# diy goat feed?



## Suburbanfarmer (Oct 25, 2012)

I've been feeding my milker doe Purina Goat Chow. It's working fine, but it is on the expensive side and she picks through and only eats the oats anyway. I've been thinking about mixing my own feed.

I have 2 ND does (hopefully both preggers - will find out in the next couple of weeks). One is currently in milk. They both get alfalfa, free access to loose goat minerals and baking soda. 

Does anyone else mix their own feed? Is it worth it? I would love any feedback and/or advice!! Thanks 
-K


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## ragdollcatlady (Oct 25, 2012)

I am trying to avoid corn and soy because of the GMO issue so I mix my own feed. 

I do feed alfalfa hay too.

I use alfalfa pellets, though I am again going to reduce the amount because the pieces are so big and the girls are starting to eat around them again
Oats
Barley
Boss
and when needing extra calories I add calf manna

This helped Georgia one of my new does, gain condition while still milking once  a day after having quads this year

I just got my first Boer goat Andy and I am not too confident in how I want to approach his feed yet as he is a baby, a boy, and a meat goat .....all my others are nigerian dwarfs so for now, he is getting half the above mix and half textured goat feed that unfortunately does have corn and soy. (And he is still on alfalfa hay for the moment....I will most likely cut that down by going 50/50 with a grass type hay soon.)


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## that's*satyrical (Oct 26, 2012)

ragdollcatlady said:
			
		

> I am trying to avoid corn and soy because of the GMO issue so I mix my own feed.
> 
> I do feed alfalfa hay too.
> 
> ...


I've read they are getting ready to ruin alfalfa & make it GMO too. Makes me sick. What are the percentages on your mix?


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## SkyWarrior (Oct 26, 2012)

Lovely (about GMO).  Montana is a GMO-free state.  I wish other states would do the same.


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## DAVIS FARM (Oct 27, 2012)

please try to feed only natural feeds...i feed only hay...but its available to them 24/7 everyday...they stay so fat on just grass and hays..i feed big round hay bales in the pastures so it cuts out all my everyday hassles of going out to feed everyday...all i have to do is keep fresh clean water out..i change out waters every 2 days...you just have to , to be able to never have to have a vet out..man made grains have so much chemicals added in, your just waiting for a bad accident to happen ..if you are going to feed anything besides grass or hays...just concentrate on whole corn..it fills a belly quicker than crushes grains..but make sure you dont feed much of it..in the winter it helps keep an animals gut warm which keep the animal warm during winter..i only feed corn in the winter if i have an animal needing weight on him..i only feed my animal just pure grasses and hays..the round bales can save your life..its great..and you dont have to feed everyday...its already out in the pastures...try and stay with the pure grains if you use them along with the grasses..no man made additives..and you will always have healty farm stock


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## DAVIS FARM (Oct 27, 2012)

if you guys buy whole corn like i do you all will be fine...you buy it from you local farmwers in your town...nothing is added to it...or you can just buy the deer corn..all that is , is corn that hasn't been run thru the shift cleaner...meaning it has some bits like leaves and shucks..i dont like deer corn, but the deers eat it and they are fine..they pick out the good corn pieces and leave the waste laying on the ground...so do our animals..its frsh and local...but when my local farm store is out of cleaned whole corn..i just buy the deer corn grown locally..no drugs in it and its never got fungus  in it..stay away from any grain that seem damp...damp grain will kill..any of it will..it will mold and kill


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## ksalvagno (Oct 27, 2012)

You can always buy organic grain or find local farmers that don't spray their grain or use GMO. Do not just feed them corn. Depending on what you use your goats for will depend on if they can get by on just hay or if they do need grain. If you are milking and want the female to give milk to full ability, then you definitely need to feed a good quality grain.


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## ragdollcatlady (Oct 28, 2012)

I did hear that they approved a round up ready alfalfa....terrible news. Then they are going to wonder why all our farm animals are dying and have reproductive problems.........and more farmers are going to close up shop.......I also heard the big bad M advertising in my area for a high protein wheat...I am scared to think how fast they are contaminating every food source they can. And all for money.

Anyhow, for those that asked,

My last mix consisted of oats #50 (10% protein)
barley #50 (10% protein)
alfalfa pellets#50  (15% protein)
BOSS #20 (can't remember protein)

*calf manna #25 (25% protein)

The calf manna is being added only to Georgias feed right now....everyone else is officially a little bit over conditioned. On some paper somewhere....the estimated protein amounts are written down....I'll let you know if I find it....(I know that the protein content is only one part of the picture, but for now it's my main guide)

The boys are getting 1/2 the above mix with their other 1/2, the textured goat ration for now...I did just pick up an orchard mix hay to feed them, so they will get 1/2 alfalfa hay and 1/2 the orchard grass hay for now. 


