# Rice feed?



## dhansen (Jun 13, 2012)

There is a guy nearby selling ......  "approx. 2,000lb bags of rice (feed) de-hulled One bag will fill 5 - 55 gallon drums Mixed rice some brown some white pieces and bran..not for human consumption .also have paddy rice"  for a$250 delivered.  Does anyone out there feed their goats this?  What are the benefits/drawbacks?


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## SheepGirl (Jun 13, 2012)

You would want to have the feed tested to see what the nutrition composition of it is and see if it is worth it to feed it. (For example, do you need to feed more than what you currently feed to meet the needs of your goats or can you feed less than what you currently feed?)

Also, you need to make sure it's palatable. A feed is worthless--no matter how nutritious it may be--if the animal won't eat it.


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## hcppam (Jun 14, 2012)

Don't think it's too common, anxious to hear from others.


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## Goatherd (Jun 14, 2012)

I don't feed rice to my goats but when I did a Google search for "feeding rice to livestock," quite a few sites with studies come up giving nutritional benefits, etc.  That might give you a start towards your answer.


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## dhansen (Jun 14, 2012)

I have googled "feeding rice to livestock", but I always like to get the opinions of those on this site who may have fed rice to their goats in the past.  There is a wealth of knowledge on here!


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## redtailgal (Jun 14, 2012)

I've seen it used in cattle and horses, but not goats.

It's fed to "hot" horses who need a high energy feed, but get temperamental off of these "hot" feeds.  Feeding rice, gives them the energy levels without making them harder to handle.  They also get a nice shiny coat.  However, the ones that were on it for a longer period of time had poor hooves and while the initial energy was there, it was a short energy and the working horses tired much quicker.

Cattle fed rice showed less than adequate weight gain, IMO.  The cattle on rice also seemed to have more problems with their feet as well.

Rice is easily digested, and used up almost entirely by the body, making it what some people consider a waste free feed.  THe problem that I have with it, is that there is so little there, its almost an all waste feed (In my opinion, anyway).

I can see a use for it, as a supplement in small amounts, esp in the summer months and for bred animals.  It contains b vitamins and folic acid, both easily depleted during the summer months and both much needed for the development of a healthy fetus.


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## Chris (Jun 24, 2012)

This should give you a around about idea on what the feed value is.

Rice,

Dry Matter (DM) 89%
Total Digestible Nutrition (TDN) 79%
Net Energy Maintenance (NEm) 85
Net Energy Growth (NEg) 55
Crude Protein (CP) 8%

Polished,

Dry Matter (DM) 90%
Total Digestible Nutrition (TDN) 90%
Net Energy Maintenance (NEm) 100
Net Energy Growth (NEg) 68
Crude Protein (CP) 14%

Chris


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