# what grain do you feed?



## greif (Nov 3, 2007)

hi
just wondering what grains you feed your goats. we give our 4 weathers (just pets) 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds per day. tried roasted soybeans but they won't touch them.


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

I give mine dry horse grain with no molasses. I have 3 of them, a Pygmy and two young Nubians and I give them about one and a half coffee cups of it twice a day. They also get hay and have grass and leaves to eat all day.


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## Duchesse (Oct 31, 2007)

My two pet pygmy does receive 1/4 cup once a day , of Purina Goat Chow mixed with a tbsp BOSS, 2 alfalfa cubes and a tbsp of horse sweet feed. I will be giving this twice a day for the winter when there is no more forage available. I collect leaves for them once or twice a day. They also get free choice grass hay, Purina Goat minerals, baking soda and of course fresh water.


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## PACE (Oct 8, 2007)

I feed my three wethers (2 Nigerians and an Alpine) Blue Seal Caprine Challenger. They love it! I feed it twice a day with BOSS added. I also give 1 tablespoon Fastrack added for each goat in the evenings. I tie them up separately and give them their own dishes so I know how much they are getting. Pace and Shanti, the Nigerians, get 1/3 cup twice a day, as they are pretty beefy. Melino, the Alpine, gets 1 cup twice a day as he is still growing and is on the slimmer side. They all get free choice hay, loose minerals, baking soda, and water (one bucket with a sploosh of cranberry/apple juice, sine they really like that, and one plain).


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## fritzie (Oct 6, 2007)

i feed coop goat grain(non medicated) to my alpines. the milkers get 2 lbs twice i day when i am milking & showing with a cup of beet pupl & alfalfa pellets mixed in. my dries get 1 lb twice aday. i will cut the milkers back to 1 lb twice a day till they are dried off & for maintanence until they are getting ready to kid. my bucks get 2 lbs twice a day. they all have free choice minerals,baking soda & freash water at all times. plus i give the does hay every morning & they have pasture all day & the bucks have a round roll of hay in there pasture so they have it free choice


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## sparks879 (Oct 17, 2007)

When milking my does get a mixture of wet cob, BOSS, rolled oats, and viger plus. they get free choice grass hay and alfafa pellets. Of course water baking soda and minerals. 
During the winter the goats get a small amount of the grain ration and beet pulp adeed into the diet.


beth


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

my does and wether get a sweet goat feed made by Southern States.

I have heard that soy beans are not good for goats or at least in large quanities- isn't that right goathappy? 

I mix my feed with BOSS and top dress it with fastrack.

I wouldn't feed just straight BOSS - a horse sweet feed mix or something for goats would be a good idea to add.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

oh dear where are my manors!!! welcome to the Goat Spot!


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

our goats(meat dairy, bucks, does, dry does and wethers) all get a 12-14% mix of oats, barley, BOSS and a little corn. Our goats milk and grow incredibly well on that.
Bucks get 1lb per feeding(bucks and wethers don't get corn, btw) during rut and milking does get 1 lb of grain for every 3 lbs of milk produced and skinny does get an extra pound for body condition. Dry yearlings get 2 cups a day so they don't get fat, that is upped during the fall for breeding. The kids get 1 1/2-2 cups per feeding for growing.


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

Oh, and also, soybeans ARE NOT a good thing to feed to goats. Even if they are roasted. We used to feed soybeans to our goats and they were so sick all the time. They had resperitory problems, chronic snotty noses, fertility problems, and even abortions. After we stopped feeding soy we had no more problems. The snotty noses and other resperitory problems went away within 2 weeks and the next fall there were no fertility problems. We have been soy free for 2 1/2 years and our goats are ssooooooo much healthier without it, the milk tastes better too.


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

My does get a fourth cup of whole oats added to some alfalfa pellets and their hay. The kids get only hay and what pellets they steal from their moms.


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## fcnubian (Oct 23, 2007)

I feed alfalfa pellets, BOSS, and a grain mix that I mix myself.


