Just opened my last bag of sweet feed!

[Lada]

I'd really like this to be my LAST bag of sweet feed! I'd like to start mixing my own grain and am thinking of alfalfa pellets, oats...what else? I'm giving a cattle mineral with lots of copper. Cracked corn? Beet pulp? Kelp? Yeast? I'm so confused, lol!

I've spoken with all the local "goat people" I can find...seriously, I'm like the goat person stalker...and it seems everyone feeds a goat feed or a sweet horse feed. So I'm kind of on my own here. What about this winter, will I need the corn or a pellet or something for a little extra energy for them to get through the cold?

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

What kind of goats are you raising?
I wouldn't mix your alfala pellet into your grain remember it is part of your hay.
Goats are able to glean energy off of anything they eat because they are ruminants, although since my does are heavy bred in our winters, they do start back on grain at 100 days bred to help them grow me out good sized healthy kids without sacrificing thier condition. Most thinness in goats in the winter is from worms. They don't suck blood in the winter they eat condition.

1 sack of feed is just barely enough to switch over, that is how slowly you need to go. Most sacks of sweet feed have little more than some oats that are very poor quality usually the cleanings from whole oats, and some chopped corn. So figure out what you want to feed...oats, some chopped corn.....or oats and some barely and beet pulp... then slowly start half and halfing it with the sweet feed, then next week use 3/4ths of your new mix and 1/4 of their old. Expect them to balk as you move along because you would want to give up sugar frosted flakes for unsweetened homemade granola? Vicki

[DQ]

dairy or meat goats? lactating or dry?do you want to feed for high performance or economics? ask yourself those questions. there are many ways to feed your goats depending on what you want/need to get out of them. those questions will do alot to narrow down the choices. for instance

trying to breed economically viable commercial meat goats would lead you to feed all browse or pasture hay in the winter and maybe whatever inexpensive protien supplement is available to you during late gestation and lactation.

if you want high performing dairy girls than you had better lay on the alfalfa and give quality whole grains, BOSS etc...

I want economically viable dairy for my family and meat goats. my meat does get mostly pasture /browse. my now only one dairy girl is getting the same plus alfalfa on the milkstand. she produces slightly less without any grain but it works out to costing me less per gallon.

no one can give you an exact formula for YOU and YOUR goats. but their are some hard and fast rules.

always have a good mineral out.

the higher forage to concentrate you can keep in their diet while keeping them in acceptable condition the healthier they will be and the less problems you will have.

if an animal cannot survive on your plan sell it/eat it. ie don't try to make a dairy goat milk on browse alone if she turns into a skeleton. sell her or feed her more.

[Lada]

I'm sorry, dairy goats. Currently, one lactating and one not. I'm going to breed both this fall. I want to feed cheap, lol! These are just family milkers, and we're honestly gettting what we need from just the one doe, but I do have a couple of people interested in buying our surplus milk if we have it.

I have thought of breeding our Nubian to a Boer to get a goat or two for the freezer, but probably not this year. Next years kids are already claimed by my parents as "brush goats". The other doe we have I've been told is too small to carry a Boer cross...

Right now they are doing fine on browse, pasture, hay when I can't get them out (we're not fenced at the moment), and I'm just using the sweet feed for the milking doe - she's getting 6 cups a day. The dry doe gets a handful a day because I she looks at me all pathetic-like so I feel sorry for her.

[Lada]

So the alfalfa pellets don't go in with whatever else? Or it's o.k. to mix it with the oats for feeding, but it just doesn't count as grain?

What ratios? Oats, cracked corn and beet pulp I know I can get. I don't know about barley, but I'm assuming I can get it too.

The feed we're using now does have oats in it, though very little. Whole corn, a pellet, and who knows what else...

They do have free access to our mineral.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

I would offer some grass hay (unless alfalfa hay is available, you could feed it and very little whole clean oats). Have at least 3 cups per doe per day of alfalfa pellets out in the barn with the minerals and water. Then when the one is on the milkstand feed whole clean oats.

