# Can male goats eat grain



## taylorm17 (Jan 10, 2014)

Please vote on what choice best fits you. Thanks everyone and please only vote once.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 10, 2014)

I did not vote because I believe there to be many factors involved.
We feed a high quality feed to balance nutrition to all of our goats. It is not a sweet feed and has proper Ca/phos ratio.
Our Nigerian Bucks get 1 cup of feed per day as well as our does.
Because of an iron issue with our well we have a toxicology/mineral analysis done with random samplings of our goats. In the samplings we include male goats and meat goats.
All levels are great except the suspected iron levels.
We have no problems with the small amount of feed we give.
We have intact bucks no wethers.


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## taylorm17 (Jan 10, 2014)

I live in Warren County in ohio. Thank you for replying! My male is a buckand we are getting a new wether soon.


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## AshleyFishy (Jan 10, 2014)

Southern by choice said:


> I did not vote because I believe there to be many factors involved.
> We feed a high quality feed to balance nutrition to all of our goats. It is not a sweet feed and has proper Ca/phos ratio.
> Our Nigerian Bucks get 1 cup of feed per day as well as our does.
> Because of an iron issue with our well we have a toxicology/mineral analysis done with random samplings of our goats. In the samplings we include male goats and meat goats.
> ...



2x


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## elevan (Jan 11, 2014)

Southern by choice said:


> I did not vote because I believe there to be many factors involved.
> We feed a high quality feed to balance nutrition to all of our goats. It is not a sweet feed and has proper Ca/phos ratio.
> Our Nigerian Bucks get 1 cup of feed per day as well as our does.
> Because of an iron issue with our well we have a toxicology/mineral analysis done with random samplings of our goats. In the samplings we include male goats and meat goats.
> ...


x3


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## Rocco (Jan 12, 2014)

yeah, what Southern By Choice said. We've fed bucks, bucklings and wethers grain-based feeds for years. Never an issue. But, they get minerals, good hay and pasture also...not just feed.


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## goatboy1973 (Jan 13, 2014)

Many, many variables factor into complications from feeding grains. Corn does have an excess amt. of Calcium so using it as a sole source in male goats is not recommended. Corn can also cause ruminal acidosis which can be fatal. Corn is a great source of energy for the winter time and actually increases the body temp of a goat. Feed corn diluted with other feedstuffs like grass hay and always make sure you have free choice goat specific mineral with AC to help prevent UC's in male goats.


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## themorethemerrier (Jan 14, 2014)

First time posting and first time goat "mom". I've been doing a ton of reading and chatting with a few other goat owners and I must admit, I'm now totally confused about what to feed my three 8-week old wether nigerian dwarfs. I'm still bottle feeding them and plan to wean by 12 weeks. They have access to plenty of hay grass and a half acre backyard to forage. I provide loose minerals and fresh water. I was also told to supplement them with goat pellets, so I give them Purina Noble Goat. I chose it because it contains ammonium chloride which I was told to be sure they got since wethers commonly get urinary calcili. I give 2-3 cups of pellets for all three each day. First, is this too much? Second, and I'm completely embarrassed even asking this, but are goat pellets and grains the same thing? Or are grains more like oats, alfalfa, corn, etc? Third, since they are kids, is providing the pellets okay right now but less and less should be given as they transition more to hay?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 14, 2014)

You are right about grains and feed, although many use the terms interchangeably. They are and aren't... as illogical as that sounds. All feed contains grains but are often formulated and balanced for nutrition with supplements added. High amounts of corn will cause bloat. 
You will want to cut back on the amount or you could end up with some very sick goats. At 8 weeks 1/4 cup per goat is sufficient. Our adult goats (Nigerians) get 1 cup of high quality feed per day. Your kids would do best  on allowing their rumins to develop... they need hay for that.  Hay hay and more hay. 
Wethering too young can create other issues. Breeders do things differently, not all will agree as to when but we would not wether anything before 4 months. 
Your Calcium phosphorus ratio should be 2:1 or better.

Also welcome to BYH _The more the merrier _


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## themorethemerrier (Jan 14, 2014)

Thanks Southern by Choice, I will definitely cut back on the pellets. They eat hay very well so I will just continue to encourage that.

