Grass/forage-fed only for dairy goats?

[Matt H in IL]

Anybody have any advice or links to articles about feeding dairy goats with grass/forage only and no grain? I don't mind lower milk production but want to know if it's practical and okay health-wise. Planning on getting goats in near future and want to plan ahead. Thanks in advance for any info!

[Alice In TX/MO]

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/arc.../t-299307.html

[Creamers]

Even those who are on the grassfed only kick usually say to never try to have a dairy goat on a grass or forage only diet. . .
You might consider a dairy cow with lines bred for forage only milking - or a dexter

[Birch Hill Farm]

Im sure it can be done, just use alfalfa instead of grain and keep a good supply of minerals on hand. This is what we do with our boar goats. We do throw in a little grain the last month before kidding and for a short while after.

[Creamers]

Boers and Dairy are very different. I would not recommend trying grass / forage only with a Dairy doe.

[steff bugielski]

Dairy or Boers can do just fine on forage only. That is what they are meant to eat.
We feed grain to get the doe to produce more milk than she is designed to do.
My dairy buck never gets grain , only local good quality hay free choice and he is big and healthy.
Yes it would need to be very good quality hay.

[Pony]

The way dairy goats have been bred to achieve a certain type, IMO it would be difficult to maintain a lactating or pregnant goat in optimal shape without supplementing with concentrates.

Steff, your buck may never see grain, but have you ever raised working does (i.e. pregnant or lactating) on grass alone? (Not being argumentative - sincerely asking for information.)

It is imperative that we consider the genetics in our dairy animals. The breeds of goats most commonly raised for dairy have been bred to require concentrated feed to maintain health and production.

BTW - what sort of hay do you feed your buck? I'd love to be able to maintain a buck in rut without having to grain him. As soon as their hormones kick in, my boys go all skinny on me.

[Birch Hill Farm]

Sounds to me like we need to be breeding and selecting back toward a more self sufficient goat.

[KSALguy]

this is one of thoughs times when you cant have your cake and eat it too, if you want an animal that will produce alot of milk for your family that you will have extra to make cheese and other home products you have to have an animal BRED to do that, and you have to FEED that animal accordingly,

BUT if you just want a little milk here and there to suppliment what ever your doing, OR if you dont mind haveing 3 or more animals to produce the same as one of others then by all means choose an animal that wont run its self down produceing tons of milk and can survive just fine on what ever kind of feed you have available.

[mygoat]

Dairy breeds of goats have been bred for generations to produce LOTS of milk - WAY, WAY more milk than what is 'natural'. To maintain efficiency - productivity, prolificness, and disease resistance - they need to be kept in good body condition. With dairy does that are bred to be workaholics, the best way to do that is to offer a grain ration.

IMO many things that are 'natural' do not apply for domesticated animals kept in a pasture. There is very little that is 'natural' about raising domesticated animals.

If I were to try this, I would offer alfalfa pellets free choice. I would also make sure I would have several HUGE pastures to rotate between. Even then, I would not expect super high production.

[Heritagefarm]

Originally Posted by Pony

The way dairy goats have been bred to achieve a certain type, IMO it would be difficult to maintain a lactating or pregnant goat in optimal shape without supplementing with concentrates.

Steff, your buck may never see grain, but have you ever raised working does (i.e. pregnant or lactating) on grass alone? (Not being argumentative - sincerely asking for information.)

It's a rather sticky situation. I believe the answer lies on the genetics. The dairy goats that we have now have, indeed, been bred to produce a quantity of milk with concentrate supplements, usually in the high-protein form of grain. This is hardly a bad thing, however, it means that an expensive input is necessary to maintain a dairy animal. If an animal is to be grassfed, one must first select an animal bred for such a purpose, and if it is a goat, there could be possible complications with convincing the animal to eat down instead of up, for therein lies their worm problem. It would be helpful to practice management intensive grazing (MIG) to maintain a healthier, more productive plant, and to control the part of the plant the animal eats, which is usually, of course, the high-energy part of the plant, the top. The tips (epical meristems) and top of the plant is exposed to more sunlight, and is therefore photosynthesizing at a faster rate than the lower portions of the plant, which recieve less solar energy. MIG would ensure that the animal received only the energy-dense parts of the plant, and therefore it could become possible to have a reasonably well producing animal with no expensive grain inputs. Though, of course, more inputs will have to be directed to the soil instead of the animal, for the animal will need to consume somewhat more forage.
~Ted

[Heritagefarm]

Originally Posted by mygoat

If I were to try this, I would offer alfalfa pellets free choice. I would also make sure I would have several HUGE pastures to rotate between. Even then, I would not expect super high production.