Your cattle mineral is fine as long as you don't see problems, if you want to add kelp and yeast to your minerals it is fine but isn't a necessity. vicki

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by Lada

So the alfalfa pellets don't go in with whatever else? Or it's o.k. to mix it with the oats for feeding, but it just doesn't count as grain?

Feed the grain on the milkstand and not mix with the alfalfa pellets. Feed them separately, most does don't like them mixed and will eat the grain and not the alfalfa if they are mixed.

[KimM]

If they're willing to eat it mixed, is it ok then or is there another reason not to feed it mixed? I just got my first dairy doeling today (thank you Roseanna!!!) so I want to learn about feeding dairy does ahead of time.

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

Feed the grain on the milkstand and not mix with the alfalfa pellets. Feed them separately, most does don't like them mixed and will eat the grain and not the alfalfa if they are mixed.

[DQ]

It is not that there is really anything harmful about feeding the alfalfa pellets with the grain. but I, as haves others, experienced goats that pick the grain out and then cry for more without eating the alfalfa. sort of like a child eating the cake off their plate and crying because nothing but broccoli is left. not all of my goats did this but a enough to justify re-working my feeding routine. Now I am feeding alfalfa pellets only (aside from pasture and browse) If you are going for an economical feed plan than you might consider just feeding the alfalfa pellets. It can provide a goodly amount of the protein they need and the calcium which is really important.

your does may or may not be able to operate on an alfalfa only plan. it also depends on what things cost in your area. for me oats cost 11$ min. per bag. I can get 8$ bags of alfalfa pellets and fulfill more of their needs total with it although they are getting less of their energy from sacked feeds they are getting protein and calcium that the grains contain minimally. I am depending on them to making up for their energy needs with good pasture and browse. if you want to switch to alfalfa pellets only I would start feeding them some off the stand and slowly reduce the grain on the stand while increasing the pellets off. at some point (probably when they start running out of food while your still milking) switch where they get fed what and then get to where you eliminate the grain all together. when Iwas graining on the milkstand I would dump their alfalfa pellets in the feeder after evening feed. it was always gone by morning even if they didn't touch it in my presence.

[sammyd]

We have the feedmill mix us up a batch that runs a touch over 17%. We use oats, cracked corn, 38% pellets, a good mineral and only about 5 pounds of molasses for 350 pounds of feed. The price isn't too bad .
When we had some really good alfalfa hay we only fed whole shell corn as our grain. But with the lower quality hay we have in the barn now we felt we needed to up the protien in the grain.
From late spring through fall we pasture mostly but if the weather is bad they stay in and get hay.
We also keep a mineral/salt block out for them in case they want more minerals.
The grain is mostly fed on the milking stand but we also throw some in their feeders in the pens at night.
Our production is decent and the girls look good.

[hoofinitnorth]

It will depend on what you can get locally and what you can afford, as much as what you are doing with your animals, their turn-out, exercise, access to fresh food, and type of hay you are offering. You will have to experiment a bit and see what works for you. I personally have had great success with a custom mix of locally grown barley & oats, with Outside ingredients consisting of corn, flax seed, rice bran, brewer's yeast, kelp meal, and sea salt (small amount of sea salt and kelp meal because I also give them this free-choice with a little kelp meal). I also started offering them the Purina Goat Mineral again just to cover my bases with the kidding does and growing kids, but I'm not all that thrilled with it. I also add Millennium Gold horse vitamins to the mix. They only get this on the milk stand. Lately, though, some of my local mentors are encouraging me to offer straight barley in very small amounts to the kids. I'm reading up on that right now. They all do it and have great results in growth and vitality but I'm not sure it's the grain doing that.

They get a mix of several different types of hays, including alfalfa when I can get it, as well as lots and lots of browse. We have them dry-lotted for now but my husband cuts brush for them every day in an attempt to help clear our pastures. With some time we'll actually build an area for them where they can go out and browse on their own.

One thing I've been experimenting with lately is to add *just a touch* of corn oil to the grain mix just to get the finer particles to adhere to the larger ones. It really is a VERY tiny amount so that I'm not drowning the rumen in oil, but a little goes a long way in this department if you mix it well. I literally use no more than about 1 T. per 3 pounds grain, but try to get by with much less.