I'm looking in to trying my hand at this, My first objective is to purchase 2-3 freshly weaned boer grade kids and feed them to finnish weight as quickly and as cost efficiant as possible. I have learned that alfalfa hay in large quanities is bad would prarie hay be better? can i use deer mineral licks for my goats? And is whole corn alone enough by way of grain or is there a better way to go? Also I work at a monthly sale where healthy kids are plentiful, at what weight is it safe to say that the kids no longer need mom or the bottle? and last of all what is the best weight to sell (finnished) goats? From what I've gathered 3#s of hay and 2# of grain ,per day, per head is the general ration for goats. No hurry just doing my personal research.
Newbie ? on feeds and uses an do's and don'ts of feeding goats
- Thread starter rittert3
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()relics
Overrun with beasties
If you are buying boer kids and want to get them to a finish weight as quickly as possibble, you want to feed them no hay at all. You should only feed them a pelleted feed ration that is medicated with monensin, which is a coccidiostat as well as a digestion stimulant. Feed them as directed, weightwise, depending on the specific feed formula you are using. Adding hay encourages rumen growth/stimulation.....If you want quick market kids you want to keep the rumen activity to a minimum, so only pelleted feed....Not the most cost effective method but the quickest producing heavy/fatty market weight kids...This would be the same way ou would feed a show wether...No Hay because you want No Belly...pelleted feed in increasing amounts to keep the kid growing fast but not too much so as he "blows out". If you are buying weaned kids at a sale barn there is a good chance they have already started eating hay, and their rumens have started to function...Good Luck....I look to market my boer kids at 100 days, sale barn kids have unkown variables, which would make it impossible to estimate days to slaughter, if they ever make it at all....
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- #3
What the next step bellow pellet I can get corn, milo, black oil sunflowerseeds, possiblly feed potatoes and brewers grain along with alfalfa, prarie hay, and brome. The only pellets I can find are high priced show pellets which would finnish kids quickly but would result in low or no profit.
