# feeding goats in winter



## stilo (Dec 29, 2011)

I would like ideas you might have on whether there is a way to get by in winter feeding goats anything other than hay. Maybe a stupid question, esp for pregnant she-goats. But I was thinking of a way to store branches with dead leaves on them-- beech hold their leaves well, or pine needles, tree bark. I live in Maine.


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## 20kidsonhill (Dec 29, 2011)

It would take a lot of branches.  

bagged beet pulp can be used in a pinch, instead of hay. 

alafalfa pellets. 

you can feed them a complete goat grain ration that is high in fiber, many show people feed very little hay. 

But in the long run. The goats rumen really needs long stemmy stuff to stay healthy.


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## SheepGirl (Dec 29, 2011)

I have read that ruminants need roughage at least 4" long in order to keep their rumen healthy and working...so it probably would be a better idea to just stay on the safe side and feed hay.

You would also be able to store more lbs of hay per square foot than branches or leaves.


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## windyridgefarm (Jan 13, 2012)

I thought it would be worth it sharing my experience since I live in New England as well (Massachusetts). I have 3 Alpines and everything they eat is grown in my yard. I never fed them grain or any bought products. 
In the Winter, their diet consists of 50% dry and 50% non dry. The dry portion is about 80% hay and 20% dried young branches that I cut and dry with the leaves on, dried corn stalks, and dried sunflower leaves (sunflower leaves need to be hanging with good air circulation because they are very prone to get moldy). I cut my own hay on my land (I have 30 acres total, and cut about 2 to 3 acres of hay) which is a mix of timothy, orchard grass, and clover. It is harvested the old fashioned way;  cut with a scythe (just because I enjoy it), and stored loose - never bailed. If you feed the same type of hay bailed or loose to any animal, they will eat the loose hay first, they only eat the bailed one if they are starving. I have tons of experience with this back in Europe, we only bailed the hay that we sold, the hay for our animals was always stored loose. All the animals would show the same behavior - we had 8 cows, 2 horses, 2 donkeys, 50 sheep, and 30 goats.

The non dry portion consists of 80% mangels cut to bite size pieces, and 20% mix of turnips, rutabagas, punpkins, and butternut squash all cut to bite size pieces. 
I grow all of these in about 50 feet by 50 feet square of land. The goats love the mangels the most, and I like them in particular because they store very well. They last all Winter, they take some frost (I keep them in my garage), taste sweet, and have a lot of water as well - they don't need to drink as much (nice in the days that the water freezes). They are the base for animal diet in Europe just like corn is in the Americas.

The goats have the shiniest coats.

If anybody is interested I can post some pictures, of the goats and the garden


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## aggieterpkatie (Jan 13, 2012)

windy, we always love pictures.  I'd especially love pics of your gardens. I've wanted to grow mangels.  HOw do you chop yours?


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## DonnaBelle (Jan 13, 2012)

Yes, we all love pictures.  I would love to see a picture of a mangel.

DonnaBelle


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## windyridgefarm (Jan 13, 2012)

They are very easy to cut. I just use a non serrated knife. 
I uploaded a few pictures, but I'm not sure if they went through. They also reduced the megapixels, you may not see them as clear as they really are.


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## windyridgefarm (Jan 13, 2012)

They came out decent after all.


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## DonnaBelle (Jan 13, 2012)

Wow!!  where do you live?  In heaven?

Those photos are beautiful I love your garden.  Your place belongs in a magazine spread!!

Those mangels are huge.  Where do you get seed for them?  I never heard of them before.  Do you eat them or just the livestock.

I'm impressed.

DonnaBelle


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## SmallFarmGirl (Jan 13, 2012)

Impressive!!!


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## quiltnchik (Jan 13, 2012)

The goat in the center of the bottom pic (white with black stripe) could be my wether's twin!  Beautiful place you have there.  I'm also interested in mangels and where to find them.  We just moved to a 64-acre farm in October and, though I have lots of plans in my head, I have yet to decide on a layout and am still gathering ideas and information


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## AdoptAPitBull (Jan 13, 2012)

I just had to google what the heck a "mangel" was! At first I thought you were misspelling "mango", till I saw the photos. Now you've got my attention!