We are also just getting into some colder weather so I am trying to decide if I want to try and keep the calf manna in the mix or up the sunflower seeds......I guess I have to see how the cold weather affects everyone.


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## Oakroot (Oct 28, 2012)

I have to strongly disagree about the corn for ANY animal. Corn is a man made hybrid grain. It is very hard to digest and very disruptive to GI systems for all animals. Barley, oats etc are much easier on their systems. If you have to feed grains to any animal you are so much better off going that way.


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## Pearce Pastures (Oct 28, 2012)

I agree with Oakroot and further, it is an old wives tale that corn helps to heat your animals.

From OSU...

"Producers sometimes talk about "hot" feeds and "cool" feeds. We must discern whether the discussion is about energy content or actual heat production. Corn and other concentrates are sometimes called "hot" feeds. This is in reference to their higher energy content compared to hay or straw (cool feeds). However, corn and other concentrates contribute less to the heat of fermentation or digestion than hay. Therefore cattle actually produce less actual heat when consuming corn than when consuming hay. Further increasing the concentrate portion of a feedlot finishing diet may lead to acidosis problems. "

http://beef.osu.edu/library/heat.html

We digress though 

SuburbanFarmer,I was doing some talking to locals about feeding costs and made a few calls and did find out some stuff about mixing your own feed.  The things is, you can reduce your cost a little and have your own mix created by a feed mill, but you will have a lot of up front expense and then have to have a way to haul it home and a place to store it.  One of the locals I talked to said ordering it by a ton lowers it by about $1.50 per 50 pounds.  I also talked to Michigan's Diana Langshaw, who amongst her hundreds of accomplishments (I swear she doesn't sleep), has a awesome herd of goats that she feeds her own mix but gets it in very large quantities and has a place to store it unbagged.  But for most of us, we don't have that kind of space.  

You could buy and blend a few bags of grains together in a trashcan, but your goats might pick through it and only eat what they like (whereas a milled feed had it all blended together so they can do that), and it is hard to get the right blend of nutrients doing that way.  Not sure how much cheaper it would be either.

I signed up for Purina's email list and TSC email list and every few months do get some coupon's to use   Of course, they also send me tons of other junk email too, but you will always know when they put their stale beef jerky on sale


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## ksalvagno (Oct 28, 2012)

To help lower my feed costs, I did buy oats from a local farmer. It is not GMO and is pesticide free. I sprout the oats. I mix it half and half with ADM Dairy Goat Power 16%. I have found that my goat's milk production has gone down a little. So keep in mind when you are mixing your own grain formula that it may affect production.


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## ragdollcatlady (Oct 28, 2012)

I did find that some mixes gave different results.

Leaving out the alfalfa pellets caused production to drop a little.

Adding the BOSS gave me a richer milk, perhaps the fat/oil and or protein made the difference...I don't weigh my milk, but sometimes it is definitely heavier. 

Goats used to eat mostly browse and forage on old time farms. They were given whatever grains were fed to cows and chickens. Now we have a greater amount of knowledge about benefits and drawbacks to certain products, grain and premixed rations.

 If my goats didn't have access to some weeds, trees, minerals, dirt, and hay, I would be a little more nervous about not adding vitamins and salt etc to their diets. Molasses adds iron and trace minerals, but can interfere with absorption of other nutrients. I don't add molasses but sometimes use it as a binder for their herbal dewormer. 

If you are just looking to save money, the cheapest and easiest route is to buy the already manufactured foods. If you are trying to specifically limit certain products for whatever reason, it doesn't take too much to buy and mix in the buckets at home.

 I don't want to feed anything with cotton, cottonseed or cottonseed oil in it. Around here cotton is sprayed with horrible chemicals that give me the worst headache...I just feel like I want to die for lack of relief...I sooo don't want cotton in my animals food or coming through their milk or meat. But it is in most show goat foods and that is what everyone around here feeds. The feedstore folks roll their eyes when I come because I ask the impossible questions, I want to know what is in the foods and I want stuff that noone else in the valley cares about. I get my minerals from outside the valley. I buy it or ask mom to bring it to me from San Jose or up north. I don't want meat goat food for my dairy goats. I prefer to mix my own so I know what is going into them. My goats look great, like I said everyone is eating enough to be a tad on the chubby side except Georgia, but after kidding quads this year, she is gaining condition incredibly well and still giving me enough milk for my coffee once a day. If she wasn't gaining I was prepared to dry her up for her own good, but she seems to be doing fine. I take that to mean that I am doing something right.

