Grain mixture for milker

Sford13 · #1 06/18/14, 06:45 AM

Want to know what others are using in their grain mixtures for goats they are milking. Would oats and cracked corn work?

Alice In TX/MO · #2 06/18/14, 06:48 AM

NO CORN. It is heating, bad for hooves, etc.

Oats and a top dressing of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds is good.

ozark_jewels · #3 06/19/14, 12:05 PM

Oats and barley are very good grains for goats.
Some people use corn, but it should not make up much of the mix. It is a "hot" feed and a little goes a long way. It also is not a milk-making grain, it is a fat-making grain. So you can use oats or barley or a mixture of both, with just a bit of corn added for the fat.
I choose not to use corn, as pretty much all commercially grown feed corn is now grown from GMO seed. I cannot afford to buy organic grains. My milk customers prefer to not have their milk from goats fed corn or soy anyway, as do I.
I use whole oats with black oil sunflower seeds added. The mixture I make up for milkers, growing kids and working bucks is about 4 scoops of oats and 1 scoop of black oil sunflower seeds.
Everyone does it differently. That is what I use and why. I don't feed much grain, either. Best thing for milk is good browse and *good quality hay*.

**mygoat** · #4 06/19/14, 04:32 PM

I use corn and molasses, my goats haven't died yet. That being said, I have many years under my belt and a good understanding of nutrition and how the rumen stomach works.

My mix is oats, corn, soybean meal pellet, vit E/Se supplement, wee bit of molasses. I buy this as a mix from the feed mill. I mix this 12 parts, with 3 parts shredded beet pulp, 1 part BOSS, and 6 parts alfalfa pellets. I added the SBP and BOSS in because of my heavy milking doe eating so much - she needs lots of high quality feed, but too much grain/sugars risks acidosis.

ozark_jewels · #5 06/19/14, 07:43 PM

If you notice, I caution against using *too much* corn in the diet. Having seen first-hand the problems it can cause in ruminants when it makes up too much of the diet, I will continue to always caution new people against using it very heavily.

CVC_Saanens · #6 06/27/14, 11:32 AM

This thread is very interesting! I have Saanens & Alpines that are heavy milkers and only have the option of bagged feed from the feed store. I create a mix of my own with wet COB and Dairy 16 in a 2 to 1 ratio (2 COB to 1 Dairy 16) which gives me a rough protein level of 12-13%. That being said I have to work very hard at keeping condition on my girls while they're milking! Is there something else that can be purchased at the feed store I can add into the mix to help with keeping condition on the girls while they're in milk? They also get free choice minerals and medium quality alfalfa/gray hay.

wintrrwolf · #7 06/27/14, 02:44 PM

My FF Feline has kept very good condition (milking 5 months now) on Dairy ration from MFA, with alfalfa pellets mixed in and BOSS. Also using replamin plus and loose minerals.
1 bag dairy, 1/2 bag alfalfa=75# with 5 lbs BOSS mixed in. This is only for girl goats do not feed to boy goats.
My regular mix ..non medicated goat ration(MFA) alfalfa pellets and BOSS.

CVC_Saanens · #8 06/27/14, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

My FF Feline has kept very good condition (milking 5 months now) on Dairy ration from MFA, with alfalfa pellets mixed in and BOSS. Also using replamin plus and loose minerals.
1 bag dairy, 1/2 bag alfalfa=75# with 5 lbs BOSS mixed in. This is only for girl goats do not feed to boy goats.
My regular mix ..non medicated goat ration(MFA) alfalfa pellets and BOSS.

What does BOSS and MFA stand for? Any chance you might have a nutrition label from the bagged ration? And they LOVE the alfalfa pellets so I'll probably add that back in. My girls are 3rd, 4th and 5th freshening Saanens and a FF Alpine.

Sford13 · #9 06/30/14, 09:28 PM

BOSS is black oil sunflower seed. But question I have is it the hole seed that you feed or just the kernels?

Alice In TX/MO · #10 06/30/14, 10:24 PM

Whole seed BOSS.

MFA is Missouri Farm ....something. It's the co-op store.

marusempai · #11 07/01/14, 06:16 AM

So I've been thinking about this... and what is it that we are looking to add to their diets with dairy rations, anyway? Protein? Carbs? Calories? I have been feeding Southern States goat food because that's what the breeder I got the girls from does, but now that everything is settled I'm trying to figure if there might be a way that is better for me and my herd. But since I'm not sure what I'm adding with the grain ration I'm not sure how it can be tinkered with.

wintrrwolf · #12 07/01/14, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marusempai

So I've been thinking about this... and what is it that we are looking to add to their diets with dairy rations, anyway? Protein? Carbs? Calories? I have been feeding Southern States goat food because that's what the breeder I got the girls from does, but now that everything is settled I'm trying to figure if there might be a way that is better for me and my herd. But since I'm not sure what I'm adding with the grain ration I'm not sure how it can be tinkered with.

