Newbie Question.....

[bigcat]

Sorry for the dumb question and Im sure I could search around and find the answer but.....

What should I be feeding my goat?

I have 1 Nigerian Dwarf Female. As of now she has access to goat pellets, water and I cut branches for he almost daily for her to eat the leaves of of. I have been giving her mostly oak, maple, gum and birch leaves. What else should I give her.

I also give her trteats like cereal and ritz. We bought some goat treat pellets from TSC but she does not like them.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Any kind of feed subject tends to get nasty and turns into fighting so I'm trying to avoid them now. I will give you a link that may be able to help you out. I also have a link on how I feed my goats here.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Do you have grass/pastaure in he pen/field? Is she getting any hay if you do not? Long stems are good for ruminant digestion. the leaves will help some, but I would suggest hay if there is no pasture.

 

[bigcat]

Any kind of feed subject tends to get nasty and turns into fighting so I'm trying to avoid them now. I will give you a link that may be able to help you out. I also have a link on how I feed my goats here.

I read what you are feeding yours. That is the same brand I am giving. I have not given hay yet because I dont have any....I need to find some. Is there antyhing specific to look for in the minerals? I do have a block in there that I think is a salt and mineral block for cattle...

There is no pasture yet i will get some hay

 

[20kidsonhill]

Make sure they are goat minerals and don't say goat and sheep on the label. Loose minerals are always better than the little blocks.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Any kind of feed subject tends to get nasty and turns into fighting so I'm trying to avoid them now. I will give you a link that may be able to help you out. I also have a link on how I feed my goats here.

I read what you are feeding yours. That is the same brand I am giving. I have not given hay yet because I dont have any....I need to find some. Is there antyhing specific to look for in the minerals? I do have a block in there that I think is a salt and mineral block for cattle...

There is no pasture yet i will get some hay

I really like the Bartlett brand. All the nutrition % fall right into what I like and all the goats here do well on it. If yours are on a dry lot then I would get them hay quickly. You may be able to find it from local farmers and if not you could buy alfala from the local feed store or TSC. Alfalfa is a very good hay for goats but it is expensive.

As for minerals, I am not a fan of any blocks or buckets. I don't think they work well and alot of times the goat have a hard time getting it because they have no top teeth, in the front of their mouth. I prefer loose mineral for sure. If they are in a dry lot then find something with a Ca to P ratio at or near 2:1. The only time I would feed the cattle mineral is if they have good forage, but I'm not sure of the mineral you are using. It may be fine. Never give sheep mineral becasuse your goats will lack the copper they need and NEVER give a salt block.

 

[bigcat]

Not trying to start anything but....... can you feed too much hay?

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

This is your thread!! You ask any and all Q's you need to!

To answer. I'm not really sure. In a sense yes, and no. If it is good quality hay then not really, they can eat it until they are full and everything is fine. It is good hay, meaning it is good for them. If it is crappy hay then all they're eating is filler and they may think they are full and won't eat but there is no nutrition in it so they are not getting what they need to thrive. Some people feed hay year round. Some feed it at the rate the goats eat it, some only feed in winter and some only feed a certain amount. Hay is great when they don't have alot of browse, pasture or forage, because it gives them something to eat and it is healthy, if the hay is good of course. If an animals have great browse and gets feed then it may not need any hay. For you, because of the dry lot, I would just feed them it at the rate they eat it, unless they are fat.

 

[daisychick]

My goats get "free choice" hay. Meaning I fill up their hay feeder and they can eat as much as they want. My hay is a mix of local grasses and alfalfa. There is hardly ever a time that they eat it all. They nibble on it throughout the day. I do this because I don't have a lot of pasture and they don't get much browsing time to eat leaves or other green things.

 

[bigcat]

I bought some loose minerals yesterday and well as some hay. She ate the hay when I gave it to her but I dont think the had tried the minerals yet. I gave her a big scoop of the pellets a couple days agao and she finally finished them off by this mornig so I put another scoop in there.