Feeding basics...first post since intro

[walnuthollowfarms]

We have just obtained our first 4 goats...Nubian, (1) 5 yo buck & (3) 3 yo does, nobody's pregnant nor milking, right now. We released them into 4 acres of East Tennessee brush (imagine the bushes your momma made you pull a switch from and briar vines running forty feet into the pine trees). It's so thick, you can't see more than a few yards into the tree line. These goats were given to us from a family who was trying to raise them on pasture like cattle. When we turned them into the brush, you'd have thought it was a weight watchers meeting at a chinese buffet!

I've been trying to research feed practices on these threads and...well...it's more than a little overwhelming!! Some of you have more on your daily goat ration list than I have on my weekly grocery bill. So what are the real basics? What's essential and what's supplemental? A 100-lb bale of alfalfa runs about $40 around here. So if browse + free choice goat minerals + some amount of goat feed from the co-op is where to start a daily ration, I'd prefer to not look like a first-time parent walking out of the Tractor Supply with one of everything in the goat aisle.

Glad to be here...hope you guys can help a noob.

 

[lalabugs]

Are these goats in good health or are you trying to put weight back on them? How long have you had them?

Where i live we have no browse, unless you count tumbleweeds? Due to that i feed hay 24/7. With as much browse as you're describing, you may not need to supplement for awhile. How fast goats can strip an area is shocking. At the least i would put mineral out for them.

Do you have another area they can be put with more browse after they strip that area? If not, then once they strip the acreage you may want to get them hay.

What are your hay options in Tennessee? I am in CA. We mainly have alfalfa. I grain because i breed and milk my does. I do not grain my bucks.

 

[walnuthollowfarms]

These guys are lean, but not thin, not thrifty. My hay options are abundant...alfalfa, orchardgrass, timothy, fescue, mixes, you name it it's available, but anything other than fescue mixes are expensive. I have to compete with horse people who have more dollars than sense. I've got forty-nine acres total...about thirty of that is thick brush. The whole purpose of goats is to strip the brush. I tried to do it by bushhog and skid steer, but after finding the 3rd hidden woven wire fence with the bush hog, I decided to do it the old-fashion way. The plan was to rotate them across the thirty acres, seeding a reasonable browse plot behind them as we go...red and white clover, timothy, alfalfa, and lespideza. This first 4 goats on 4 acres is intended to get my act together before I triple my herd and turn'em on the next 15.

Then I started reading the threads on feed practices and could hardly find anyone who wasn't mixing 3 cups of this, an ounce of that, 7 quarts over here and 9 lbs over there and it just shot me backwards a few steps. My background is hogs and poultry, so feed management has always been basic...this many pounds per day per body weight. I'm going to do what's right for my animals, but I've learned from years on these forums (see BYC) that some people like to tinker and some are mad scientists and it's tough to figure out who's who.

 

[lalabugs]

If you have not already, I would have a fecal ran on them. To make sure you are not dealing with parasites.

Since you have a lot of browse for them. I would not worry about hay, until you are close to no browse left. With the buck running with the does, it is only a matter of time before they're pregnant. If you're wanting to put some weight on them, some grain will help with that. I personally like Mare & Foal grain. Looking for a 16% protein level and a 2:1 Calcium to phosphorus ratio. I like the Mare & Foal because the mineral content is higher than goat grains. However you can buy a 16% goat grain. Which ever you choose to feed.

 

[walnuthollowfarms]

I really appreciate the response.
We're working through the two bags of 12% that came with the goats, but that will be empty this week. We throw a large coffee can (~6 lbs.) in the feeder each evening. We keep the buck outside until the does have eaten their fill, then we turn him in to clean up. There's usually half a handful left when he finishes...chickens take care of that.

