# how does this feeding schedule sound?



## GrowURown (Feb 17, 2011)

once again i find myself computer-less and in need of help...the goats were not eating...much...they turned their noses up at the purina brand noble goat feed...so to entice them i mixed some old fashioned oats and a small bowx of raisins (think kids lunch pail size) and a few handfuls of BOSS in their food then split it 3 ways this morning...WOW! Big diff! Ate it all, practically begged for more...my questions...1)would u continue this minus the raisins and plus actual feed store oats instead 2) how much per goat? Keep in mind they are tiny dwarf goats (35 - 50 lbs) and 3) i was gonna add alfalfa pellets, but if i can get alfalfa hay should i do so and skip the pellets? I hate not being able to respond...hope i got it all here...if it helps im feeding 3 little does, one is prego, 1 may be prego and 1 is in milk but not producing much yet...addressed her worming...hope addressing the feed helps...all advice appreciated immensely!


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 17, 2011)

be careful you don't over feed your pregnant does, by this I mean too much grain, this will equal big kids and kidding problems.  The rule of thumb is not to feed them hardly any grain or no grain until they are 30 days from kidding.

As far as the oats go, there is very little caloriesl  in oats, We use it as a filler for  show animals that have reached desired weight, I would be careful filling your lactating doe up on oats and not getting enough high calorie feed in her.


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## GrowURown (Mar 4, 2011)

I was just using the oats as a way of enticing them to eat it - they had been getting sweet feed (it would seem at least by the looks/smell of it - I saw a "sample" they were sent home with) at their prior place...so plain old goat food they turned their noses up at! (Picky little terds) Oats and raisins however...yummy delicious treats...mixed in food...meant yummy delicious stuff in general  It worked! They now eat the pelleted feed!

I had to "spike" their food with raisins/oats for a few days - they SERIOUSLY acted as though they had NEVER seen plain old pelleted feed - and my life is VERY easy with the pelleted feeds!  They'd take a bite..nibble, and spit it out then refuse the rest.  PICKY GOATS!  I buy only MG feeds and try to avoid trips all over the county when possible, mostly because of the horses really, as that was what our first one had been fed at her prior home so we stuck with it, and therefore MG brand is what our feed store carries.

The NEW "dinner menu" is as follows:  MG 14% NON medicated goat pellets (3 cups) BOSS (1 cup) split 3 ways twice a day...unevenly split, a taste for the (maybe) open doe, a double taste for Princess Preggo, and the bulk for the doe in milk ( a side note - they very rarely finish what we give them, don't leave much behind, but unlike my greedy mares they aren't licking the dish either - so I am assuming they are getting plenty).  We also are currently providing free choice alfalfa hay - they don't seem to need much, at least compared to what a horse blows through in coastal hay...but they have it free choice all the time (along with goat minerals and water).  

So now my follow up is this:  Would you keep up with the alfalfa HAY? Or switch to PELLETS and plain old hay like the horses get? and SHOULD I ADD SOAKED BEET PELLETS to the mix (i've heard this mentioned and wasn't sure)? Also...I CAN get a 17% MEDICATED goat pellet...when Preggo Pops should I switch to that? Or stick with the 14%? I understand with the doe in milk we shouldn't use the medicated if we plan to drink said milk (and we now are)...so I would hope that I can leave them on the same food when the babies come, but if as the babies are weaned we should switch to medicated for them I can feed them 2 kinds of feed for a while I think.  Feeding goats confuses me like NOTHING ELSE ON EARTH!


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## helmstead (Mar 4, 2011)

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum from 20kids...

ALL of my goats are on a 16% medicated goat pellet 24/7/365.  Trough feeding it's hard to say exactly how much each one gets, but I use 1/2 a horse feed (4 qt) scoop per 4 head of Nigerian Dwarf.  My Nubians, when dry, are allotted 1/2 scoop each.

Then, 30 days, give or take, before they kid, they come into the nursery pen where their feed is actually doubled - AND I add alfalfa pellets and Calf Manna to that (mix - so they get the same amt of pellets, but the additions make up the extra feed).

I don't have issues with large kids.  If I didn't have this program, I would have issues with underconditioned, tired does...who wouldn't be ready to lactate.

