Am I starving my goats??

[mahnah]

This was easy when I only had Gizmo I put out 2 cups of grain in the evening with an apple and a couple of carrots, his minerals and he was a happy boy. Not that I was feeding correctly but he was happy.

Now i have 5 babies to think about, no not really babies but they are mine so they will always be babies.

2 3yr old does and 3 1 year old wethers.

I have been giving them 4 flakes of hay in the morning, 6-8 cups of grain with 2 apples in the evening and a snack when I visit in between feeding times of cup of BOSS and another apple or pear. Sometimes just some animal cracker to get them near enough for me to touch them.

Am I starving them?? How much should I be feeding them to keep them healthy.

I still have to trim the hooves that are beyond bad but they barely let me touch them and I know they are going to freak out after I do this.

I think I am failing at being a good goat mom.

[harvestmoonfarm]

I'll let someone else answer the nutrition issue (mine only get pasture and hay this time of year), but I'd be careful giving the wethers grain. Grain can and will cause urinary calculi in wethers.

[Cheryl in SD]

Rule of thumb is 3-5 pounds of hay per day per goat. 5 goats would be 15-25 pounds. If your bales are 60-70 pounds that would mean 1/4-1/3 per day. HTH

We also only fed alfalfa hay, they seemed to do better.

[steff bugielski]

I like to have available 24/7. I feed grass hay only.
I feed zero grain to males over 1 yr old.
My buck get only hay and minerals plus whatever is out in the pasture, not much now.
Does get grain only if bred and due within 5 weeks or milking. Again grass hay 24/7 and minerals plus pasture.

[Zilli]

I would NOT give the boys grain.......at all.

I have a number of wethers, the oldest one being a pygmy ("Squirt") who is going on either thirteen or fourteen (I lost track). I have never fed grain to my wethers and I have never had one get UC.

If you are feeding a good quality hay, and enough of it, then those does shouldn't need the grain, either. Unless, of course, they're going to be producing babies and milk.

[mahnah]

wow then I guess I am over feeding and I feel so guilty. UGGGGGG

[Backfourty,MI.]

If your does' aren't bred or producing milk I wouldn't be feeding all that grain either. Good quality grass hay or a grass alfalfa mix hay would be perfect. I make sure mine have enough hay 24/7.

The animal crackers & apples cut up for snacks should be enough to entice them to you & keep them friendly.

[BethW]

Originally Posted by Backfourty,MI.

I make sure mine have enough hay 24/7

Same here. I keep hay feeders full at all times. A few apples or treats for fun.

[Cygnet]

I just go by the body condition on the goats. I like my goats to be thin enough that I can feel ribs when I run a hand down their sides, but with a thin layer of fat -- i.e., not skeletal. Most people overfeed their animals.

To start with, feed enough hay that there's leftover chaff an hour later. If they clean up every last straw within an hour or so, then you aren't feeding enough. Goats pick the good stuff out and leave the bits that aren't nutritious so if they're eating everything then they're hungry!

If they start getting too thin, I up their feed. If they're getting fat, I cut it back. I assess their weights about once a month.

Feed requirements are really individual and vary by season, weather, and activity levels. I feed more in the fall and winter (rut, pregnancy, then cold weather) and less in the summer -- in the summer, they just sit around and get fat and lazy because it's too hot to move. They don't need as many calories in June when it's 110 here as they do in January, when it's in the 20's at night.

Do put multiple piles or multiple feeders out. If you have a really piggy goat who's dominant, she may chase the others off and get fat while they get skinny. Plus there's a chance of injury if they're squabbling over dinner -- most of the injuries in my herd have been from one goat whacking another over a tasty flake of alfalfa.

Edit: I feed alfalfa exclusively, because it's all I can get. I'd love to be able to feed them weedy hay of some kind. Because I feed very high quality alfalfa, I can't free feed all the time -- they'd look like walking blimps inside of a week.

[Frosted Mini's]

What kind of goats do you have Cygnet? I have dairy goats, and they are free-fed alfalfa hay in winter, and in summer free-fed at night only-during the day I lock them out to pasture...they can work for their food at least some of the time.

[mahnah]

Well I am moving to hay only Thanks so much for the help. I so want to be the best goat mom to these guys!