# Goat Maximizer



## lupinfarm (Jun 17, 2010)

Still on that horrible quest for a good goat feed around here, and I have since given up completely in ever being able to purchase either Goat Chow or Noble Goat. I decided in the end to buy 2 bags of the Goat Maximizer, the feed I was complaining about earlier this year. At least, I figure, it is specially geared toward GOATS and not Sheep. I cannot believe how many co-ops have been telling me to just feed the Sheep/Goat Ration, that it has enough Copper in it for Goats *headdesk*. And my TSC no longer carries their goat ration/sweet feed for goats. 

These feed is a complete, pelleted feed... 16%. Of course it appears that no where online has a link I can find you, but thats okay. Obviously being a feed geared toward milking breeds, though it has become obvious to me that it is more geared toward hobbiests seeing as they also carry another Goat Milking Ration that is something like 32%. Where was I? Oh yes, since it is a milking ration it has feeding instructions that rely on the amount of lbs a goat is currently producing. Cissy and Mione (and soon to be April) are not producing anything (yet, I plan on breeding Cissy and Mione as soon as I can find a Nigerian Dwarf Buck to breed to). When they were eating the Sheep/Goat mix I was feeding 2 cups a day between the two of them, which they were quite happy with. Not losing weight and not gaining it. 

Anyone got ideas as to how much of this feed I should be feeding them? 

Cissy is 60lbs, Mione is around 45-50lbs ... They're currently eating free choice Alfalfa hay and are on full pasture probably once a week (the hillside is still not finished being fenced LOL so they go out once a week to roam around, and the other times are in a drylot or on rainy days inside).


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## ksalvagno (Jun 17, 2010)

Do you have the 16% or the 32%?

I would say don't feed the 32% until they are actually milking and even then they probably don't need it.

My goat feed is 16%. Right now I'm feeding my Nigerians 1 measuring cup of grain per day. They have grass hay and grass/weeds in the field to eat. I have no thin goats. As a matter of fact a couple of my goats are fat.

I do mix in black oil sunflower seeds and alfalfa pellets into their feed.

My nursing moms only got 2 measuring cups a day of feed when they were nursing their kids and they never got thin and their kids are fat and sassy. My Alpine mix who is 117 pounds does get 5 measuring cups of grain per milking every day. She doesn't always eat the whole 5 cups. but she is giving me 3/4 of a gallon per day and she was extremely underweight when I got her.


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## lupinfarm (Jun 17, 2010)

I have the 16% ksalvagno, definitely wouldn't need the 32%! Those little guys are pretty economical so like you, I highly doubt they'd need it even while in milk. 

Cissy was extra super fat when she got here, and Mione was on the thin side. Now Mione is a good weight and Cissy is a good weight too.


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## ksalvagno (Jun 17, 2010)

Sounds like what you are doing is working then!


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## lupinfarm (Jun 18, 2010)

I started them on the new food last night. Cissy looked at me like "what the heck is this crap" 

They haven't really eaten any, but soon they'll get hungry enough. Cheeky buggers.


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## Hykue (Jun 26, 2010)

So, why do you hate the goat maximizer?  I expect that's the only thing I'll be able to get, because there is a place in town that carries Masterfeeds stuff.  I live in a wee little town in northern Saskatchewan, where no-one has goats, and those that do seem to figure they can fend for themselves.  The co-op farm store doesn't even have one product with the word "goat" in it in the database. 

I don't have a clue if it would be preferable, or where you live, but what about Shur-Gain?  Their dealer search page informs me that they have "established relationships with over 150 dealers across Canada" by which they mean Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces.  Admittedly, that covers most of the population . . . but maybe not most of the animals?  Anyway, just thought I'd mention it in case it was useful to you.


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## lupinfarm (Jun 26, 2010)

I don't have  Shur-gain dealer closeby. There is one in Belleville/Trenton I believe but thats a bit far for me to pick up grain. Unfortunately Cissy and Mione *hate* the Maximizer so I'm having to sell it. I've had it for over a week and they will-not-touch-it. I actually quite like the maximizer, before it seemed that I couldn't get anything lower than 32% in a real official goat grain, but Maximizer is 16% and my co-op just thought it was a good idea to tell me (even though they've been able to order it forever, *headdesk*). I can appreciate how hard it is to find a reliable source of a good goat feed. There are goats here, no doubt, but a) no one feeds grain and b) they all feed sweetfeed or, my personal hatred, sheep & goat grain (talk about a contradiction here). 

The masterfeeds dealer in Bowmanville (where I used to buy my horse feeds when we lived there) carries a "goat chow" that is mostly pelleted. Made by Purina but it has corn in it as well and some other yummy bits. Meant for goats, and I don't have to order it. Good thing I go through the area at least once a month. 

My goats are so picky when it comes to grain but I blame that entirely on their old owners who fed them horse sweetfeed from the time they were able to eat until I picked them up last August.

I fully understand where you're coming from. None of my co-ops carry a goat wormer, but recently they thought it necessary to carry a liquid version of the horse Safeguard. Of course, its essentially the same thing but it would be lovely to be able to buy something that is *meant* for goats specifically. I had to drive 4 hours out of my way just to pick up one of those nifty feeders you see on goat milk stands. Go figure, 2 weeks later my co-op starts carrying them.


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