Getting goats - feed and minerals?

[woadleaf]

Hi there!

Looks like my goats might be coming in the next week or so, and I wanted to get their feed squared away before they get here. The girls are grade nubians.

The current owner tells me she gets the best hay available, but it's most often timothy, not alfalfa. That's lower in protein, right? This must be a regional thing - I've never seen ads for alfalfa hay myself. Would it be worthwhile to supplement the hay with alfalfa pellets? Or skip that and go with a higher protein grain mix? How much protein can be attributed to browse? What sorts of grain mixes are appropriate? Being in Canada, I don't think I have the same brands, but types of mixes are helpful.

For minerals, I'm planning on getting a loose mix for goats, but with regional soil composition differences would I need extra copper and selenium on top of that? I'm next door to Maine, for reference. The owner hasn't mentioned anything about Bo-Se shots for newborns, and she's been raising goats for many years now.

When they come I'll be sure to post pictures! TIA!

[Minelson]

Can't wait to see the pictures! We have a lot of posters from Canada here that I hope will chime in. What are the goats for...milking? or just pets (like mine)

[woadleaf]

For milk, hopefully! They'll be FFs, so we'll see how this goes.

[billooo2]

I have never had to feed alfalfa pellets because of the very nice (mostly alfalfa hay) that I get. I think that alfafa hay also has some trace minerals, so you get more than just higher protein with alfalfa hay. I would think that there might be advantages to feeding some of the pellets.
I would also consider feeding kelp in addition to the goat minerals.....and my goats definitely prefer Sweetlix over other brands that I have tried. (kelp is expensive, but a bag should last quite a while with just a couple goats)

[Backfourty,MI.]

Alot of your loose minerals that are made for goats don't have a very high copper content in them, But you can also give loose minerals that are made for cattle to the goats & usually they have alot more copper in them.

[woadleaf]

Well, I should think that if anything, kelp should be cheap(er) around here! Not much shipping involved. I could probably just go get some myself
Cow minerals instead of goat minerals, check.

Thanks!