Goats Minerals? Can someone please x - plain????

[Cottage Cheese]

Hey all,


I am getting two pygmy doelings this week, [ they are under a year], what do the require for their everyday health??? I heard they need baking soda, but what else do they need?

 

[Cottage Cheese]

HELP!!!!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey!

i'm going to give you a little bump to see if anyone else can weigh in....

what i'd say about the minerals is that it may depend where you live, so check your local feedstore to see what they recommend.

i got one of those mineral block thingys - and mine love it. but mostly i give my milkers a 16% dairy goat bagged feed, a little sweet feed, good quality hay, a pretty good pasture, and tons of water.

my mini goats get water and instructions to 'get out there and free range because its FREE'
;-)

i do not give my gals lots of snack.. but some people do. also do you have other livestock? make sure they cant get into the feed - especially chicken feed.

lastly - you might want to check out a good book on raising goats, such as the Storey's guides for a good overall info.

 

[Cottage Cheese]

Ok, thanks

 

[Cottage Cheese]

Okay, they are temporarily staying with my chickens. The chook feeder is on a flower pot, but I know that will not prevent my goaties from eating the food. How Can I allow the chickens to eat it, but not the goats? Also, are walnut trees poisinous to goats??

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

nope to my knowledge walnut trees are not poison to goats - in fact some leaves blew down today and my gals pushed each other down to get to them!

you might have to build a door or box (sometimes called a creep feeder) feeder to keep the goats out but allow the chickens in. i put up a gate to my coop that my goats could not jump over - nor squeeze their way thru - but the slats were positioned so that the chickens could get in.

i've also seen great solutions where the chix have a kind of 'habitrail' to get to the food.

did you see my comments about the alfalfa? i think you are where i was a while ago... so we probably have the same questions.

 

[lilhill]

Walnut is mildly toxic to goats. Here's a link to the poisonous plant list as far as goats are concerned: http://kinne.net/poi-list.htm Usually if goats have enough forage and browse, then they stay away from toxic plants. Of course, having said that, there are exceptions to every rule.

 

[Cottage Cheese]

Ok

 

[pattyjean73]

Good pasture - free choice unlimited

Good Hay - free choice unlimited (Some people only hay when pasture isn't available for instance during winter months others hay year round) I hay year round but during the summer months, they don't eat alot of it because they prefer their pasture.

Good Grain designed for goats (I recommend Purina Goat Chow) - amounts will depend upon goats condition and quality of the above. Some people swear by medicated feeds, I prefer to use as little medication as possible.

Minerals designed for goats - unlimited

baking soda - unlimited

I also add black oil sunflower seeds to their grain for coat conditioning but this is not a necessity.

Limit your treats. My goats like corn chips, BOSS straight from my hand, animal crackers, tree limbs. Tree limbs is one of the treats that doesn't have to be limited. As this is their natural feed. But they really enjoy a "treasured" limb here and there. Mine love mulberry limbs. They eat it up like candy.

IMO feeding goats shouldn't be an exact science. Just make sure they have what they need and work with what is available to you and what works for your goat's condition.

Hope that helps.

 

[norcal]

What if they really aren't eating the minerals? My young wethers don't seem to be eating theirs. ??