So what to feed this pregger goats?

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey all you organic goat lovers! (or likers)

we're pretty sure our full sized lamancha is preggers. we took her over for a date with the neighbor's buck in mid oct and she has not shown any signs of heat this month! i understand there is no other way to tell short of a blood test? is there a good 'natural' (and cheap!) way to tell?

is there anything special i should be feeding her? she has a mineral block, gets some bagged food, and we have nice hay.

since i have all these apples i was wondering if they would be ok snacks? obviously i'm not going to give her a bucket full... but maybe half an apple a day??

our little minis ate just about everything and never had a problem.. but our milk gals got special treatment..and now that she is preggers (i hope!) i dont want to do anything wrong.

suggestions on how to cater to a pregnant doe??

 

[freemotion]

Were she mine, and I had a ton of apples, she would get worked up gradually to more if I could spare them. My limit for fresh stuff is about 3-4 lbs a day, unless there is a dire need. When I rescued a dangerously thin preggers goat, I worked her gradually....very gradually.... up to more like five pounds a day of fresh stuff, mostly rutabagas and pumpkins and carrots, because that is what I had to spare. Just watch the poo for signs of clumpiness, if so, add probiotics or back off with the goodies.

When I have a lot of fresh stuff to feed, I run it through the food processor to chop it up. I fill a two-gallon pail and put it in my fridge. Right now I have two of these in my spare fridge, feeding five goats, trying to influence twinning. Mostly pumpkins, some apples, and miscellaneous other veggies as available.

You probably already know that I add home-made probio's to my goat's food. It is easy to add a little extra if any poo seems clumpy. Actually, I haven't seen any clumpy poo in ages and ages.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, and I would go with loose minerals and loose salt, to be sure she is able to get enough of what she needs.

I also sprout barley to increase the protein. They love it.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

thanks Free! i was hoping you'd share your strategy!! we have TONS of pumpkins... but then again... geez with the big shortage maybe i'd better keep them and sell them for like $100 each on EBAY!

 

[FarmerChick]

yea those pumpkins are in demand now! fields of pumpkins went rotten!



there is your money...pumpkin power!

 

[freemotion]

Yep, and they aren't keeping well at all this year, so feed 'em up! Go through them every 3 days or so and pull the worst ones out, cut out the bad spots, and feed the seeds and pulp first. Those don't hold up well, even in the fridge. Then run the rest through the slicer blade of the food processor and keep enough for two days or so in the fridge.

It can be tough to keep up with the rotting, so be vigilant! I also sniff over them daily, and look for dampness around them. They can liquify so fast! I store them on paper feed sacks and shavings bags that I save for this purpose, so the wet spots show up quickly and clean up is easier. I have a "rotting pumpkin pail" that I use when I sort them, and keep it near the pumpkin stash for emergency pumpkin dumps. Into the compost pile they go, and I toss a shovelful of compost on top so the goat's don't gorge on the good parts, so I can control how much each goat gets each day. The chickens will still pick at the dirty pumpkins.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i love that you have a rotting pumpkin pail!!! thanks thanks thanks!

and yep i've decided to give up on cash and go all pumpkin!!! hee hee hee hee hee

i used to tell people i was putting all my money in chickens...but now i'm all about the pumpkin

;-)

 

[freemotion]

I forgot to add.....sniff each pumpkin as you are cutting them up to feed. They can look nice but be on the verge of "going," so let your nose tell you, too. If they are picky about a batch, toss it into the compost. Well-fed goats will get picky. It's a good thing. Only a starving or malnourished goat will eat rotting food, even if it is not noticable to us that it is spoiling.

 

[kstaven]

Oh, and I would go with loose minerals and loose salt, to be sure she is able to get enough of what she needs.

I also sprout barley to increase the protein. They love it.

Nice to see some one else who feeds sprouts to dairy animals. Ours have benefited greatly from this practice. Better biological availability of nutrients by doing it that way.

 

[freemotion]

And they smell so yummy, too!

My hens get them, too, once the bugs are no longer available. It takes some protein to make eggs and milk. And growing kids. The sprouts are so digestible and as you said, the nutrients are more bioavailable, anti-nutrients are neutralized. Win-win for the cost of some water.