New goat owner feed question, mineral blocks and sweet feed?

[millefleur]

A few days ago, I got to bring home three adorable 12 week old Nigerian Dwarf doelings (they are in my avatar pic). This is my first time with goats so I have a few questions about the food.

First I was told to give them half a cup each of pellets. We are using Purina Noble Goat and they seem to think that its delicious! Next we were told to give them as much hay as they want. We have been giving them prairie hay and they seem to like it just fine. They of course get fresh water everyday too. Is there anything else we should be giving them?

Another question is about sweet feed. Can I buy a bag of sweet feed and use it as treats? One of my little doelings is a bit skittish and I was hoping that maybe hand feeding her something yummy might calm her down. And of course I would moderate how much they would get. I don't want to do anything that's unhealthy for them.

My third question is about the mineral blocks. When do the goats need these? Do they really need them? At atwoods I noticed there was a goat mineral block, salt block, molasses block, and a yellow block that i forgot the name of. There was also an all purpose mineral block. If I need one of these, which one and when?

Also I'm from Oklahoma and we have been having some really cold weather such as teens, lower 20s and sometimes lower 30s. Because of this they have been locked in the barn with a heat lamp. We tried letting them out but they just shivered and stood still. Am i worrying too much? Should i leave their barn door open so they can go out if they want to? I am just concerned that they will get too cold.

Thanks,
millefleur

 

[autumnprairie]

Ok, you can feed sweet feed too but keep in mind that they need hay more, I use raisins and the apple and oat horse treats to make them friendly they will follow me to the ends of the earth for there treats. Warm water in the winter they will love. If you have any old sweat shirts you can make sweaters out of the sleeves. The cuff is where the head is and cut places for their front legs.
I use free choice minerals not blocks but you can use a mineral block they use more effort for them rather than loose and you can give free choice baking soda for digestive health.

 

[millefleur]

We have about half a bale out there for them to munch on. They are never without hay. I am mostly curious about treats I can give them. I only know of sweet feed. Which something else comes to mind if I do decide to get sweet feed. There is a 10%, 12%, and 14% sweet feed. Which one would be better for the goats and what's the difference?

If I can feed them a mineral block, which one? And at what age is it ok for them to eat it or does it matter?

 

[autumnprairie]

Treats I use are veggie and fruit scraps, raisins, horse treats. I would use the 12% keep in mind the more grain feeds you give the more likely you will have clumped poop rather than pellets. I used the red mineral block from Atwoods you can get it now and they will try it and use it when they need it

 

[Pioneer Chicken]

I give my goats free-choice coastal hay. They also get alfalfa pellets. : )

Minerals and vitamins are essential for a goat's health! I used to give my goats the mineral block, but have found that loose minerals are more effective for my goats. I top my Nigerian dwarf goats feed with a 1/4 oz of loose minerals everyday along with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of dolomite. You may want to check and see if your area is deficient or okay in copper and selenium. If it is deficient, you will want to bolus your does two times a year, depending on how bad it is. If you are deficient in selenium, you will need to either get them a BoSe shot twice a year [correct me if I'm wrong, folks : ) ] (have a vet do it or prescribe it to you, since that's the only way that I'm aware of that you can get it done) or use selenium/vitamin E gel.

I've heard of quite a few people who give their goats animal crackers ( I haven't tried that yet; maybe someday I will! : D ). My buck likes marshmallows and peanut butter (as occasional treats ). My does are more picky; however, they do like the trimmings leftover from making applesauce- or, I should say, LOVE them. LOL I haven't used them yet, but Manna Pro has treats specifically for goats, too.

As far as the cold goes, yes, that is cold! I kept my does in two days ago when we had snow (mostly just because they'll be having kids soon). I let my buck, other doe, and wether have their choice of whether they wanted to go in or out. It sounds like yours would rather be inside their barn which is okay! If you can find an old sweater/sweatshirt to put on them, that would probably help them keep in the heat. With my goats, I just deeply bed down their barn with hay, keep the door shut, and put sweaters on the kids (which I've only just started doing this year. Who knew you could put a sweater on a goat? Pretty clever and cute!!!). I only have the heat lamp on when I'm in there with them. Make sure your heat lamp is secure. Your kids are old enough to be jumping around and could accidentally knock it down.