I'm at an impasse on the fecal sample. I have an excellent, long-time relationship with my vet. But they aren't running any routine tests right now. They've had multiple clients test positive for coronavirus and so they have resorted to a skeleton staff and having people call in, describe symptoms, and then determine if the animal needs to come in. So everybody got fenbendazole and cydectin off the trailer, a 2nd dose of fen the next day and a follow up of cydectin on day 10. FAMACHA was good across the board on day 17. We'll run the fecal as soon as possible.

 

[Grant]

Sounds like you’re off to a good start. In alfalfa blends are $40 a square bale you may want to expand your search. In southwest Mo, just 1 state away, my provider charges $6.50\bale for alfalfa/orchardgrass blends which makes great cow/goat feed. It might be worth the drive since a pickup load of 40nbales would save you $1200.00 based on your $40/ bale price.

 

[Ridgetop]

Wow! $40.00 for 100 lbs of alfalfa! I thought California prices at $16-18/100 lb. bales were ridiculous!

You seem to have plenty of browse and forage for them for now. You are doing the right thing by bringing them in at night for grain. Goats and hogs are the 2 species that can turn feral in a heartbeat so by feeding them a bit of grain and locking them in at night is going to keep them tame. The type of grain you feed can be an ordinary commercial goat ration. The normal goat ration is a type of sweet feed which means that it has some molasses mixed with the grains. It also has vitamin and minerals added. It is a complete grain ration. It does not have to be an expensive brand. When we were milking 24 does a day I would go to the feed mill 50 miles away every month and buy the bulk cow dairy grain mix. The cost was half as much as the bagged goat grain, and it had all the necessary nutrients in it. It also had added copper which goats need. You can't feed it to sheep because of the copper but the goats did very well on it. I would use the standard bagged goat ration that is easiest to find at a good price locally. With only 4 adult goats, not pregnant or lactating, you don't need to feed more than 2 cups per goat per day. A 50 lb. bag should last you 3 weeks feeding 2 lbs. per day evenings only. This is the easiest way to feed your goats and you don't need to mix any special stuff for them. I would also buy a 50 lb. mineral block and leave it out for them near the barn where they come in at night. If the goats start to look like they are losing weight increase their grain bit by bit. Remember that dairy animals always look leaner than meat animals so dairy goats like Nubians will look thinner than Boer goats. If you decide to worm use an all purpose wormer. Browsing goats are less likely to contract worms since they do not graze off the ground where worm eggs are found.

Are these Nubians going to be milkers for your household as well as clearing the brush? If so then you should know that whatever they eat the taste can come out in the milk. We had a large herd of Nubian and La Mancha milkers and since we fed mostly alfalfa their milk tasted very similar to cow milk. Nubians have the best tasting milk anyway. Once they kid you will hopefully be milking and bottle feeding the kids which will keep all your does sweet and tame. The bucklings can be fattened for the freezer or taken to auction at 2-3 months old. The doe kids can be turned out with the other does to forage until breeding season. Castrate the buck kids at 2 months if you are letting them run with the does to fatten. Keep the doelings separate from the buck after August to avoid too young pregnancies.

Breeding season is from August to January. From February through July the buck can run with the does without fear of breeding. Nubians have the longest rutting season of the dairy breeds so you will want to pen the buck separately come August in order to breed him with the does for kids when you want them. This will depend on which season you want your kids born. Goat gestation is 155 days (approx 5 months 5 days). They come in season every 3 weeks approximately. The buck becomes extremely stinky during rut and can be pushy if not aggressive. The rest of the year they are usually docile and sweet tempered like the does.

Feeding will depend on whether the does are pregnant or in milk. When you are milking you weigh the milk and feed a ratio of 1 lb .grain:1 lb. milk produced. When they are first pregnant, the does don't need much grain unless they are also still milking so depending in that you only need to feed about 2 cups of grain a day while they are dry, You should increase the grin bit before they give birth but still not too much because the larger the kids the harder it will be for the doe to deliver. Nubians are known for triplets and quads too. Once the kids are born, then you will increase the amount you feed the does.

Hope this helps.