Let's Look at our Different Feeding Practices *GOATS*

[helmstead]

Here are a couple of calculators from the Langston University for everyone...they are online based and not a spreadsheet.
RATION BALANCER AND NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT CALCULATOR
Total Mixed Ration Calculator

I checked those out. They aren't quite the same as the calculator Goatmasta has (I wish there was a way to post it here, but we really cannot find the original link).

The calculator we use plugs in the feeds you have in front of you, amounts you are feeding...and tells you where your final %s are. It can get really hard to do the math when you're mixing feeds to make a better complete ration (like adding BOSS, alfalfa pellets, flax, etc)...that is what the calculator Goatmasta has does for you - also taking your hay into consideration.

 

[elevan]

Here is the FEED CALCULATOR that Goatmasta and Helmstead have been talking about.
I had to load it to my website. It's titled Feed Calculator but you are free to use the other documents there as well

eta: Funny thing when I saw it was that I recognized it...from another forum a while back originally intended for DEER! It'll work for any species though as long as you plug in the numbers. You may have to look up some values to plug in but that shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[helmstead]

My dorky website won't let me...well, it THINKS it will let me, but the file links never work. Thanks for loading it Elevan...

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Here is the FEED CALCULATOR that Goatmasta and Helmstead have been talking about.
I had to load it to my website. It's titled Feed Calculator but you are free to use the other documents there as well

eta: Funny thing when I saw it was that I recognized it...from another forum a while back originally intended for DEER! It'll work for any species though as long as you plug in the numbers. You may have to look up some values to plug in but that shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[Goatmasta]

Thanks elevan. Much easier than me emailing it.

 

[elevan]

Thanks elevan. Much easier than me emailing it.

No problem.

 

[elevan]

I just ran across an article and thought I'd share. I've bolded the parts that are pertinent to goats. I posted this in the Livestock Guardian forum as well.
I don't think I've seen anyone list cotton seed meal as an ingredient in their custom mix but if you do please share and let us know of your experience.
If you use it - Do you limit a kid's exposure or keep them away from it until they are fully ruminating?

A short article was published on the deaths of four goat guardian dogs who died of heart problems over the course of three years, usually in the winter. (Pannill et al. April 2006) The culprit was cottonseed in the goat feed.

Cottonseed contains a high concentration of gossypol, which is a toxin that affects primarily the heart and liver. Ruminants can tolerate higher levels of gossypol than animals with only one stomach because it binds to proteins in the rumen. An animal with only one stomach, such as a human, a dog or a pig, is much more susceptible to the poison. However, even young lambs and calves have been found to have toxic reactions to gossypol; that can probably be said about young kids, as well. This is due to the fact that their rumens are not yet fully developed and, in many cases, occurs when they are on free choice feed.

Cottonseed and cottonseed meal are now used as additives in livestock feed. This is important to know if you have a livestock guardian dog that develops depression, difficulty breathing, appears to be having a heart attack and ultimately dies, and you know that the dog consumes goat feed. Gossypol toxicity also may be a consideration if you have a number of kids seeming to die of overeating disease, or developing chronic, difficult breathing, unthriftiness, failure to respond to antibiotics and going off feed. These can be signs of such poisoning.

No treatment currently exists for gossypol poisoning, although its course can be reversed with removal of the cottonseed in feed for a period of time.

The writers estimated the amount of goat food that a dog would need to have consumed to cause their fatal heart damage was only 3/4 cup daily for a few weeks. (Kid feed contained .01% and the does' was .06%.)

You can do at least two things to avoid situations such as this: 1.) Read the feed tag and make sure you know what you are feeding your animals/aren't buying feed with cottonseed or cottonseed meal; and 2.) Keep your guardian dog away from the goat feed. To read more, see the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension web site at www.osextra.com and look for the fact sheet "Gossypol Toxicity in Livestock."

From "Health and Science News," Ruminations #53

 

[77Herford]

Wow, lol just after reading a few pages my goats seem to get nothing.

Central Iowa, United States.
Between zone 4 and 5
can get bloody hot and humid and have brutal winters.
5 Boer wethers and 2 Bucks about 4 months old.
Currently browsing full time on thick weeds, shrubs, trees and have a salt lick.

 

[St0rmyM00n]

77herdford I was just thinking the same about my goats .

I only feed 1 cup of purina goat feed + some corn in the morning.
So they get 1 cups of feed a day each , we feed in buckets each have their own buckets.

But my goats have access to pasture 24/7

As I read through the post and I am amazed at how heavy my goats have gotten and how shiny their coats are.

They do get loose minerals freshly topped off daily.

In the winter when the brush is low I buy 1 square bale every 2 - 3 weeks of costal hay + the purina Goat feed and some corn.
I only have 3 goats and thats why I don't have to buy so much.

But I was looking at the other things everyone has added to their goats diets.

I am in North Central Texas

My goats appear to be quite healthy and grow at a fast rate.

I am wowed by all the feed options I guess cause it appears I dont feed enough to my goats and they are such fatties.

Once in a blue moon I get sweet feed and give as a treat but I don't do that often .

When My doe was about to kid she got a bale of alfalfa all to her self it was left out for her to get it freely when she wanted it.

It just seems to be working for us, I have never had to deal with a sick goat yet.

Of course these aren't show goats but they are good at clearing brush.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

St0rmym00n & 77Herford: that's okay, most people on here think that my goats must be massively overconditioned the way I feed our herd! I tried going for the cup a day feeding that most do on here, and my goats started looking underconditioned.
I am currently giving my milking doe: 2 cups Calf Manna, 2 cups Dumor pelleted, 2 cups alfalfa pellets, 1 cup BOSS, and 1 cup cracked corn on top of giving her controlled browse(beech, birch, & maple branches), hay, produce scraps, minerals and water.