First Time Goat Owner + Pregnant Doe. What to Feed?

[Southern by choice]

The buttermilk is probably better for her as the whey is so acidic it destroys teeth.

 

[thailand]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

It's been a little while since I checked in here. I'm pleased to say my doe is definitely pregnant. I've felt the baby/ies kicking and she is now building her udder!

I'm still messing around with minerals though, and I wanted to seek the advice of others here please.

The previous owner was giving his goats minerals by way of the following:

Dicalcium phosphorus 1 kg
Diamond V 200 grams
Salt 150 grams
Vita premix 50 grams
Vitalite 15 grams
Sodium bicarbonate 100 grams
Molasses 750 grams

My understanding is that he would mix in the molasses with a portion of the above and then sprinkle this mix on top of her daily morning silage feed.

For added clarification, the Vita premix contains the following:

Vitamin A 500 I.U
Vitamin D3 150 I.U
Vitamin B2 .25mg
Vitamin B .40mg
Choline ? 3mg
Calcium 78160mg
Phospherous 8400mg
Iron 3410mg
Cobalt 00.4mg
Manganese 1280mg
Iodine 76.1mg
Potassium 23.6mg
Zinc 4.344mg
Magnesium 244mg
Copper 550mg
? 100mg
? 100mg

I am not able to source this particular brand of minerals and so will need to try to replicate it another way...this is where I need your help please.

Everything else I have already bought a supply of

The Vitalite (450 gram packet) contains the following:

Vitamin A 20,000,000 IU
Vitamin D3 6,000,000 IU
Vitamin E 5,500 IU
Vitamin K 8,000 mg
Vitamin C 21,000 mg
Vitamin B1 2,500 mg
Vitamin B2 10,000 mg
Vitamin B6 4,500 mg
Vitamin B12 2,500 mg
Pantothenic Acid 7,500 mg
Nictotinic Acid 47,500 mg
Folic Acid 1,000 mg
Methionine 12,000 mg

So - I can't find the first mix, but I can find the 2nd one above.

To replace the first mix, I have two options:

A: Mineral Premix, 1kg packet
Manganese 4.5 grams
Iron 14.2 grams
Copper 1.0 grams
Zinc 2.9 grams
Sodium 3.9 grams
Iodine 19.0 mg
Potassium 0.9 mg
Cobalt 1.1 mg
Fillers 1 kg

OR

B: Mineral Premix, 1 kg packet
Vitamin A 440,000.00 IU
Vitamin D3 60,000.00 IU
Vitamin D 3,000.00 IU
Iron 11.60 grams
Cobalt 0.03 grams
Manganese 5.30 grams
Copper 5.60 grams
Zinc 11.60 grams
Iodine 0.07 grams
Selenium 0.06 grams
Magnesium 10.00 grams
Flavourings 0.50 grams
Fillers 1 kg

I also cannot find the Diamond V (a yeast probiotic I think).

I'd greatly appreciate all advice on how what I should mix together for her loose mineral supplement please. Minerals is the most confusing part of feeding her as we just don't have the same options available here.

I note that the previous owner is adding salt to his home made mineral mix. Should I do this also?

Are there any vital ingredient missing from any preferred mix options?

Many, many thanks.

 

[babsbag]

Without giving this a lot of thought right now (it is 3:45 AM...time for bed) mix B has selenium and mix A does not and based on that alone I would go with B.

Take a look at this website and look at the nutritional analysis of their mineral and compare it to yours, that might help.

http://www.sweetlix.com/products/C14A36/magnum-milk-products.aspx

Here is another site that sells individual minerals and if I remember correctly that had good information about what each species needs.

http://www.abcplus.biz/Categories2.aspx?Id=Sheep_Goats_Minerals

 

[thailand]

Thanks

 

[Mini Horses]

When buying feed be careful of cattle mixes. Many have urea in them and goats do not tolerate this well. In fact, can be deadly.

Just info -- it actually takes more from a goat to make milk than to grow kids. For this reason, as well as training & pacification while milking, most are fed concentrates. Plus legumes normally have more calcium than most grass hay...again, milk production. A goat will be used for a longer lactation, higher production if used for milking than just to nurse kids. I bring this up as most goats do just fine on hay, browse, vit/min -- for a normal life. If we ask more of them -- 10 months of heavy milk -- we adjust the feed to keep their body healthy for production.

 

[thailand]

Thanks for your replies. So if I go with choice B...I notice that there is no potassium, phosphorous or sulphur in those ingredients. Will this be a problem? There's no salt (sodium) either, but with the recipe I'm planning on using above there is the addition of 150 grams of salt.

Is a yeast product (Diamond V) a must have....or just a "it'd be nice to have" item?

I must post up-to-date photos of her today when I have time. She is looking much bigger now, is ravenously hungry and very clingy!

 

[babsbag]

Really glad that your doe is indeed bred...babies...

The Diamond V is not necessary and mine won't touch the stuff. You would think I was poisoning them.

Phosphorus will be found in grain and grass hay so she will probably be fine without it. There is no calcium in the mineral either which she should get from the alfalfa or other legume hay. Many of the minerals try to balance out the 2:1 calcium to phosphorus requirement but IMO that is hard to do as you don't know what is really in the hay unless you get it tested.

Can you get solid blocks of minerals? Here we can by sulfur as a block and the goat will just lick as needed, same with salt. The potassium should not be a problem, she will get that from browse.

For over a year my herd had basically no minerals, they wouldn't eat them and I mistakenly thought that they just didn't need them. I had a lot of problems with copper and selenium deficiencies and tried a new mineral and they love it; guess they didn't like the old brand. A lot of the minerals that you need though will be found in all of the marvelous plants she will get to browse on.

Here is another good article on minerals and goats.

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/vitaminmineral06.html

Are you feeding her a grain supplement?

 

[thailand]

Thanks Babsbag. I am feeding her a tiny amount of grain. 21% dairy grain with a bit of rice bran and a handful or so of BOSS. She isn't getting this every day though, maybe every 2nd, and she certainly isn't eating all that I put in a bucket for her...maybe a couple of mouthfuls twice a day. Does this sound ok. She's SO HUNGRY.....just an eating machine now.

 

[babsbag]

She should be fine, you don't want a fat goat going into kidding but if you are going to milk her for 9 or 10 months you might be surprised at how quickly they can lose body condition; especially in hot weather. When it gets really hot here they don't eat as much or drink enough and some of them struggle with maintaining weight. You also don't want to grow that kid too big before it is born either.

If you are feeding her alfalfa or the pangola (do I have that right?) hay she should be doing just fine. Let her have as much of the hay as she wants.

Check you grain if it has a tag on it and see if it has the minerals in it that the other mineral was lacking.

 

[thailand]

Update: I think we might be a couple of weeks away from kidding now She has been losing opaque colored goo for about a week and the last couple of days it's been more of a stream. Not constantly, just a drizzle in the mornings mostly. She's eating like she is starving and is getting fatter! I can feel the baby/ies moving most days.

Question: She is wanting to eat Bouganvillea plant, both the leaves and the flowers. She's actually scoffed quite a lot over the last day or so. Can anyone confirm please if this is totally ok for her to eat?? Thanks