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

[helmstead]

I don't bother with BOSS and beet pulp anymore either. Tried it, then realized I was spending $ to dress up a bad feed...when we started spending $ to buy a good feed (or, I guess I should say, the best feed for OUR needs) in the first place, there was no longer a need to supplement BOSS and beet pulp. So, I get it

 

[jodief100]

I don't bother with BOSS and beet pulp anymore either. Tried it, then realized I was spending $ to dress up a bad feed...when we started spending $ to buy a good feed (or, I guess I should say, the best feed for OUR needs) in the first place, there was no longer a need to supplement BOSS and beet pulp. So, I get it

I agree completely. If you have the best feed available, buy it and don't worry about anything else. I do not use enough feed to buy it by the ton so I am stuck with whatever 50lb bag of stuff Tractor Supply carries.

Some day maybe........ Until then, I will "dress up" what is available.

 

[freemotion]

I feed beet pulp on the milking stand only to slow the does down to give me time. I actually am not feeding it now that I have the machine. Love the machine! Thanks, Mike Perry of www.perrysmilkers.com !!! But dh milks for me on Tues nights when I am gone until 11 PM to my teaching job and he is a bit slower about things since he only milks once a week. I store it in a five gallon pail and it will come in handy if we lose power and I have to milk....my hands ache and I get slower and slower with each doe, especially the ff's!

 

[freemotion]

Be sure to include what state / country / region that you are in.

What specifically are you feeding? What are you adding to supplement it? And how does your feeding program change seasonally?

eta: Please include or edit to include the type(s) of goats that you raise

Western MA, cold winters and shorter but hot summers.

My current small herd consists of an Alpine buck and four does in milk. My goals are homestead dual-purpose goats, so huge production is a negative as those does seem to need more maintenance, so I am happy with moderate production. I am getting a bit more than 2 gallons a day from the four does, two are first-fresheners. One doe is an Alpine (or mixed breed, mostly Alpine) rescue who is high maintenance and is CAE-positive and will eventually be culled to a pet home. I hope to be down to four total by winter. Oh, and as for dual purpose.....I am no closer to being able to eat any of my own goats than I was a couple years ago, and sold 7 kids to pet homes and my 2 best doelings to a young couple with similar goals, so if I can do this each year, I don't need them to really be dual purpose.

Hay 24/7 in winter, summer drought, bad weather. I try to get alfalfa/grass mix but sometimes can only get grass hay, then I supplement with expensive alfalfa pellets. My pasture is great now so only the buck is getting hay as he is confined to a smaller pen. I tried rotating him into the pasture but he just tears up the fencing and doesn't spend much time eating. I scythe some grass for him once a day most days.

Babies get hay, their own pasture, and leafy branches tied up in their stall nightly until they go to their new homes.

Everyone gets fresh water at least twice a day, with buckets scrubbed as needed, often in the summer. I use an insulated bucket with warm water in the winter.

Everyone has free access to loose minerals and I copper bolused this past spring (still learning!) and now have a bottle of BoSe in my fridge to use as needed.

I use herbal dewormer, run my own fecals, and have a bottle of Ivomec in the fridge and will not hesitate to use it as needed. So far, the buck needed it once when he first arrived as a baby, and the above-mentioned Alpine doe has needed it once a year. I am curious to see how her daughter does, as her sire was a purebred La Mancha from show lines with prize-winning udders.

My main grain that I feed is soaked/sprouted oats, although I prefer barley with the higher protein levels when I can get it.

Everyone was a bit down this spring after a batch of grass hay that looked gorgeous but was really great horse hay. I am supplementing with BOSS but only use that as needed. It really helps.

The ff that had triplets is still thin and I was going to dry her off when her kids were weaned (today is the big day!) but on a whim I started adding the digestive enzymes that I use for myself to her grain twice a day. She has gained 6 pounds in the past week! So if this continues I may keep milking her. Everyone else gets a half cup of BOSS a day and she gets two cups, she also gets about 4-5 cups of the oats and about the same of alfalfa pellets. I have to wait for her to eat every day, so I milk her last and get everything filtered and cleaned up and STILL have to wait! I pet her and massage her and tell her how beautiful she is to get her to eat more. I don't believe in pampering my goats. That is not practical.

ETA: Seasonal changes.....no hay on nice days when there is a lot of pasture. I chop up pumpkins and squashes for them from Nov 1 until they run out, sometimes as late as the end of Feb. I get them free from the farm next door the day after Halloween and store as many as I can get my hands on. I work the does up to about 2-3 quarts of chopped pumpkins with the seeds per day. We also feed any good peelings and scraps from preparing veggies/fruit for our own table and a friend saves hers for me, too.

 

[elevan]

I found an organic feed that looks interesting to me...does anyone use it or have input on it?