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## alpinemom (Oct 29, 2007)

My Alpine milkers and young stock all run together so I mass feed Poulin 18% Sweet Goat and beet pulp. When Milkers come out to the stand they get 1 lb of grain and 2cups of beetpulp plus what they get in the pen. I feed as much hay as they want as I have no real pasture, just a cleared woodlot. My 2 bucks get 2 lbs of Sweet 18% and 2 cups of beetpulp twice a day which they share. All of them get free choice minerals with kelp added


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

All of my minis get the same type of feed...Blue Seal Caprine Challenger 18%...or if it isn't available they get Blue Seal Coarse 16....it is specifically a goat feed. Mine get 1 cup 2x day unless they are kids or lactating..then it's 2 cups 2x day as well as freechoice pasture and hay,minerals and water.
BTW Tractor Supply carries this brand as well as Dumor brand...which I did try...my goats don't care for just pellets  they like the variety of texture that the Blue Seal has,


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## drafthorsechick (Oct 16, 2007)

AlpineMom,

I'm glad I'm not the only person here without pasture! I'd kill for 5 or 10 acres, but here in farm country it's just not going to happen.

I feed a variety of animals together--5 llamas, 2 alpacas, a small flock of sheep and my goats, so I put out a gazillion feed pans, and mix all stock sweet feed, Cargill Nutrena lamb and kid feed, beet pulp, and BOSS. THere is a small amount of corn in the all stock, but I really don't think it's enough to bother my rams or wethers.

I use a mineral mix made by Buckeye Feeds, keep baking soda out free choice, and they have a round bale of alfalfa/orchard grass hay that they have access to at all times. 

It's a little bit of a dance to make sure that the goats have enough copper, and the sheep don't have too much.

Therese


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi Therese! How's June and Johnny doing?


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## drafthorsechick (Oct 16, 2007)

goathappy said:


> Hi Therese! How's June and Johnny doing?


Hey Sarah!

They are doing really great--they are so cute to watch together, they are like two peas in a pod. They nap together, hang out together, eat out of the same food pan, the whole nine yards. You can certainly tell they're twins.

They fit right in around here with their names, too--we have a team of mules named Waylon and Willie, and a horse named Hank. 

I can't wait to pick out a really nice Billy for June to have a 'date' with next year.

Therese


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## goathappy (Oct 5, 2007)

LOL I'm glad their doing good. They are both so sweet. Their lil' sis May misses them, but she's doing ok. She gets special treatment, she gets to be out while we're milking when the other kids have to stay in, lol
June is going to be a super nice doe when she freshens, if you need help finding a buck, let me know!


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## sunshineandtulip (Nov 6, 2007)

I feed a 16% sweet feed with oats and BOSS added. They are getting very little grain right now due to the fact that I am not milking but they have all the hay they can eat.


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## GregH (Oct 31, 2007)

I feed Southern States sweet goat feed. Could somebody explain what BOSS is? thanks


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## Sara (Oct 5, 2007)

BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. It's high in selenium, fiber and protein. Lots of people supplement or topdress with it. I use it as treats and a supplement.


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## GregH (Oct 31, 2007)

Thanks for explaining it. How much should be mixed with grain per goat?


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## PACE (Oct 8, 2007)

I'd say about a tablespoon through 1/4 cup per goat per feeding mixed with grain, depending on what you want it to do. If you have a skinny goat, it adds fat, or it helps keep condition and a shiney coat. I think they have quite a bit of calcium... or so it said on one lable.... so I wouldn't give wethers too much (though my three guys get it. A small handfull each twice a day)


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## Double Tree Farm (Nov 8, 2007)

I have heard good things about BOSS. Around our area, BOSS is one of the most expensive supplemental feed products. Thankfully our herd doesn't like them.


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## sunshineandtulip (Nov 6, 2007)

My goats didnt like them at first either but I started by just putting very few in their grain and with in the week they were eating them with out complaining. A $16/50lb bag last me about 2 months. I can tell a difference when I am out for a little while.


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## Sara (Oct 5, 2007)

Let me think. I'm pretty sure it's around 50$$ for a 50 lb bag. So I get the 25 and pay around... umm... oh ugh. I don't have my notebook with me


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## sunshineandtulip (Nov 6, 2007)

A DOLLAR A POUND??? Oh my I thought it had gotten to expensive here!!! Even though I still use it but at that price I would probably be looking at replacing with something else!!


