# Im a little confused on how/what to feed my goat kids



## chicken pickin (Jun 19, 2013)

They are roughly 11 and 13 week old Nigerian dwarf doelings. They get fresh water daily, free choice hay, a goat mineral block(I don't know if they lick it or not) and then Im confused about their grains. What is the best kind of pellet feed to give them and how much and how often? I bought Caprine Challenger from Blue Seal and I hand feed them each 1/2cup a day split in half so a 1/4cup in morning and 1/4cup in afternoon each. But I so far haven't found what is proper. Any tips would be really great. Thanks


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## Southern by choice (Jun 19, 2013)

That sounds great so far. 
I would recommend loose minerals, get rid of the block. Usually too high in salt and ruins their teeth.
The Blueseal is good food.


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## CordleFarm (Jun 19, 2013)

I agree to change to the loose minerals. What kind of hay are you feeding? We only feed horse-grade hay. Our goats have access to plenty of roughage also, so we only feed grain a few times per week, not everyday. Our goats LOVE their grain. We have several kids and also a pregnant doe so we give them the grain to make sure they thrive. About a cup per head is the amount we give. All of our goats are miniature breeds.


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## Bedste (Jun 20, 2013)

is it necessary to feed the kids medicated to prevent cocci?


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## chicken pickin (Jun 20, 2013)

Thanks I was nervous I was feeding wrong and didn't want to wind up doing something not good for them. Can I find loose mionerals at the feed stores like in a bag or something. and how do I offer the loose minerals? Also the Hay I feed them is hay bought from Blue Seal they said it was appropriate feeding hay for goats, horses etc. The same hay gets sold at my other local feed store so I think its whats is appropriate for them I don't know what the hay actually consists of though.


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## Bedste (Jun 20, 2013)

Loose Minerals are kept in a container with free access .... Goats only eat what they NEED.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 20, 2013)

This is one feeder my farming partner made... it is easier and less waste, the goats can get all the way into it . Some are skinny and long and there is alot of waste.


Starting at post #4
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24252&p=1


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## chicken pickin (Jun 21, 2013)

Thanks for the advice on the loose minerals. And The PVC elbow feeder is perfect. I will make a few of those even for my chickens for oyster shells.

Oh and what is this I have read about baking soda. What is that needed for?


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## Southern by choice (Jun 21, 2013)

We have *never* used baking soda. 
I guess it helps if a goat or sheep has bloat. I think animals can become too dependent on it and can end up bloating once they don't have it.  

Never used it, never had a goat bloat either. We let our goats be goats and feel "less is best". The closer they can live as nature intended them than the better IMO.

Some people have bloating issues all the time... I have no idea why.


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## bj taylor (Jun 21, 2013)

I also am new to goats.  I've had them about 2 wks.  so far, so good.  my goats are in an area that is 99.9% browse.  very very little grass.  the browse is lots of variable weeds, leaves, trees, etc.   I'm wondering if in such an environment do minerals still need to be added free choice?
I have the parts to make the pvc feeder.  i'm making one tonight.  
I had bought baking soda & intended to give it to them free choice.  now, southern, you throw the monkey wrench into the process.  I too want to operate by the premise "less is better".
livestock is a completely new arena for me (I've now had chickens for a year).  the idea of bloat is really scary.  an animal in extreme pain is not something I'm equipped to deal with.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jun 21, 2013)

No baking soda free choice here---it can also interrupt mineral absorption if the eat it constantly.


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## CordleFarm (Jun 21, 2013)

I do not use baking soda either and have not had any issues with bloat. The one time that we changed feed, we did it gradually so to not upset their systems. My herd also has access to a variety of browse, but we still offer loose minerals free-choice. There are times when they consume more of the minerals and times they consume less, but they only eat what they need. Everyone's situation is unique, so a little trial and error is necessary to find out what works best for your herd.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 21, 2013)

bj taylor said:
			
		

> I also am new to goats.  I've had them about 2 wks.  so far, so good.  my goats are in an area that is 99.9% browse.  very very little grass.  the browse is lots of variable weeds, leaves, trees, etc.   I'm wondering if in such an environment do minerals still need to be added free choice?
> I have the parts to make the pvc feeder.  i'm making one tonight.
> I had bought baking soda & intended to give it to them free choice.  now, southern, you throw the monkey wrench into the process.  I too want to operate by the premise "less is better".
> livestock is a completely new arena for me (I've now had chickens for a year).  the idea of bloat is really scary.  an animal in extreme pain is not something I'm equipped to deal with.


I would still recommend free choice minerals...the browse is great but still can be lacking in certain necessary nutrients. Goats will go to the mineral when they need it.  We do give a small (like 1 cup) of high quality goat feed (not sweet feed) in the am. 
Between the 1 cup of feed and the mineral and all the grass, leaves and browse available they end up getting what is needed. The feed IMO helps keep a good balance.

We do not have parasite issues and started with healthy stock, I think that is important.  This is our "norm" year round 24 day they always have hay available. We don't do anything special... never had bloat. The one thing I think would cause this is getting into chicken feed, too much goat feed ( as in somehow they got the lid off the bin and ate too much) then you may have an issue.

Here is my take on it... of course this is just my opinion, if a person is constantly experiencing issues with bloat - A) I think management practices need to be reviewed, esp feeding... B) if it is a particular goat that is dealing with it over and over  for no apparent real reason... it would go in my freezer. I would not "cull" as in sell it,  I would take it out of the gene pool and have goat burgers.

For thousands of years goats survived and thrived without all this fuss and muss. Baking soda should be on hand for emergency - yes. Don't misunderstand me when I say that... I take excellent care of my animals, monitoring everything way more than I even need to. i Have in another place, a thread about lab work I had done because I knew something was off and suspected high iron to be the issue, I will do what is always in my animals best interest however I prefer an animal proving , with "data" or sound reasoning, that it "needs" something.   http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26482

The above link will show how things can happen and by observing you can prevent issues from getting worse.

There are many people who use this and give this free choice... they are awesome goat owners, and maybe they can shed some light on this that maybe I am ignorant to. I get to learn from others by them sharing their ways. *IMO there is more than one way *to keep goats and each person needs to decide for themselves what works best for them!


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