# fattening up goats for the fair



## chloes (Feb 14, 2014)

I have some different breeds of goats that i need to fatten for the fair. I'm not realy looking to build any mussel but they just need a little fat on them. First of all, what are some things that will get them fat quickly and inexpensively? second, will I see a difference after a month of feeding them it? 
Here are some of the things that I have researched and herd that they work: :type:
Flax meal
BOSS (black sunflower seeds)
Calf mana
Corn
Purina feed

Which one works best? Works the fastest? And is cheapest? Will any of them make a change in a month's time? Any other suggestions for fattening besides the ones I listed?
Please tell me your thoughts on this.
Thanks


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I use either Omegatin (by Kent) or rice bran meal top dressed on their feed.

My personal opinion after using them:

Flax meal is very expensive, at least in my area. Linseed meal is cheaper and made from Flax, but it has had the fat taken out. Some places will try to sell you linseed meal in place of Flax. Don't fall for it!

I never had BOSS do much for their weight but it sure gives them a nice coat!

Corn can bring on a lot of digestive issues, including founder and acidosis if given in large amounts.

Purina feed isn't much different than any commercial feed. A meat goat grower pellet usually has around 5% fat, which is about the highest fat amount you should give you goats. You might be able to find a similar feed in your area that is not as expensive. If you can't find a meat goat grower feed, some of the horse feeds for performance or older horses has a high fat %. 

I have never used Calf Manna for weight gain, when I use it, it's for the protein content, so I don't really have an opinion.

Just be careful giving fat to help gain weight. You don't want to go much over 5% total fat in the diet or you can kill the bacteria in the gut that help to digest the food.

Are these does, bucks or wethers? How long will you be feeding them before fair? Will they be going for meat afterwards?

The reason I ask- some of the above mentioned things you listed are high in phosphorus and low in calcium and can cause UC. Meat goat grower usually contains Ammonium chloride to prevent that. If they are males and will be on the feed for more than a month or so, I would use a grower feed with AC or add AC to their minerals or feed.


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## chloes (Feb 14, 2014)

what is omegatin? They are all does. none are going to meat, and i have exactly a month befor the fair. using the omegatin and rice bran, will I see results before the fair?


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## chloes (Feb 14, 2014)

so i called big r and the protine on the rice bran is 13% and fat is 20% iss that too much fat? like Lottsagoats said i don't want to kill the bacteria in their stomachs. what if I only gave my goats a little bran. The rest of their diet is field grass and weeds.(they are fre ranged). would it be ok to Add a little alfalfa to their rice bran and feild grass? Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!

PS 
how about beet pulp?


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Ok, Omegatin is a horse supplement pellet. Smells really good and my goats love it. Its $30.00 for 40 pounds. 

When I feed the rice bran meal, I top dress it on their grain. They get a scoop a day, which works out to about 2 ounces or so. When I first started feeding it, I figured out the total fat (including all their other feeds into the equasion) and it was within limits. 

I do not feed both the Omegatin and the rice bran at the same time, I use one or the other.

If I were you, I would just start feeding them a commercial meat goat grower instead of the supplements. That will give them a nice bloom and put on weight. Yup, adding alfalfa would be good. Dry hay would add bulk, and size, to their rumen, so either alfalfa or grass hay in addition to the browse might be a good idea too. Beet pulp is a fairly high calorie feed. I give it to my milkers soaked and mixed with their pelleted feed.

When I add the Omegatin to my milkers grain, I notice weight gain in about a week. I give them a greek yogurt single serve container of the pellet once a day with their feed pellets. Depending on how much weight you need to have them add, you could probably safely do it in a months time, just don't suddenly start adding things, do it slowly.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Rice Brain Oil IMO is great! It will make them look nice and shiny and should help them gain weight.
We used it spring of last year to put weight on 2 does that my kids were showing in 4-H, 1 had just weaned a kid, the other just needed cover over her hips. They loved the oil, which made it even better - easy to feed!
Our young does are super picky about change in their diet. I tried the Dumar Weight Booster from TSC, and it worked well, but they wouldn't eat it unless I mixed it in with a little cracked corn and canola oil. They wouldn't eat it in their pelleted feed and wouldn't touch it without the oil, stinkers lol


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