Newbie here, please help with feeding issue

[Egg_Newton]

Tying it to a tree is probably better...BUT...backing up really fast and hitting the brakes is WAY more fun!!!

Especially when you make the truck rear up for a few seconds then slam down. Redneck roller coaster anyone?

 

[OneFineAcre]

Will a 4x5 roll fit in the back of a 3/4 ton pickup and make it home? And will anyone selling rolls consider selling just one? That would likely last me 6 months.

Frank

You can find someone who will sell you one bail at a time.

I have a short bed Ford F150 and a 4x8 trailer. I get two at a time, one in the bed and one in the trailer. I found a local place that mixes feed and sells hay. I buy 2 bales and (8) 50 lb bags of feed at a time. Lasts me a month, but I have a "dry lot" and 17 goats ( including 4 dry yearlings) plus 7 kids right now.

Back up to my barn and roll the bale off. I flake it off and put it in my feeders.

Your are right, one round bale would last you several months.

Like I said I supplement with alfalfa hay, I usually by 10 square bales at a time which will last 2-3 months.

 

[OneFineAcre]

They waste a lot more with the round bales too. I will stick with squares. Much easier to store and move around.

They only waste a lot if you put it all out at one time. We keep ours in a barn. Back up and roll it off.

Then pull it off in flakes and put in feeders.

It is definitely worth the effort for me.

 

[NicholsAcres]

Okay, I got a bale of Coastal Hay (grass) here this morning. We are going to try to wean the goats off the Perennial Peanut Hay and onto the Coastal Grass hay and see if they are too spoiled to do that. I expect if they get hungry enough they will eat it. I will start at 50/50 mix of the two and slowly reduce the perennial hay content. Then we will use the Perennial Peanut hay as a supplement and treat only.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions,

Frank

 

[junkprospector]

you might want to look at the nutrient values of the grass hay vs legume hay. i think if grass hay is uesd, supplemental grain is recommended for does in milk, performing bucks or growing youngsters... just going off what i've read so far. the whole feeding thing seems like it can get overwhelming to get it right. is there any place that has somehting like...

if your breed of goats is: [choose your breed]
your Hay free choice is: [choose your hay]
your pellet feed should be: A for wethers, B for yearlings, C for does in milk, D for performing bucks

 

[jodief100]

you might want to look at the nutrient values of the grass hay vs legume hay. i think if grass hay is uesd, supplemental grain is recommended for does in milk, performing bucks or growing youngsters... just going off what i've read so far. the whole feeding thing seems like it can get overwhelming to get it right. is there any place that has somehting like...

if your breed of goats is: [choose your breed]
your Hay free choice is: [choose your hay]
your pellet feed should be: A for wethers, B for yearlings, C for does in milk, D for performing bucks

I have a chart around somewhere I got from a Seminar I went to last year. I will see if I can find it. You can also contact Dr. Sparks, he writes for the Goat Rancher. He was the one I got it from.

 

[junkprospector]

Awesome! Thank you!
John

 

[NicholsAcres]

I consider my back yard - where the goats are now - to be dry lot, ie. practically no forage. So, my intent is to feed primarily Noble Goat Grower Feed #16 (16% protein) and a hay. My initial thought was perennial peanut hay. My vet approved this mix for feeding the young goats until 2 months before the does begin lactating. Once the goats are ready to milk we are switching to Noble Goat Dairy Parlour 16% with perennial peanut hay. The issue I started this thread with had to do with the bucks wasting pellets by crunching them into dust and not eating them. That has been solved by reducing the amount they were being fed. Apparently I was over feeding the bucks - the does did not waste their food.

The secondary question that was brought up in the thread was whether or not perennial peanut hay should be feed free choice or if it was "too rich" and should be changed to a grass hay which is less rich. I am currently trying our a "coastal hay" which is grass with a small amount of perennial peanut hay mixed in.

I understand that everyone has their own feeding systems and appreciate the comments. I am a newbie and certainly can not judge others choices. My choice is to stay with the Purina Noble Goat Grower 16 for the bucks as I have not read any negative comments about it, and have read a significant number of positive comments. I have also chosen to not feed grain. Grain is probably "better" than the Noble but from what I understand it requires a proper "mixing" of various grains to achieve a balanced diet. And "balanced" depends on a lot of variables. I currently make our dog food and it was a lot of work to come up with a "balanced" blend for that. For the time being I will trust Purina's.

Frank

 

[OneFineAcre]

I consider my back yard - where the goats are now - to be dry lot, ie. practically no forage. So, my intent is to feed primarily Noble Goat Grower Feed #16 (16% protein) and a hay. My initial thought was perennial peanut hay. My vet approved this mix for feeding the young goats until 2 months before the does begin lactating. Once the goats are ready to milk we are switching to Noble Goat Dairy Parlour 16% with perennial peanut hay. The issue I started this thread with had to do with the bucks wasting pellets by crunching them into dust and not eating them. That has been solved by reducing the amount they were being fed. Apparently I was over feeding the bucks - the does did not waste their food.

The secondary question that was brought up in the thread was whether or not perennial peanut hay should be feed free choice or if it was "too rich" and should be changed to a grass hay which is less rich. I am currently trying our a "coastal hay" which is grass with a small amount of perennial peanut hay mixed in.

I understand that everyone has their own feeding systems and appreciate the comments. I am a newbie and certainly can not judge others choices. My choice is to stay with the Purina Noble Goat Grower 16 for the bucks as I have not read any negative comments about it, and have read a significant number of positive comments. I have also chosen to not feed grain. Grain is probably "better" than the Noble but from what I understand it requires a proper "mixing" of various grains to achieve a balanced diet. And "balanced" depends on a lot of variables. I currently make our dog food and it was a lot of work to come up with a "balanced" blend for that. For the time being I will trust Purina's.

Frank

Frank,
You seem to have done your homework and have a good plan. Go with it and see how things go. You can always adjust later.
With my goats it is not a "one size fits all". We have some that are more thrifty and do fine with less input. We have others that require more attention to maintain proper condition. You will also have different circumstances, i.e. one doe has a single kid and another has quads.

You seem to have a good plan.
Good luck and enjoy your goats.

 

[NicholsAcres]

Thank you for the kind words!

Frank