I didn't realize prior to having them that wethering so young may cause problems. I bought them from the breeder this way and then learned of the potential problems. I wanted wethers as I truly want goats as nothing more than pets. Hopefully all will be okay as I have really fallen in love with these little guys! 

Question, you stated my calcium phosphorus ratio should be 2:1 but I'm honestly not sure what you are referring to.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 14, 2014)

Look on your feed bag. Calcium should be at least twice as much as your phosphorus.
There is a good article on urinary calculi .... will have to look for that.


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## themorethemerrier (Jan 14, 2014)

Very much appreciate you looking for that article. 

Is there a feed you recommend?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 14, 2014)

Noble goat is a very good feed. 
Ours is milled locally. 

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/urinarycalculi06.html


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## themorethemerrier (Jan 15, 2014)

Thanks much for the article!!  The pellets will become a "treat" for my boys and they will only get a very small amount each day.  Also, based on this article, I will be sure to keep a very close eye on their urinating to ensure they don't start to have problems as a result of being castrated so young.

One more question, if I may.  Do you have your goats examined by a vet on a regular basis, like an annual exam?  One of the vets I spoke to here stated she typically only sees goats later in the life, as long as the goats are being well taken care of.  Does that sound about right?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 15, 2014)

Everyone does things differently. 
We do an annual. But as time goes on we may not, mostly because I do many things myself. I can draw my own blood for testing of CL, CAE, and Johnes as well as yearly samplings for a mineral analysis (toxicology report). I also run me own fecals using the McMasters method and getting accurate EPG's. We run fecals quarterly or when we think there may be a problem. All our kids however are checked out for heart issues which I don't think anyone does but should. 
When you are about to determine a BCS and understand the 5 point check and the above mentioned that goes a long way. My vet is getting me a stethoscope to teach me to listen for heart and rumin sounds too.
Having a good vet and having a good relationship goes a long way. As much as I am able to do there still is no replacement for a good vet. We have had several injuries and our vet was here right away. We use 3 vets but our primary is my neighbor vet. 
All 3 vets we use have very different philosophies and don't agree on much other than all goats need a CD&T.


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## elevan (Jan 15, 2014)

Wethers don't "need" grain / pellets if they are simply pets.  Good quality hay, plenty of fresh water and goat minerals with AC are all that are required.  If you're trying to plump them up for butchering then grains / pellets are helpful in that, although we only grassfeed ours for that purpose.  I like to supplement hay with alfalfa pellets which are just compressed hay if needed to increase the Ca ratio.  Keep in mind that all foodstuff should be considered in calculating your Ca: Ph ratio...hay, grain, pellets, browse.  I know it can be daunting but if you know some basics like alfalfa is high in Ca then that's helpful.  It's easy enough to look up mineral contents online.

As to seeing the vet regularly, you'd do best to learn to do a lot of stuff for yourself otherwise those goats are going to become an expensive prospect.  We only use our vet for emergencies, fecals and to obtain Rx medications.

I wrote a book geared toward the new goat owner, the link for it is in my signature below if you're interested.  I've also written a lot of articles (here on BYH) that you may want to browse through.

Welcome to BYH and to goats, we're glad to have you among us!


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## themorethemerrier (Jan 15, 2014)

Thanks, elevan!!  And I just bought your book! 

I looked at the Purina minerals I am feeding them and found that the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio is only 1:1.  Manna Pro makes one that is at least 2:1 so I will replace what I have with that to ensure that their minerals are in the correct ratio.  Plus it includes ammonium chloride, so a win/win.  Now to figuring out everything else they are eating!

I am really glad I found this site and even more appreciative of folks like you and Southern by choice to take the time to help out a rookie!!


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## DixieDarlinFarm (Jan 19, 2014)

I had two does up until recently when I purchased my first buckling.
I feed my girls Purina Goat Chow (1 cup daily), Manna Pro Loose Goat Minerals (free choice), horse quality Orchard Grass/Fescue hay (free choice) & Standlee Alfalfa Timothy Pellets (1 cup daily). I've just been feeding my buckling the same thing but a lesser amount of goat chow.
Also, I've heard horrible things about milk replacers and how they can and WILL make baby goats sick. I haven't done any research on this but it's what I've heard from a few good goat info sources. I raised my bottle doeling on whole cow's milk from the store.


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