I personally have an affinity for food....My area of greatest interest was feline nutrition, years ago, now I spend my energy working on my goats foods. I enjoy it so I don't mind. I love to see my animals bloom. I am currently trying to find what oil or grain I can use to soften their coats...thinking I might try to add wheat germ or wheat germ oil, but I may just try to add wheat......

I would also love to start feeding sprouts/fodder......

If you want to do it, try it....if you don't care for the results, you can always go back...


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## Suburbanfarmer (Oct 29, 2012)

ragdollcatlady said:
			
		

> I did hear that they approved a round up ready alfalfa....terrible news. Then they are going to wonder why all our farm animals are dying and have reproductive problems.........and more farmers are going to close up shop.......I also heard the big bad M advertising in my area for a high protein wheat...I am scared to think how fast they are contaminating every food source they can. And all for money.
> 
> Anyhow, for those that asked,
> 
> ...


Thank you! I think I will try this. I was worried about the protein content, but with the calf manna it looks like it will still be good. 

I have to agree about the corn. I prefer to not feed it for various reasons, GMO being one of them. 

I really appreciate all that gave info/opinions here! 
-K


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## Marianne (Oct 30, 2012)

My goats really like home mix!  Only one problem encountered: when the Texas temp stayed well above 100 degrees this summer, oodles of bugs hatched in my grain bin (metal garbage can with tight lid).  The mix contains all the different whole grains I can find; they especially love oats--also add some alfalfa pellets.  Obviously buying a big bag of each grain means you end up with LOTS of feed.  I didn't add corn to the latest batch, but since corn provides the vitamin A for skin and coat, I have resorted to feeding carrots (all those yellow and orange fruits/veggies are good sources of vitamin A).  Also bought shelled BOSS for the current batch.  Only problem is that goats spoil quickly and will balk at going back to ready-mixed pelletted food.


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## mama24 (Oct 31, 2012)

I'm pretty sure they'd get their vitamin a from their grass, weeds, and other forage. Broccoli is as high in vit a as carrots and it's green. The chlorophyll hides the orange color. You don't need to supplement vit a in an herbivore with access to fresh gras and forage.


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## ragdollcatlady (Nov 9, 2012)

> oodles of bugs hatched in my grain


I have heard of Diatomaceous Earth being used to keep pests from surviving in grain, without detriment to the animals that eat the grain. It is considered a more natural pest control approach...might be worth trying, just be sure to use food grade DE and avoid breathing it. 

I go through enough grain that I only ever have bugs hatch out occasionally in the last little bit of left over bags of grain, so I throw that little bit to the chickens  They don't mind the bugs!


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## bonbean01 (Nov 9, 2012)

We have sheep and checked out buying and mixing our own feed...did not like the GMO thing at all...but our Lamb/Sheep feed has all the minerals, vitamins, etc. that they need and to mix our own would actually have cost more.  No oats and barley in northeast MS to buy locally...phoned Ware Milling the company that makes the sheep pellets we were buying and asked about GMO....talked to the owner of the company and he admitted he did not know if any of the ingredients were GMO or not...sigh...sad that we have probably been eating produce and meat that has had GMO produce in it for quite a long time.


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## Oakroot (Nov 10, 2012)

So question here about why barley and oats. I understand what the alfalfa pellets are adding and the boss. And why putting in a whole grain along with it is a good idea. Just not sure why so many mix both barley and oats both in it. Do they provide different nutrition or is it just to add variety?


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## Chris (Nov 10, 2012)

Oakroot said:
			
		

> So question here about why barley and oats. I understand what the alfalfa pellets are adding and the boss. And why putting in a whole grain along with it is a good idea. Just not sure why so many mix both barley and oats both in it. Do they provide different nutrition or is it just to add variety?


When people take corn out of the feed they need to replace the lose of energy that the corn was providing with something so they use barley which has 95 percent the energy of corn but it can vary in feed value, now oats is added to the feed because it is a good all around feedstuff and is a good source of fiber. Both good barley and oats can have a higher protein amount than corn with oats higher than barley.  

Chris


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## Oakroot (Nov 10, 2012)

Great info thanks Chris!


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## Obaisshah (Nov 29, 2012)

I feed my goats with a bit extra from hay and alfalfa. Surefed's N-timidator and supplements have been keeping my goats healthy and disease free. I just love the results!


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