Countryside's 13% Goat Feed is made with top quality organic grains to boost milk or meat production. Also contains organic alfalfa, flaxseed, and Thorvin kelp, and has 4% fat and 8% fiber. Healthy goats are happy goats!

Crude protein, minimum............................................15.00%
Crude fat, minimum.....................................................4.00%
Crude fiber, maximum.................................................8.00%

INGREDIENTS
Organic Field Peas, Organic Barley, Organic Oats, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Organic Wheat, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Rice Bran, Organic Corn, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Dried Organic Kelp, Organic Coconut Oil, Salt, Condensed Corn Fermentation Solubles*, Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Sea Shell Flour, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Condensed Lactobacillus Fermentation Solubles, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Chloride, Yeast Culture, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), d-Calcium Pantothenate, Potassium Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Polysaccharide Complex, Manganese Polysaccharide Complex, Iron Polysaccharide Complex, Copper Polysaccharide Complex, Cobalt Polysaccharide Complex, Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamine, Folic Acid, Selenium Yeast.

FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
Feed as needed to supplement nutritional intake.

Certified organic by
Global Organic Alliance, Inc.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I've just recently added beet pulp and I've been thrilled with the results. BUT, it's absolutely NOT a substitute for good quality feed and plenty of good quality alfalfa. It's crazy to me to go cheap on grain, then start spending money on supplements to fill in the gaps. Most of the herd maintains perfectly fine without BOSS or beet pulp, just plenty of alfalfa and good grass hay and grain for those who need it. That said, I have a buck who's not the easiest of keepers and there are couple different ways I could have gone about bulking him up... what we chose to do is up his alfalfa and add beet pulp and continue with the small amount of grain he's getting rather than to up the grain. For sure not the only way to have gone about it, but I will say that we have been so pleased with the results and with how quickly he's putting on flesh. We're also feeding it to a couple lactating does we purchased recently who aren't quite as plump as we like them around here. I love the high digestibility of the fiber and the extra calories it's giving them without having to push grain so heavily. It's also cah balanced (6:1), so I can add calories without worrying about ratios.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

I'm open to suggestions with reasoning behind them. I like to learn. Questions: Is this type of hay mixture okay for all does, kids, bucks, wethers? What other types of hay are good for diary goats? What types would you consider bad or poor for dairy goats? Do you suggest bucks and wethers eat a different hay other than Orchard/Alfalfa? What are the benefits of the hay you suggest in comparison to what they are eating now?

So what do you all think? We're giving Orchard/Alfalfa now. We've also given pure Alfalfa. What do you think s best for dairy goats - does, kids, bucks, wethers? And are other hays appropriate?

I just found a hay company I can buy directly from. They have:
- Alfalfa
- Timothy
- Orchard grass
- Orchard grass (70%)/Alfalfa (30%)
- Forage mix (Oat, Beardless Barley, Beardless Wheat)
- Oat

Thoughts?

 

[elevan]

I'm open to suggestions with reasoning behind them. I like to learn. Questions: Is this type of hay mixture okay for all does, kids, bucks, wethers? What other types of hay are good for diary goats? What types would you consider bad or poor for dairy goats? Do you suggest bucks and wethers eat a different hay other than Orchard/Alfalfa? What are the benefits of the hay you suggest in comparison to what they are eating now?

So what do you all think? We're giving Orchard/Alfalfa now. We've also given pure Alfalfa. What do you think s best for dairy goats - does, kids, bucks, wethers? And are other hays appropriate?

I just found a hay company I can buy directly from. They have:
- Alfalfa
- Timothy
- Orchard grass
- Orchard grass (70%)/Alfalfa (30%)
- Forage mix (Oat, Beardless Barley, Beardless Wheat)
- Oat

Thoughts?

Personally I'm happy with my orchard grass / clover / alfalfa mix. So, I'd tell you to go with the mix you've been using unless you've been unhappy with it for some reason.
It's great that you have a hay supplier who offers you so many choices though

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Personally I'm happy with my orchard grass / clover / alfalfa mix. So, I'd tell you to go with the mix you've been using unless you've been unhappy with it for some reason.
It's great that you have a hay supplier who offers you so many choices though

Thank you. The goats seem to like the orchard/alfalfa mix just fine. I was just thinking that the bucks and wethers were supposed to be eating something else and the does might be better off just getting pure alfalfa.

 

[elevan]

Personally I'm happy with my orchard grass / clover / alfalfa mix. So, I'd tell you to go with the mix you've been using unless you've been unhappy with it for some reason.
It's great that you have a hay supplier who offers you so many choices though

Thank you. The goats seem to like the orchard/alfalfa mix just fine. I was just thinking that the bucks and wethers were supposed to be eating something else and the does might be better off just getting pure alfalfa.

The good thing about your supplier is that you can add a few extra bales of straight alfalfa for your does if you want My boys do fine with the mixed hay. I do supplement alfalfa pellets to the girls when they need it (the ones that will eat them that is )