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## Sara (Oct 5, 2007)

I mix grain, I use a complete feed Purina Show Goat, and Purina Goat Chow(the wet kind) but then I top dress with BOSS so I think they're getting fed pretty well. Everything costs around 13$ for a 50lb bag. Except obviously for the BOSS which I think is 14.50 for a 25 lbs bag.


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## Fainters (Oct 10, 2007)

*Alfa-Oat pellets*

I have had good results feeding alfa-oat pellets to my goats. I needed a feed that I could use for my horses and goats instead of buying different types of feed. I pay $8 a 50lb. bag. It is 12% protein and 4.5% fat. I have a friend that is a feed dealer and she gets this out of Bolivar TN.

http://www.freewebs.com/scapegoatranch/


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## sunshineandtulip (Nov 6, 2007)

I just found BOSS for 14.50/50lbs!! Hubby is picking up a bag for me this weekend!!


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## Nupine (Nov 13, 2007)

I feed a horse sweet feed. It is only 12% protein, but that is all my mom will buy. But the goats LOVE it! We tried goat feed once but my spoiled brats wouldn't touch it. Goats! They also get our grass hay from our field. They love that too. Sometimes I sneak a flake of our old horses's alfalfa, even tough I'm not supposed to. They are CRAZY for that. Our milker who is giving like a pint a day because she is almost dry gets 1.5 pounds a day. The two 5 month old doelings get .5 pounds each a day and the rest of the critters get 3 pounds total a day which includes 4 does who were bred less than a month ago, 2 mini donkey yearlings[who are for sale if anyone is interested], a wether, and 2 FAT sheep. That doesn't sound like much but they are all quite tubby.


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## mystic's_mom (Oct 5, 2007)

My goaties get "Honor Goat" feed. They also get some all stock feed, which is an oat, corn, and barley mix. I also toss a bit of Equine Merit Senior Feed, which is a complete feed. I mainly give the last feed because the hay they get is a bit coarser than they prefer, and rather than give them Alfalfa pellets (due to my bucky boy being in with them right now), I give them that instead. They get approx 9 cups of the mixture daily between the three of them.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

I feed Blue Seal. I mix Caprine Challenger with a Dairy Goat sweet feed, BOSS and Alfalfa pellets. Thay love it and every one is a good weight too.


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## PixieDustHollow (Oct 5, 2007)

I used to use Blue Seal Coarse 16%, but they didn't liked it. They would pick out the corn and oats and leave the pellets. Because of them wasting, we got some nasty furry pests. 
Once I switched to Dumor Mare and Foal 16% they ate everything! They even started to lick their bowls.
They also get Purina Goat Minerals and Dumor Beef Pasture minerals(alternated), timothy hay, and baking soda.
They also have four types of water- molasses, cherry koolaide, ACV and plain. All warm in the morning.


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## gotgoats (Nov 11, 2007)

I feed Purina Goat Chow. I have tried several other brands such as Honor and sweet feed, my fainters don't seem to care for them. I also top dress with BOSS. They have several acres of browse, and supplement with hay during the late fall thru winter. I also keep Sweetlix and baking soda available for them at all times. How many pounds/cups per goat do you feed? I was curious to see if I was under or overfeeding mine.


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## alyssa_romine (Oct 5, 2007)

the price for the BOSS is cheap at $14.50 a bag....here we pay $20 a bag. All of my goats get it daily. It has helped out so much with their coats. All of them are so shiny except one of my nasty boys....he pees everywhere and he stinks so he isn't shiny.


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## goatstafson (Nov 20, 2007)

I feed a lentil based feed. It is mainly lentils with green peas, barley, and a very few oats. I wish that it had a few more oats, but my girls do great on it. I pay 8 cents a pound now, it was 6 cents over the summer. The price is right and once my girls got past the sweet feed that they had been used to getting, the love it.

I really like that it doesn't have corn or molasses in it. Both of those seem to make my girls fat, without adding any significant nutrition.

What I hate, loading it myself. The guy that sell is buys 20 -40 tons at a time, so I have to take my own containers and fill them with a shovel. Doesn't seem like an issue until I am there trying to load with my 3 year old daughter and my 11 month old son in tow. For some reason both of them end up crying uncontrollably the whole time.


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