Goat feed amounts

[farmerted]

We just got 3 pygmy goats yesterday. They said feed each a 1/4 cup of goat feed to each of them once in the morning and once at night. Have feed them twice now, and they are not satisfied with that amount, probably predictably.

Fyi two of them are 2 months old the other is 3. We also have them in a fenced in area about 1/4 acre with a bunch of weeds and grass we have let grow for about a month now.

Does 1/4 cup twice a day sound like an appropriate amount?

We are also fostering puppies, who weigh half as much and they eat about a cup of food each, two times a day, adds to my confusion.

They were bottle raised, so they are very nice and love the humans, I already like them more than I like our chickens, and that is saying something.

thanks, have a nice day.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Hay out for them all the time? Then they are FINE.

Yes, they know how to be very dramatic.

[mygoat]

They do not need ANY grain unless late pregnant, lactating, growing, or otherwise underweight/ailing. Your average pygmy goat is obese. A good quality hay can cause them to be obese, lol. If their pasture is currently adequate, they can get what they want there. 1/4 acre WILL get chewed down by them pretty darn quick though, and at that point you'll need to put out hay for them. I personally feed free choice hay, for pygmies that are not late bred/not lactating, a soft well baled grass hay of any cutting is adequate. Try not to get stemmy stuff (waste), and do NOT get mouldy stuff. Since your babies are GROWING still, I would keep up with the grain. More grain means faster growth generally, so it's up to you wether or not to feed more grain. I wouldn't do much more than a cup per day for a kid, and any feed changes must be made SLOWLY, as their gut is a very specific environment and a feed change will rapidly alter that environment - can be deadly in animals that ferment their feed. What I would do, is make sure you do coccidia prevention as that is the #1 thing to cause stunting (no, the main symptom is NOT diarrhea, it's stunted growth... )

I would cut the grain once they get a bit older - cheaper, easier, and they really don't need it. They WILL think they are dying/starving, but they are not.

As for puppies vs goats, wayyyyyy different digestive systems.

[farmerted]

we have 2 acres total, 1/4 acre pasture a 1/2 acre pasture and then an acre behind that, all individually fenced in.

BTW I checked the bag for feeding instructions, quite the math problem, 1.5% of their weight, they weigh about as much as my dog seems like, which is 18 lbs.

while I am on here, anybody got any ideas how to introduce your dog to goats? She does not generally like anyone, her breed is known as a one person breed, she is a bit skittish. She is about the same size, and I don't think she would hurt them.

Thanks for the info.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Do not let your dog have access to the goats. EVER. At all.

You already know she's not a friendly dog.

You are looking at your dog with human eyes, and your dog will look at the goats with predator eyes if she is not SPECIFICALLY a guardian dog breed.

[farmerted]

we are keeping her on the other side of the fence, but she is not even good over there. and when we leave her in the house she howls and barks like crazy. some kind of compromise between the two needs to happen.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Other side of the fence works for me. You already know she's not a friendly dog. She's not going to change.

She's going to see those goats as prey. Run it down and kill it.

Save yourself heartache. Keep them separate.

[Clovers_Clan]

I recommend putting up a strand of offset electric wire/tape at about 18" height on either side of the fence, if you can, as well. If a goat reaches through and gets its head stuck... well, not pretty. Best not to set up a cat/mouse relationship when it comes to the morsel of greenery and morsel of meat just on the other side!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yes. Both sides.

[punchiepal]

Our dogs never go in the goat pens.
Only dog that should be in a pen with livestock is a trained livestock guardian.

[farmerted]

I found a nice article about improving pasture in my area, got good fences, now just need to figure out how to get my dog to chill out around the goats. She has already gotten used to the chickens, took two weeks. She is not perfect, when they fly she freaks out, but she no longer barks at them. I was not going to let her in the pen with them, just misspoke.

I am thinking it will take a billion treats.

She was btw the only animal we had for 7 years, we now have 10 chickens and 3 goats, hoping she can figure it out, because I love all of them. Oh yeah and we are also fostering two puppies.

[farmerted]

their 2nd interaction went perfectly, third one not as well. She is very smart, she will figure it out, or be spending a lot more time inside by herself.

figured out the math problem too, I did it in the metric system, because it is a billion times easy than cups and and lbs. at 9 kilos it is 136 grams per goat per day, which is like a cup total. Purina goat chow, I am in in St. Louis

[wintrrwolf]

Originally Posted by farmerted

their 2nd interaction went perfectly, third one not as well. She is very smart, she will figure it out, or be spending a lot more time inside by herself.

figured out the math problem too, I did it in the metric system, because it is a billion times easy than cups and and lbs. at 9 kilos it is 136 grams per goat per day, which is like a cup total. Purina goat chow, I am in in St. Louis

Ahh welcome to the goat world AND glad to see another goat owner near me
Wonderful little babies you have there.

[farmerted]

they are just adorable.

[Rustaholic]

When we had goats we also had two outside dogs,
Usually the goats were in the garage/barn or going out the East door into their large out door pen.
After Abigale had her triplets we had let them out the front door (South side) which was my best ever friend/dog Pest's domain.
The North whole side was Bruno's domain.
Well Pest just wanted to go say howdy to Abigale and she raised up and head butted him in the ribs and my sweet Pest absolutely got the message that he would forever stay away from all goats.
Pest was my mutt of royal breeding.
His mother was a registered Collie that was supposed to save herself for proper breeding but the next door registered Irish setter got there first.
Pest was a half breed. At 75 pounds I saw him rip apart a Doberman that attacked him. When they parted my dog was covered in blood. I bathed him and there was not a single scratch on him. Yet that one well placed head butt was all it took to tell him goats were not to play with.

[farmerted]

I took Coco out to meet the goats first thing this morning and they had a really great interaction sniffing each other through the fence, both her and one of the goats sticking their noses through the fence to touch the other, all were perfectly calm.

Later she came out and was being a nut job, but it only freaked them out for about 3 seconds.

These little guys are really adorable lovely creatures. There weed crushing power is out standing, the slam way more weeds in one sitting than I expected. I have two acres for them.

have a nice day

Originally Posted by farmerted

we have 2 acres total, 1/4 acre pasture a 1/2 acre pasture and then an acre behind that, all individually fenced in.

BTW I checked the bag for feeding instructions, quite the math problem, 1.5% of their weight, they weigh about as much as my dog seems like, which is 18 lbs.

while I am on here, anybody got any ideas how to introduce your dog to goats? She does not generally like anyone, her breed is known as a one person breed, she is a bit skittish. She is about the same size, and I don't think she would hurt them.

Thanks for the info.

Hi Farmerted,

The feed seems to have been covered and varies with each person.

The dog issue has been mentioned to but I want to add again to not let any dog in with your goats. Same size or not, the goats can be hurt or scared enough to run into a fence or anything and become injured. We have an LGD which is great. We also have a 9 yo Doberman and some other house pugs. The Dobe is fine with the goats if I am beside her, or the goats in the yard, ... but given the chance would chase them. Do not trust any dog that is not a specific acclimated LGD to be in with your goats. My LGD loves to play with our Dobe, but she better not enter the pasture. The LGD does not allow that

Have fun with your new goats.