I hope that helps you some! And congrats on being a new goat-owner. Goats are such fun!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Hay is very important. They need the long fiber for rumen health.

Loose minerals are better than the blocks. They eat more of the minerals loose than they will if they have to bite the blocks. I use sweetlix meat maker loose minerals and magnum milk loose minerals. They actually eat quite a bit licking it up. My goats love them.

Sweet feed and grain/pellets can be bad if they get too much. They can have too many calories and the grain content allows the ph and bacterial balance of the gut get out of whack. I do grain (pellets, mixed grains, sweet feed) for young kids, pregnant does, lactating or underweight animals, but I use it in moderation. I usually allow milking girls all the grain they can eat while actually in the milkstand milking, but other than that I allow just a small amount. Their daily allotment of pellets and or sweetfeed can be used to bribe the kids to you instead of offering it as a meal, just offer it as treats.

Look into the copper and selenium issues in your area in case you need to add that to your treatment regimen.

Also, find out how much fecals cost in your area so you can keep an eye on what parasites your kids have ...you will probably want to know that shortly enough...

 

[millefleur]

@autumnprairie - Thanks for the list of treats! I plan to do a garden this year so I'm sure I will have some scraps for them then! Is there any fruits or vegies that are harmful to them? And by scraps, do you mean peelings and such? If I have left over vegies (usually in a can from the grocery store) after dinner, can they have them?

@Pioneer Chicken - What does the alfalfa do for them? It seems like quite a few people feed them either the pellets or the alfalfa hay. I will do some checking and see if my area is deficient in copper and/or selenium. I honestly have no idea. I think I will also be trying the animal crackers as treats! Also I have heard about people putting clothes and things on their goats during the winter but I heard that it is sorta bad for them. Something about them not getting used to the cold or what not. Have you heard of this? And I have definitely made sure my heat lamp is out of reach. They are so curious, there is no way they would leave it alone if they could reach it.

@ragdollcatlady - They are getting all the hay they want and they do munch on it most of the time. Sounds like loose minerals are definitely the way to go. I heard that you can give them both the loose and the block. What are your thoughts on this? Bad, good, over doing it? As far as sweet feed goes, I was just planning on give them like a handful or so. I just want it to be a treat. I don't really want to add it to their feed as a supplement or anything unless they just really need it. And I will be looking into the copper and selenium and see what I can find out. Also the fecal as well. Hopefully not too much. How much is it for you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Southern by choice]

Here is a link to see the levels for your county and state you can see all the minerals to include copper and selenium.

http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/averages/countydata.htm

What is also important to understand is where you are getting your hay from. You see the county where we are is not deficient and our hay comes from our neighbor (except for the alfalfa) yet several counties close to us are extremely deficient and those that live there need to bolus and do selenium 1-2x per year. We would never get hay from those counties.

The blocks are very high in salt and goats are not cows that have rough tongues that can easily lick so they end up "chewing" and it will wear their teeth down, also the blocks tend to be very high in salt. Goats do not need that much salt.

We give manna pro goat minerals. The sweetlix is a good one but I think it is medicated. If cocci is an issue in your area or becomes one you may want to use a preventative.

and... most important... WELCOME TO BYH!
Nigies are wonderful goats you will have many years of wonderful fun and enjoyment! Congratulations.

 

[millefleur]

@Southern by choice thanks for the link! I have found my county but I'm not sure how to tell if I'm deficient or not...how do I tell? Or does it tell me?

I do get my hay from someone that lives like 5 minutes away from me so once I figure out if I'm deficient or not, I will know if my hay is good.

Thanks for the info about the blocks! I wasn't aware they were so full of salt.

And thanks for the welcome! There is just so much to learn, I've only had pigs and chickens so I feel pretty lost. I'm just trying to gather as much info as I can so my babies will be healthy and happy!

I really appreciate everyone's help and opinions on these subjects!

 

[autumnprairie]

You can help me with pigs which will be something completely new to me. I don't give them potato peelings but will give cooked potatoes and no moldy anything. There are threads on here that cover a lot in the way of your questions I will start sending links if you want. They ate star fruit the other day and loved it. Mine also like animal crackers but they like cake and frosting too I don't give them junk too often it affects there stomachs