Can male goats eat grain

[Southern by choice]

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.

 

[themorethemerrier]

Very much appreciate you looking for that article.

Is there a feed you recommend?

 

[Southern by choice]

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

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

 

[themorethemerrier]

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?

 

[Southern by choice]

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.

 

[elevan]

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!

 

[themorethemerrier]

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!!

 

[DixieDarlinFarm]

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.