And that garden...wow....just wow! So jealous!


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## autumnprairie (Jan 13, 2012)

AdoptAPitBull said:
			
		

> I just had to google what the heck a "mangel" was! At first I thought you were misspelling "mango", till I saw the photos. Now you've got my attention!
> 
> And that garden...wow....just wow! So jealous!


X2 what is a mangel? I love you garden, Where in Mass?
I grew up in Lynn and moved south, my Mom moved north almost to Canada. :/

I would love to hear more on your feeding and care practices on your goats.

Beautiful yard and I love your barn.


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## DonnaBelle (Jan 13, 2012)

You can order mangel seeds from Johnny's Seeds online.  I'm going to plant some this year, just for fun, and hopefully they'll grow in Oklahoma.  Gardening in Oklahoma is a far cry from New England.

DonnaBelle


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## autumnprairie (Jan 13, 2012)

DonnaBelle said:
			
		

> You can order mangel seeds from Johnny's Seeds online.  I'm going to plant some this year, just for fun, and hopefully they'll grow in Oklahoma.  Gardening in Oklahoma is a far cry from New England.
> 
> DonnaBelle


It is hotter so plant early and I have used an umbrella during the hottest part of the day, I live in Arkansas and I grew up in Mass. what are mangels beets?


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## Chris (Jan 14, 2012)

AdoptAPitBull said:
			
		

> I just had to google what the heck a "mangel" was! At first I thought you were misspelling "mango", till I saw the photos. Now you've got my attention!
> 
> And that garden...wow....just wow! So jealous!


If you look up fodder beet you should get more information.

Chris


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## sunflowerlady (Jan 14, 2012)

I must agree absolutely beautiful garden! And I'm so impressed with how self sufficient you are certainly gives me some inspiration


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## Ariel72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Thank you for this info.  Its just the type of thing I've been looking for.  Beautiful garden...love the flowers and beautiful, happy goats!


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## mek (Jan 15, 2012)

Chris said:
			
		

> AdoptAPitBull said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


lol I googled it too for the same reason...


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## windyridgefarm (Jan 17, 2012)

Thank you everyone for the nice comments about my garden. 
I'll try to answer everyone's questions. You can order mangel seeds from several catalogs such as Johnny's seeds, R.H. Shumways's, or Heirloom seeds.  If you decide to grow them, just be aware that you get 2 plants per each seed - in reality it's 2 seeds fused together (survival technique of the plant), and when they are about 3 inches, one seedling needs to be transplanted or they will compete with each other and don't grow much. They take very easily when transplanted bare root, they just need to be watered a couple of times. They take light frost if started in early Spring or pulled in late Fall. While they are growing, they also produce a lot of green leaves that can be constantly cut and used for animal feed.

DonnaBelle asked if I live in Heaven,.....well, I'm a single guy in my 30's and the pleasure of my life is to be in touch with Nature. At times, it really feels like it's a piece of Heaven here. I found this property 3 years ago looking for foreclosure sales online. It used to be a horse farm, and the previous owners moved away leaving the farm behind. I was quite curious and on the day of the sale I got a certified bank check and a statement from my bank saying that I had X amount of money in my account, just in case. I did not have any experience in such matters and did not know how foreclosures work, I just went to see. Nobody showed up other than the auctioneer and myself; so I bought it on the spot.
There were no gardens here, just a large horse pasture with quite a few rocks and all dug up by heavy tractor tires. I cleaned it up, and planted the garden, now the barn is painted, and everything looks decent. I'm 25 miles away from the hospital where I work, but I don't mind the commute at all. Im located in a small rural town - Granville in Western Massachusetts.
Again, thank you all, and good luck to all of you.


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## Tygrace (Jul 20, 2020)

WindyRidge,
I just ordered gold mangel seeds off of Etsy! Thanks for the education! I live in Kansas so I will plant the beets for a fall crop. Actually, I found this thread because I wanted to learn about bundling branches for winter.  What can you tell me about that? Do you hang them to dry? Have you ever dried the mangel greens for fall feeding?

Thank you!


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