The best choice is actually many small pastures. The smaller and quicker the move, the more productive the pasture becomes and the more high-energy food the animal can eat. Large pastures cannot be managed as tightly, and wouldn't suit a dairy animal as well, for they will be allowed to re-eat. They will go over to one tasty area, and eat it all. The will go to another reasonably tasty area, and in a small while, they will go back over to the tastier area and prune the already short grass down even further, and again, and again, the result being that the root system and the plant cannot recover, and that the high-energy places will not prosper and the other areas will become overgrown and also less productive. Thus the animal will not receive good nutrition and the plant cannot recover, the root system recedes and erosion could become a potential problem if the plant recedes far enough.
I don't mean to critique anyone's work, and this is simply reiterations of information that I have read from reliable sources, as well as information I have seen work.
~Ted

[bluefish]

I've sorta done that. Last summer, I ran out of hay and could not get any more for a few months. The girls were on pasture only. Well,...they did get grain on the stand. I only have two does, but I got 3/4 gal per milking from the one that was 1 1/2 years fresh and almost 1 gal a day from the other, although she's never been a great producer. I did notice, though, that the butterfat went down to almost nothing. I think it would depend on the goat and the pasture available.

[Pony]

It looks like you'll either do the work of intensively farming the pastures, or growing grain for the goats.

Further research indicates that breeds like the Toggenberg do well on just pasture. Don't see my Nubian or Snubians doing well on just grass, no matter how intensively I feed/monitor the pasture.

[PaulNKS]

The question is not a simple black and white answer. The types of forage and the nutrients present also make a difference. Milk production is always tied to protein intake. However, also keep in mind that just pure grains are not high in protein.. or not high enough to aid in milk production that much. If you are feeding a feed to increase milk production, it must be good quality and have a high enough protein. Most corn today has only about 7% protein. Many grasses and forages can contain as much protein as grain.

I only feed hay when the goats are in the pen for a couple months in the winter while kidding. The others are on pasture 24/7. The bucks get NO grain... only pasture or hay if they are penned up (when I don't want does bred). My bucks on pasture always look fat. The does on pasture always look fat.

If i have bred does, they do get a very small ration of grain each evening when they come into a pen.... but then they are free to go back out. The does with kids also get a very small grain ration. However, the ones that I am hand milking will get a decent ration. To the does that I hand milk, while they are in lactation, I feed a very high quality feed at the rate of 1 pound of feed for every 3 pounds of milk produced.

A lot of it depends on they types of grass/hay/forage available.

[sammyd]

it can be done. You will experience much less production.
But even with really good forage an energy source (such as grain) can really help the girls out.

This explains how it works for cows and they are similar.
http://www.extension.org/article/24980

or summed up

High quality pasture that often exceeds the animal's protein requirement without any supplemental energy will result in excess nitrogen being excreted—an energy drain on the cow. Often a small amount of fermentable energy (for example molasses or finely ground corn or barley) as a supplement can make a large impact on rumen efficiency, and increase production and/or body weight gain.

[steff bugielski]

Originally Posted by Pony

Steff, your buck may never see grain, but have you ever raised working does (i.e. pregnant or lactating) on grass alone? (Not being argumentative - sincerely asking for information

BTW - what sort of hay do you feed your buck? I'd love to be able to maintain a buck in rut without having to grain him. As soon as their hormones kick in, my boys go all skinny on me.

My point was it can be done but the production will drop down to that of a pastured Boer. They mostly are grain free, carry twins and have milk enough for the kids. I am sure many of them have extra milk.
As for my hay it gets tested field by field, cutting by cutting. Right now I am feeding 10% moisture and 24% protein, grass hay no alfalfa. I have the rest of the report in the tuck.

[steff bugielski]

Many other countries do this. I do not know what size or type of forage area they have but it can be done.

[KSALguy]

it all boils down to how much milk do you want, do you want enough milk to raise the kids that are on the doe or do you want enough milk for them AND your use for all the milk products you want to make? its as simple as that really, yes a goat can eat just hay and forage and produce enough milk for their kids and MAYBE a little extra here and there for you to steel but you wont be haveing milk with your cerial every morning or makeing any cheese to speak of,

[Bfly Farmer]

We run a mainly pastured raised operation. We use rotational grazing, haylage, alfalfa, high quality mineral, and bolusing (2-3 times a year) in order to maintain condition and milk quality/quantify. Grain is only given as a treat.

As those previously have stated, it really depends on the quality/amount of pasture, genetics, and your expectations. Our commercial herd is comprised of San Clementes which have not be improved like the traditional dairy breeds. Also, we breed/cull heavily for those who do well on pasture only.

For our farm, it has worked well, but we knew this was our goal and planned accordingly. I can easily see where it would not suit others. You need to weigh the pros and cons for yourself.

Good luck!