Diet of a Nigerian Dwarf Goat?

[Sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Ok, thanks.

Would I use medicated goat feed or not? What does it treat?

Sorry for all my questions! :/

 

[savingdogs]

We only have one goat grain available in our county, the Purina. Unless we went with a more general livestock grain. You might see what is available first before you ask that question, I learned about all kinds of great products here on BYH, but they were not available locally. I go through too much grain to have it shipped, so I pretty much have to use the Purina or find a way to make my own.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Medicated goat feed, like Purina Noble Goat, is medicated with either Rumensin or
Decoquinate (depending on plant). It is a good thing to feed to growing kids(doelings, bucklings, or wethers) to help prevent them from getting coccidiosis.

You will also want a feed that contains Ammonium Chloride to help prevent UC in the wethers... which Noble Goat has.

 

[Sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Purina Noble Goat Feed is the feed I am referring to. Could I feed this to a grown Wether's too, or just kids? It is available at my TSC and is cheaper then Dumor Goat Feed.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

For wethers, you want to stay away from the molasses misted/treated hay & pellets. As it will mess with their calcium to phosphurous intake ratio... which will lead to UC(Urinary Calculi).
Other than that, make sure that you don't feed silage(partially fermented) hay or soy hay as both ferment too quickly for their systems and can lead to severe bloat issues.

Basically, get what you can afford that is also of good quality.

I've never read that grains with molasses added are higher in phosphorous than grains without. Can you share some references?

 

[Goatmasta]

FYI - Noble goat does not always contain AC, it varies by region. I used to use it, and you have to check the tag EVERY time you buy it to make sure you are getting what you want. Apparently when I was using it the store I bought it from would get deliveries from two different plants. One included AC, the other didn't. I talked to purina about this and they stated that it varied by region.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

For wethers, you want to stay away from the molasses misted/treated hay & pellets. As it will mess with their calcium to phosphurous intake ratio... which will lead to UC(Urinary Calculi).
Other than that, make sure that you don't feed silage(partially fermented) hay or soy hay as both ferment too quickly for their systems and can lead to severe bloat issues.

Basically, get what you can afford that is also of good quality.

I've never read that grains with molasses added are higher in phosphorous than grains without. Can you share some references?

It is the amount of potassium in molasses that throws off the calcium/phosphorus ratio... not the amount of phosphorous. Same reason why one should be careful when offering bananas to goats. It is okay every now and then, on a treat basis, but not something you want to give them every day.

ETA: this quote from a page that shared with me by another member here(can't recall which one) in a previous thread. "Molasses is a rich source of potassium which, if fed in excess, could reduce the absorption of calcium, thus upsetting the calcium to phosphorus ratio." {This could be managed by adding a vitamin D supplement to their feeding ration, but why pay more just to bring the nutrients back to a proper level, when it can be avoided by simply limiting their access to molasses and/or bananas?}

Also, molasses is of concern when related to wethers or bucks due to an increase in the risk of the male developing Urinary Calculi. {Which I suppose one could up the amount of a.c. in their diet, but again, why pay more?}

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Sunny & the 5 egg layers- See here for the Purina page on their Noble Goat feed. I think this might make it easier for you to form a conclusion on if it is indeed what you want to feed or not.

 

[Goatmasta]

For wethers, you want to stay away from the molasses misted/treated hay & pellets. As it will mess with their calcium to phosphurous intake ratio... which will lead to UC(Urinary Calculi).
Other than that, make sure that you don't feed silage(partially fermented) hay or soy hay as both ferment too quickly for their systems and can lead to severe bloat issues.

Basically, get what you can afford that is also of good quality.

I've never read that grains with molasses added are higher in phosphorous than grains without. Can you share some references?

It is the amount of potassium in molasses that throws off the calcium/phosphorus ratio... not the amount of phosphorous. Same reason why one should be careful when offering bananas to goats. It is okay every now and then, on a treat basis, but not something you want to give them every day.

ETA: this quote from a page that shared with me by another member here(can't recall which one) in a previous thread. "Molasses is a rich source of potassium which, if fed in excess, could reduce the absorption of calcium, thus upsetting the calcium to phosphorus ratio." {This could be managed by adding a vitamin D supplement to their feeding ration, but why pay more just to bring the nutrients back to a proper level, when it can be avoided by simply limiting their access to molasses and/or bananas?}

Also, molasses is of concern when related to wethers or bucks due to an increase in the risk of the male developing Urinary Calculi. {Which I suppose one could up the amount of a.c. in their diet, but again, why pay more?}

I find this interesting. I have never heard of molasses being the culprit, but cereal grains do to the fact that they are very low in calcium. So, I did a little googling to see what I could find on the molasses....

http://www.fancyfeedcompany.co.uk/library:18.htm

Many goat owners also show concern in feeding diets that contain molasses to wethers or bucks in particular, due to fear that this will increase their chance of developing calculi. Molasses is a rich source of potassium which, if fed in excess, could reduce the absorption of calcium, thus upsetting the calcium to phosphorus ratio. However, although this may be a concern if feeding pure molasses to your goats, when molasses is combined within a concentrated ration the minerals are balanced so the complete feed is only supplying the nutrients your goat needs. In any case, the molasses is only added as a coating and will not make up a large proportion of the end ration so is unlikely to be the cause of calculi formation. Goats can be particular in what they like to eat, which is why goat mixes tend to be available as dry or lightly molassed to improve palatability.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

For wethers, you want to stay away from the molasses misted/treated hay & pellets. As it will mess with their calcium to phosphurous intake ratio... which will lead to UC(Urinary Calculi).
Other than that, make sure that you don't feed silage(partially fermented) hay or soy hay as both ferment too quickly for their systems and can lead to severe bloat issues.

Basically, get what you can afford that is also of good quality.

I've never read that grains with molasses added are higher in phosphorous than grains without. Can you share some references?

It is the amount of potassium in molasses that throws off the calcium/phosphorus ratio... not the amount of phosphorous. Same reason why one should be careful when offering bananas to goats. It is okay every now and then, on a treat basis, but not something you want to give them every day.

ETA: this quote from a page that shared with me by another member here(can't recall which one) in a previous thread. "Molasses is a rich source of potassium which, if fed in excess, could reduce the absorption of calcium, thus upsetting the calcium to phosphorus ratio." {This could be managed by adding a vitamin D supplement to their feeding ration, but why pay more just to bring the nutrients back to a proper level, when it can be avoided by simply limiting their access to molasses and/or bananas?}

Also, molasses is of concern when related to wethers or bucks due to an increase in the risk of the male developing Urinary Calculi. {Which I suppose one could up the amount of a.c. in their diet, but again, why pay more?}

The quote reads that molasses' potassium interferes with calcium absorption, thus upsetting cah ratios AND can ALSO be a concern because it increases the risk of UC. Where is the "and/also" coming from? It IS upside down cah ratios that cause UC.

I've never read about potassium rich molasses contributing to UC and I'd be interested in further reading. I have read that the high iron content in molasses can interfere with copper levels, so I'm not defending molasses here. But I think it's important for the OP not to read this as "sweet feed is an issue, molasses-free grain rations are not." Upside down cah due to too much phosphorous rich feed (any type of grain) and not enough calcium rich feeds (legume hays such as alfalfa and peanut, beet pulp) cause UC.