feeding goats

[davidrrisner]

what should you feed goats? can they eat all corn or should they have some other type grain or pellet mixed in it?this would be fed along with hay,and should the hay be round or square bales as i have no way to cover the round bales. thanks randy

[missbecky]

Hi Goats need hay, we feed square bale.
We also feed grain 16% protien. Go to your feed store and ask questions.
They need trace minerals that they can get in a loose form or in a block.
The grain CANNOT HAVE UREA in it. Urea they give in cow feed. It can't be cow feed.
It will KILL them.
We do not have dairy goats and their needs are a little different. They won't mow your lawn. They need to be able to roam they like bramble( you know the junk in the feilds). rasberry and the like. Get a good book on Goats.
corn is a good treat but not a steady diet.
I hope this helped.
Do you have goats already or are you thinking about getting some. Just do some reserch first. We learned the hard way by giving to much grain and had some problems. We also started them out on the wrong kind of grain and we almost lost one. It didn't have the right stuff in it and he went lame on us. As soon as we got them on the right stuff he got better.
Too much grain is also not a good thing.
Any way I hoped this helped.

Becky

[Sarah J]

Originally Posted by davidrrisner

what should you feed goats? can they eat all corn or should they have some other type grain or pellet mixed in it?this would be fed along with hay,and should the hay be round or square bales as i have no way to cover the round bales. thanks randy

Your hay can be in any form you choose, loose, round bales, small square bales, or large 1/2 ton bales. I have my alfalfa in the 1/2 ton square bales and feed about 1/2 a flake each day to my four goats. Two are in milk and the other two are 4 month olds. They also get a grain supplement to keep up the protein for milk production. It's a mix of corn, oats, wheat, soybean meal, mollasses and salt. No medications. If you do not have milking goats, then they do not actually need anything but good quality hay (grass hay versus alfalfa - the high protein requirements for milk goats are not necessary for pets, dry does, wethers, and your basic scrub goat) and fresh water at all times. Add loose minerals, salt and baking soda, free choice for all of them. Your goats will know when they need those!

Some goats will actually graze, but do not count on this. Goats are really very picky about the weeds and grass they will eat and start from the top - your thistles and ragweed will go first and when they get desperate they'll start in on the grass! Mine never get desperate enough because they have all the hay they want!

Don't feed corn at higher than a 30% ration - it's candy to them and while it will boost the protein levels in your feed, they can't utilize all of it and can get bloated with too high a percentage.

So...based on that, what kind of goats do you have (or are you getting?). We're all dying to know!

Sarah

[okgoatgal2]

don't feed them sheep feed, or minerals either. go to http://forums.chamoisee.atypedigital.com/
for some good info. depends on the goats what they need feed wise. milkers need more, preg does need something else, growing bucks and doelings need different from wethers for meat....basically, unless you are milking, a 9-12% protein sweet feed w/o urea will be sufficient. loose minerals (goat preferred) or cattle block will be beneficial. lots of fresh water always available. grass hay.

Don't feed corn at higher than a 30% ration - it's candy to them and while it will boost the protein levels in your feed, they can't utilize all of it and can get bloated with too high a percentage.
............................................

Actually corn has the lowest of protein of all grains, and even most browse and hay. 8%. It is high in energy and fat, and is a good source of energy for the winter. The best all around single grain for goats is good clean whole oats (race horse oats), or barley. 12% protein, good fiber.

Meat goats do fine on browse/pasture. Other than hay in the winter or during prolong rainy spells, they really shouldn't need grain. Lots of folks use a protein block, make sure it does not contain urea or animal by products.

Dairy animals need protein, calories and calcium, much different needs than meat animals.