It's a hard question to answer.  Start with a quality hay - and keep a close eye on their condition.  If they start to get too fleshy, bring them back on the grains.  If they start to get too hippy, add some sort of supplement (like Calf Manna).  Each goat, each living condition...is different.


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## Livinwright Farm (Mar 4, 2011)

My 3 girls have been getting: 2 cups of Purina Noble Goat twice daily, Free choice 1st cut hay, free choice goat mineral,  free choice salt, 1 cup Calf Manna, fruit & veggie scraps(when available). They are treated with Alfa Supreme(shredded, molasses misted alfalfa hay), 1 cup BOSS & 1/2 cup scratch grains twice per week.
They are all withing a month of kidding, btw.

Once they kid they will be getting: 2 cups P.N.G. 2X daily, 1/2-1 cup soaked beet pulp pellets, 1 cup soaked beet pulp pellets 1-1.5 cups BOSS, 3 cups Alfa Supreme, free choice 1st cut hay, free choice salt, free choice mineral, as much fruit & veggie scraps as I can get ahold of, Goat Probios, and the occassional treat of cracked corn.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 5, 2011)

helmstead said:
			
		

> I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum from 20kids...
> 
> ALL of my goats are on a 16% medicated goat pellet 24/7/365.  Trough feeding it's hard to say exactly how much each one gets, but I use 1/2 a horse feed (4 qt) scoop per 4 head of Nigerian Dwarf.  My Nubians, when dry, are allotted 1/2 scoop each.
> 
> ...


My guess  that it is a breed difference.  If I fed meat goats like that I would have dead does, Infact this year I started at 6 weeks before kidding with the  pelleted feed and I had two prolapsed does and half my kids weighed over 10lbs, more like 12 lbs.  

I am impressed with the beet pulp, but we don't soak ours we add it dry to the pelleted feed.


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## helmstead (Mar 5, 2011)

20kids, probably so.  Your meat goats sound like they're exactly what the breed should be - easy keepers on pasture and good feed converters.  Back when I had Pygmies and Pygmy/ND crosses, they stayed plump on AIR, I swear it.

I also have used beet pulp in the past with great results (I removed it from my feed when there was that huge sugar beet shortage a couple years ago and I realized I couldn't count on it being available).  I also used it dry - my goats won't eat anything mushy!  I used the shredded beet pulp.


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## 20kidsonhill (Mar 5, 2011)

this brings me to wondering what kind of dward goats does Growurown have?  Did I miss that somewhere in the thread?

Because from what I have been reading if they are nigerians they get fat easy and can have kidding problems from too big of kids.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Mar 5, 2011)

My Nigerians don't "get fat easy" in the way that my pygmy cross does.  I only wish they did.


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## helmstead (Mar 5, 2011)

Yeah, it's not a big issue with miniature DAIRY goats, more of an issue with Pygmies.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Mar 5, 2011)

Do you know how much money I'd save if my miniature dairy goats gained like a pygmy?!  That would be just plain awesome.


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## GrowURown (Mar 5, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> this brings me to wondering what kind of dward goats does Growurown have?  Did I miss that somewhere in the thread?
> 
> Because from what I have been reading if they are nigerians they get fat easy and can have kidding problems from too big of kids.


Well...what kind is EXACTLY the question we have here too!  I think the vote was some sort of pygmy/nigi mix.....here's their group shot:









That's what they are.  Wife calls 'em "quarter goats - quarter of this, quarter of that, couple more quarters and LOOK! a goat!"   They're little...that's all I got!  So, a little bit of food is what they get...just trying to get all of the right things into them! The one thing I can say for sure is that they didn't seem to come with any weight issues amongst their many others!  I also don't want to CREATE any weight issues by not feeding them....everything here eats, even if it's just a taste, because feeding times are also when we do headcounts/health status checks....from kids down to chickens, everything has a reason to line up at least twice a day and we can take at the very least a moment to be sure they are all accounted for AND in one piece  

I guess I'll just keep on with this routine and see how it goes then....all seems well...just scared of starving them or doing them like a fish and over feeding...these darns things are complicated little critters!


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