Hay and Forage are always going to be your first and most important the grain rations is really more for us...we want our livestock to produce more, grow faster, put weight on better. So when you are adding the grain to their diets as I do for my milking goats I try to offset the nutrient rich grains with better fiber and forage.

I do want to add FRESH CLEAN water is a must! It is one of the most important that doesn't get mentioned much because I guess it is assumed. I have ducks that free range here and they seem to think that every watering station is theirs to play in, I noticed that my goats do not like to drink the water after the ducks have played in it so now their water sits up on a tire so the ducks can not get into it. Fresh clean water helps with milk production and keeping the boys from getting Urinary Calculi.

V-NH · #13 07/01/14, 09:03 AM

Can someone post a link to what a bag of BOSS looks like? I only found it in the bird seed aisle at Agway and Tractor Supply and it was fairly pricy.

I have been experimenting a lot with my goats lately. I have tried alfalfa pellets, generic 12% sweet feed, DuMor 16% sweet feed for goats, and corn. My goats have thinned out a bit, which might be due to the very hot weather, but I have been upping their feed intake just incase. I'm no longer feeding hay free choice, but rather at specific feeding times because they were wasting around half of each bale which is just way too expensive.

Pony · #14 07/01/14, 09:20 AM

It's just Black Oil Sunflower Seed. You've seen it. You've probably eaten it. It's a little spendy, but it lasts a long time, as you use it as a top-dressing or a small part of the mix.

Our concentrates consist of whole oats, Black Oil Sunflower Seed (BOSS), and alfalfa pellets.

In the Winter, we do add a bit of homegrown non-GMO corn.

**mygoat** · #15 07/01/14, 09:23 AM

BOSS is pricy - it is sold as bird food, so you found the right stuff.

Buying it in larger bags is a bit cheaper, but you use very little of it. I've had the same bags for months.

currently our mix is 12 parts of our grain mix (dairy soybean pellet, corn, oats, molasses, VitE/SE supplement), 6 parts alfalfa pellets, 3 parts shredded beet pulp, and 1 part BOSS. 21 parts to 1 part BOSS.

marusempai · #16 07/01/14, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

Hay and Forage are always going to be your first and most important the grain rations is really more for us...we want our livestock to produce more, grow faster, put weight on better. So when you are adding the grain to their diets as I do for my milking goats I try to offset the nutrient rich grains with better fiber and forage.

I do want to add FRESH CLEAN water is a must! It is one of the most important that doesn't get mentioned much because I guess it is assumed. I have ducks that free range here and they seem to think that every watering station is theirs to play in, I noticed that my goats do not like to drink the water after the ducks have played in it so now their water sits up on a tire so the ducks can not get into it. Fresh clean water helps with milk production and keeping the boys from getting Urinary Calculi.

Very yes! I feel like I've got the forage bit down, honestly - though they are not eating much hay these days, but it's because they are so busy eating dandelions and clover out in the pasture. The grain thing seems like the part that I could most easily screw up though. So it sounds like we're just trying to get extra calories into them so that they can keep up production? I mean, I have a doe that had quads this year, and has been milking a gallon and a half a day since. Sundae is a great goat. But she really needs the extra input or she gets thin as a rail. I'm trying to increase the alfalfa pellets in their ration, aiming for about two parts grain mix to one part alfalfa, as a lot of people seem to be doing that with good results. But these are also high protein feeds, so I think that's part of the goal with a grain ration too, to make sure they get enough protein? I'm trying to understand what I'm doing, so that I don't do something stupid out of ignorance.

ozark_jewels · #17 07/03/14, 10:46 AM

Studies have proven that anything over 16% protein is wasted and mostly just peed back out. And it is hard on their systems. High protein is a great way to burn out milkers though, cattle or goats.
I want a doe who needs minimal concentrates and milks decently. I do not want a goat that puts out 2 gallons of milk but needs high amounts of concentrates to stay in shape!
I want my girls to milk 3/4-1 1/2 gallons a day on a small amount of 11%-13% protein grain(my oats and BOSS mixture), browse and good alfalfa during the winter and stay in good shape doing it. Thats what I breed for. Its a goal, I do not always succeed. But that is why all goats are made of meat............

Backfourty,MI. · #18 07/03/14, 12:33 PM

I buy ADM Alliance dairy pellets & mix that in equal parts with crimped oats for all my does'.
I've been feeding the same mixture about 2 years now or close & everyone is doing well on that.
I do feed all they want alfalfa pellets on the stand & our hay is mostly alfalfa/grass mixed & so our the goats pastures since we fenced off part of our hay fields with the wooded areas for the goats.