What kind of hay for dwarf nigerian goats?

[backyardchickenfarmer]

Hello everyone, Well im thinking about adding 2 dwarf nigerian goats to the mix soon, but i have never owned them before so im kind of in the blue here. i live in a suburban area( i checked my laws, we can keep livestock here) so pastures and whatnot are not possible here. so what hay would i feed them?( i.e timothy,orchard grass, ect..). and what type of pelleted feed should i feed them?

 

[lilhill]

Mine all get Purina Goat Chow grain, alfalfa pellets and grass hay. Our hay contains chicory, Fescue Max Q and orchard grass.

 

[backyardchickenfarmer]

Okay, and all that stuff should be avail. at like a tractor supply company or agway? is there any minerals or supplements i should give them? Thanks

 

[cmjust0]

As to what type of hay, it depends on the sex and what life stage they're at, really..

If they're kids or bred/lactating does, a good alfalfa or alfalfa/grass mix hay would be good.. Or, grass hay and some supplemental grain, according to their body condition..

If they're does which are open or early bred, and dry, then grass hay and very little -- if any -- grain supplementation would probably be fine.

If they're grown wethers, grass hay would probably be fine, provided that you didn't supplement much grain. I'd personally supplement with something containing calcium...alfalfa pellets, for instance...if you feed grass to males, just because grass hay is high in phosphorus. Or, feed alfalfa or alfalfa/grass mix hay..

What exactly are you getting? Open does, early bred does, late bred does, does in lactation, baby doelings, baby bucklings, wethers...?? Even within a breed, there are lots of "kinds" of goats -- especially when it comes to feeding.

And, yes, you should feed mineral. Get an on-label goat mineral if you can find one, but if not, a good cattle mineral will work. Don't get SHEEP or SHEEP & GOAT mineral -- it won't have copper, and goats need copper. Goats also need Selenium, so make sure it's got selenium. You want LOOSE MINERAL -- not a block. Mineral blocks and goats don't get along. Look for lots of 'sulfates' or 'chelates' and as few 'oxides' on the ingredient tag as possible. If you have males/wethers, don't buy feed "spring" or "hi-mag" mineral.

 

[backyardchickenfarmer]

wow, i did not know there were that many "stages" to a goat lol. i honestly dont know what im going to get. i want 2 full grown firl goats. the purina goat chow is supplemented with selenium so thats good. what would the hay/mineral requirements would be for full grown girl goats?

 

[cmjust0]

Depends on if they're open and dry, early bred, late bred, lactating, etc...

If they're open and dry...grass hay would probably suffice, while keeping an eye on body condition and supplementing with grain as needed.

Early bred (<= 3mo bred) and dry...pretty much the same as open and dry, but with a little closer eye on condition. You don't want one going into late pregnancy too fat or too thin.

Late bred...wouldn't be a bad idea to start them on some alfalfa or alfalfa/grass-mix hay and fairly regular supplemental grain.. You still don't want them getting fat, mind you, but their nutritional needs go WAY up in late pregnancy.

Lactating...alfalfa or alfalfa-mix hay is good because it contains quite a bit of calcium. Supplemental grain -- a lactating/dairy goat blend is best but my personal 2nd choice fave is Mare & Foal sweet feed -- is pretty much required when they're lactating. It's usually pretty hard to put weight on a lactating doe. Most of us who milk twice a day supplement our does very scientifically....that is, we feed exactly as much as it takes to milk the doe, twice a day, just so she doesn't start screaming and put her feet in the milk bucket before she's done being milked. For some does, depending on how fast they eat, you're talking a couple of pounds at a time, twice a day.

The best overall advice I can give would be to feed to condition in pretty much every circumstance, though.. If you find that your does are looking rough on grass hay and little supplementation, go ahead and supplement a little more...or find better hay...or whatever it takes to get them looking like you want them to look.

Knowing how they react to different life stages just kinda puts you ahead of the game in terms of knowing what to expect in terms of conditioning levels and allows you to sorta plan on making feeding changes in advance..

It helps keep you out from behind the 8-ball, in other words..

Like, if you didn't know the nutritional needs went way up in late pregancy and you kept a goat on grass hay and no supplement, you might discover one of your previously-well-conditioned goats stripping condition off left and right, getting ribby, and maybe even developing pregnancy toxemia, etc....but if you know what to watch out for and why, you'll have a better idea of when to start up a little extra supplementation, etc..

 

[ksalvagno]

Hay you probably won't find at TSC. You will have to find a hay farmer. Maybe look for hay auctions sort of close to your area. You will also need to find out if you need to buy your hay for a full year or if you will be able to find hay any time of the year.

You also want a good loose mineral for the goats. The feed doesn't contain enough selenium to suffice a deficient area. You would have that out for them all the time. Just put a little out at a time so it is always "fresh" for them.

 

[ksnull]

Just an FYI - we go thru about a bale a week (the small square bales) for our 2 NG does. We live in the country so hay is easy to come by here, any time of year, but you need to make sure that wherever you're going to store it will keep it good and dry, as they can get very sick if there is any moisture/mold in it. (no experience here, just have read) We have a large plastic dog kennel/carrier that we can shove a bale into, and it fits perfectly and stays dry while they're munching, and not too much hits the ground to get wasted.

 

[Dogma]

Can I feed too much alfalfa to bred does?

 

[Latestarter]

That's kinda of a loaded question... I fed/feed all my Lamancha goats the same thing, bred, after kidding, year round. They get alfalfa hay free choice 24/7, a pelleted feed (16% with AC for the wethers), and whatever they can scrounge. and all of mine are STILL thin. They're dairy goats so don't bulk up like meat goats. I increase their pelleted feed when they get drastically thin (producing milk). I tried several other basic hays and they didn't like them, eat them and wasted too much. Some folks goats get fat just breathing in the scent of alfalfa...