# Feeding bucks large amounts of grain for show



## Maggie (Nov 5, 2010)

I had someone mention to me today that they are feeding their young show buck 6 pounds of grain a day. Is this normal?? All 6 of my bred does don't even get that amount together so I was a bit shocked.


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

For a show buck I would say it is probably normal. They feed those show bucks like crazy since you want the biggest, thickest, longest buck in that age group. When they are young they can vary so much in size for the first couple years. So the more grain the more they grow.


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## Burns Branch Boers (Apr 11, 2011)

I grain mine pretty heavy but I don't know that each consume 6 lbs a day! I would bet mine get 3 or 4lbs a day. However, most show people say not to feed hay. I won't do that, mine get hay 2x's a day and some chaffaye as well. 

They pretty much "free feed" I notice that they don't always eat all the grain in their feeders. So they learn to self regulate and only eat what they want (that way you don't have to worry about them overeating). I work mine up to this very slowly-over a period of several months.


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## Maggie (Nov 5, 2010)

How big are your boys that are getting that amount Burns Branch?


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## Dani-1995 (Mar 11, 2011)

Yep, thats completly normal. Like Roger said its all about having the biggest, best goat you can get. It not unheard of for them to feed does simalier for shows.


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## Maggie (Nov 5, 2010)

Okay, thank you! Good to know. I am just so used to feeding my animals smaller amounts, but they are pasture kept.


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

A goat will eat 3% of it's body weight. This means 3lbs of food daily for a 100lbs goat. 6lbs for a goat that is 200lbs. and so on. Now does that mean that the 6lbs should be all grain, in my opinion no. This is not a natural diet for a goat. Yes you may get a big thick goat but are you getting a big thick layer of fat? That is the true question. If so your goats organs are also covered in a thick layer of fat. In the end you have a show goat with a winning carrier that will live a very short life. Fat is gained on goat from the inside out so when you have fat outside you have fat inside. Now if this goat is all muscle then great, but you do need roughage as goats are in fact first and for most a grazer. So making the diet all grain is not natural at all and in the end causes damage. Now if the goat is more then 200lbs and there is more room for forage and roughage then great. Unfortunately this is one downfall to showing. People can and will use all the needs necessary to win. That does not always mean their goats are healthy and will love long lives though. This also is very depressing for a person who buys from a breeder and without realizing that to get one looking so impressive they have to do the extreme and them some. Hence breeders that win in the show can often get a reputation for not having the best purchases due to the fact that their offspring does not always uphold the parents without the excess. Hope that helps.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Good points John! :thumb:


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## Burns Branch Boers (Apr 11, 2011)

Yes, very good points! I tend to walk down the middle. I def. give my boys more grain than the girls but honestly I would say they get maybe 3lbs of grain a day--now that I am thinking about it. However, mine are not full grown bucks-they are under 1 year old. 

I would say mine are fairly big--I don't know if you remember those before an after pictures of titan I had posted earlier this year? He was on pasture w/hay and about 1lb of grain a day in the 1st pictures (in June) when I took him to the first show. I was "schooled" there by a nice show team for Don Smith Boers and so I brought him home, built a buck pen and began building him up to eat more grain. W/in 2 months he gained over 40lbs and easily doubled in size. 

I don't feel that he had much fat--I believe with the boers if you feed them what their bodies can use they will grow to the stature and muscle they genetically can be. Then you could always grain them more and more for fat--but I just like the "size" I don't want them super heavy and if I loose in the show ring because of that so be it. I show the bucks that I use as my herdsires-I will start showing Mojo this next year. So I want them healthy and to live long lives. I also turn my boys out to frolic and eat in the pasture at least 1 day a week.


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## Maggie (Nov 5, 2010)

Yes I remember Titan, and he definately was not fat in his after pics. I went out and actually weighed out 6 pounds of grain. Not as much as I was guessing. And found out I am feeding more than I thought I was lol. I had weighed my grain before to see how much a scoop weighed, but must have done so incorrectly!


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

Ooppsss...almost forgot with that much grain ammonium chloride is a must.


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## Burns Branch Boers (Apr 11, 2011)

I should weigh mine I guess, would let me know better. I think the restriction of the buck pen also has alot to do with the weight gain as well. 

However, my three now play "ring around the rosey" all day! I think they burn more calories than the does. I put some climbing toys in there and with the house structure my husband made they chase each other-lay in wait for one another and pounce! You name it they have a ball :laugh:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I was wondering about this. I know last year was my kids first 4-H experience and we had no idea how to grain the goats, and what they needed to look like, etc. I'm still not sure how much or when we should increase the grain on them. They showed young does, and they want to show young does again this year, so I guess creep feed to their hearts content as soon as they start eating grain?

My son has his heart set on showing our young buck. IMO he's too wide in the belly <looks pregnant most of the time LOL>, we don't give him a whole lot of grain but he seems to be growing well - we'll grain more when winter really hits. 
He was born at the beginning of April and was shown through the summer. So when exactly would giving him the upward near 6lbs a day be? My son wouldn't show him until about the 2nd or 3rd week in June.

My biggest issue is, trying to get the 'sunken in' look out of them. While our girls had some weight on them last summer, we just couldn't get them to look 'round.' It was very frustrating. We'd encourage them to drink water, hay, grain, etc. all day long and they'd still look sunken in. Of course the girls were percentages with some dairy in them so I don't know if that made any difference.


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

To be honest there was an article in the Goat Rancher on carcasses and they did better when pen fed then pasture. But I would not go on with it after showing unless the buck it to be slaughtered. I am sure it was last months issue!


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