What do you feed your goats?

Jhorra · #1 08/01/14, 12:47 AM

We just got two Nigerian Dwarf goats. We plan to milk them, but these are our first goats. What do you feed your goats?

Alice In TX/MO · #2 08/01/14, 06:30 AM

Congratulations! I hope they bring you joy and lots of milk.

What ages? Bred? In milk?

Nigerian Dwarf goats are "easy keepers.' They don't need much more than good hay and (if possible) browse.

On the milk stand, you could give them a handful of oats or a good goat feed such as Purina's Noble Goat milker feed.

A good loose mineral is important. Purina has one, but a lot of us supply Cargill's Right Now (Onyx).

Let us know more about your situation, location, etc., and we can give more specific guidelines.

**mygoat** · #3 08/01/14, 09:08 AM

There is no hard fast rule as to whats best. In a breeding/milking herd you will have all different ages and physiological stages, and you should feed them accordingly.

Vahomesteaders · #4 08/01/14, 09:10 AM

Like has been said. A good hay or browse works great. We do supplement with 12% sweet feed when browse are low. Also table scraps. They eat anything. lol

Mattie420 · #5 08/01/14, 09:48 AM

I let mine pasture feed as much as they want as well as fill their trough once a day with Purina Noble Goat and I also let them nibble/lick/pick at a mineral block as much as they feel the need to

Jhorra · #6 08/01/14, 10:19 AM

They live in the back half of our yard with some grass. One has been bred, the other has not. We got them from someone who breeds them for show. She fed them a mix of alfalfa pellets and noble goat with loose minerals mixed in. We're in Phoenix, Az.

Jhorra · #7 08/01/14, 10:19 AM

I need to move the chickens food though as one has made a habit of eating the chicken food.

marusempai · #8 08/01/14, 10:32 AM

Forgive me for perhaps stating the obvious, but they will need hay - we feed grass and clover hay, because it's what grows on our pastures (we're not using them all for grazing just now, so you bet I'm going to use them for hay!).

#9 08/01/14, 10:47 AM

jhorra,

Your backyard looks awesome! They will be very happy there. If you can get good hay, great! I can't where I am so I feed Alfalfa pellets only and browse (tree trimmings in your case). They can be fine with the Alfalfa pellets (not grain pellets) only but Nigerians are easy keepers and will get fat. Mine do every Winter. No waste, no mess. Whichever is more cost efficient in your location.

Have fun with your new goats.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Jhorra · #10 08/01/14, 01:11 PM

So I had been buying alfalfa pellets, but you're saying I can just buy a hay bale? If I buy hay, do I need to keep it out of the rain? It doesn't rain much, but we do get some. Also, do I just leave it out there for them or give them a little at a time?

Jhorra · #11 08/01/14, 01:43 PM

Also, how do you leave the loose minerals out for them?

kylecivicsi · #12 08/01/14, 01:54 PM

Chaffhaye would be perfect for your situation. It is a fermented chopped alfalfa in 50lb bags. It is not heated/pressed/processed like pellets or cubes. Also, since we don't have access to high quality alfalfa hay, this fills the void of having actual bits of stems and whatnot to keep the rumen fuctioning as if they were browsing brush/pasture. I also like that the bacteria that ferment the chaffhaye also aid in digestion of the little bit of grain mix that we feed them. We feed about 3lbs of chaffhaye per goat, per day, plus about a cup and a half of a non-gmo whole grain mix that we buy from the grain mill.

Keeps our young and growing girls happy, they can't eat enough!

http://www.chaffhaye.com/

kylecivicsi · #13 08/01/14, 01:56 PM

Chaffhaye would be perfect for your situation. It is a fermented chopped alfalfa in 50lb bags. It is not heated/pressed/processed like pellets or cubes. Also, since we don't have access to high quality alfalfa hay, this fills the void of having actual bits of stems and whatnot to keep the rumen fuctioning as if they were browsing brush/pasture. I also like that the bacteria that ferment the chaffhaye also aid in digestion of the little bit of grain mix that we feed them. We feed about 3lbs of chaffhaye per goat, per day, plus about a cup and a half of a non-gmo whole grain mix that we buy from the grain mill.

Keeps our young and growing girls happy, they can't eat enough!

http://www.chaffhaye.com/

kylecivicsi · #14 08/01/14, 01:57 PM

Oh and bonus, no waste, they eat 100% of it, instead of picking out the good bits of hay and stringing the rest about their pen.

#15 08/01/14, 02:13 PM

Chaffhaye is great to. I've used it before but there aren't any dealers in my state at all.

So for me it has to be pellets, for now.
http://ajud.com/feedingpellets.htm

jennigrey · #16 08/01/14, 02:41 PM

Be careful about the chicken food and all feeds that contain grain. If the goats get into it, they can eat enough to kill themselves. It must be stored securely where the goats cannot get at it.

VA Susan · #17 08/01/14, 05:03 PM

Also some chicken feed has meat by-products in it, and is not good for goats!

marusempai · #18 08/01/14, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jhorra

So I had been buying alfalfa pellets, but you're saying I can just buy a hay bale? If I buy hay, do I need to keep it out of the rain? It doesn't rain much, but we do get some. Also, do I just leave it out there for them or give them a little at a time?

From what I understand, just feeding pellets is not so great - they need the fiber from the stemmy stuff to make their rumens work right. It needn't be hay if you have access to something else - prunings from trees are a huge hit around here, and I also love chaffhaye. But yes, you can totally just buy bales of hay.

You'll need to keep it out of the rain when you store it, however I put it out a flake or so at a time (that's all they eat in a day anyway, if that), and have had it in places where it gets rained on, and nothing bad happened. You can also have a big feeder full of lots of hay and only refill when it gets empty. Lots of ways to feed hay. The trick is to observe your goats and try to minimize waste, which can be difficult. Mine like to burrow through the hay looking for weedy bits. I've got it so they reach through a gate to get it right now, and that seems to be limiting the amount of "hay Mardi Gras" going on around here. Some places I tried, they just threw it everywhere!

marusempai · #19 08/01/14, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jhorra

Also, how do you leave the loose minerals out for them?

I have a little dish that is screwed the to wall in the barn, with another out full of baking soda. The trick is finding something they can't knock down, that is also high enough up that they don't poop in it too often. :P

Alice In TX/MO · #20 08/02/14, 07:02 AM

The alfalfa pellets have the fiber, it's just chopped and compressed.

But.... I think the OP needs grass hay, too. Yes, you have to keep it out of the rain and feed it a bit at a time. A square bale separates into "flakes", small compressed sections. Feed one flake at a time (UP OFF OF THE GROUND). Put more out when they finish that one.

Don't feed ANYTHING on the ground. They will either NOT eat it or dirty it with their hooves and increase your intestinal parasite problem.