New, Hello, Feed Ideas, Kidding

EosRisingFarm · #1 02/28/14, 02:19 AM

Sorry for the mouthful title. I am new to the forum as a member but have been reading it for a long time. I am an urban farmer with 2goats, 15chickens, 10rabbits, and slowly turning my lawn into my grocer.

I am so excited to say that my lamnacha doe, Frosting, is indeed pregnant and due the 25th of May. With this in mind i need to start preparing for the birth NOW because the next 2 months become hectic with planting.

That said I am looking at feed. I have a child with celiac and our home is gluten free. I have been working on our chickens to get them gluten free with oat/flax/millet/Boss soaking or sprouting. They are doing fantastic. Now I am looking at doing this for the goats.

We do not use beet pulp due to the inability to find it GMO free. Currently we feed an orchard hay. I am planting a micro pasture in my backyard to allow minimal grazing but the main feed is hay i bring in.

They mix i am considering is
2 parts oats
1/2 part flax
1/2part millet
1/4part boss

1 cup to start with up to 1.5lbs when doe is in milk. To her ration will be added 1tblsp kelp, 1tblsp molasses

Will goats eat wet feed? Will they bennefit from fermenting the feed ration?

Tango · #2 02/28/14, 05:21 AM

welcome and congrats on your progression toward sustainability

i haven't fed wet to goats so cn't answer that but know fermented rations are good in general. could you plant a tiny forest garden in your micro pasture? your chickens will benefit from the micro pasture but your goats would do better with a tiny edible forest.

wintrrwolf · #3 02/28/14, 06:14 AM

I will be adding these seeds this year to my goat pasture area's.
alfalfa, chicory, medium red clover, white ladino clover, dutch white clover and perennial ryegrass.

Alice In TX/MO · #4 02/28/14, 09:51 AM

Mine won't eat wet stuff. I'd worry about fermenting causing unwanted bacteria growth that goats won't tolerate.

dozedotz · #5 02/28/14, 09:57 AM

Even on our land which is dry, open woodland without enough soil to hold a seed (!) we have been able to plant all the stuff that Wintrrwolf is planning and actually have it grow! The goats love it and mostly wipe it out here in one season...we just start over...WELCOME!!

EosRisingFarm · #6 02/28/14, 06:18 PM

I am putting my micro forest in another section of the yard. I have a peach, pear, and cherry tree then mini dwarf apples and low bush blueberries. Thats also my bee yard.

Awnry Abe · #7 02/28/14, 08:15 PM

Our goats devour Chaffhaye, which is kinda wet. I know it is wet enough to freeze.

Awnry Abe · #8 02/28/14, 08:17 PM

Hmmm. Cherry tree could be bad.

Frosted Mini's · #9 03/01/14, 03:00 PM

They will eat or debark and kill all of your fruit trees, so make sure to fence those away from them if you intend to have fruit.

Cherry leaves are supposedly toxic, but it is the wilted ones that are bad, I think. When they are kind of in that in-between stage of being wilty vs. dried or fresh. My goats have ate plenty of cherry leaves with no problems. But, lets say you had a real hungry goat, and put it in an area with a cherry tree after the first frost of the season. I think that may be when you'd run into a problem. My goats are pretty well-fed spoiled brats.

EosRisingFarm · #10 03/04/14, 08:02 PM

I am aware of that.....the devouring the trees. the beeyard/forest IS fenced away from the goats. the chickens will have acess to it thats it. Cherries would only be bad IF i fed them the tree OR let them in there. there is no reason for them to be in there.

Frosted Mini's · #11 03/05/14, 12:43 AM

Well, depending how close the fence is to the trees, they will still get leaves in the fall. My goats have not had a problem with eating those, though.