family milkers and teh care that goats receive at people who are breeding goats for the sake of it. right now many family milkers are raised and treated like high dollar show animals not family providers.