# Diet



## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

My Nubian doe will be giving birth in the next month. right now she gets 1 cup of grain (was getting 2 but was getting too fat and I was afraid of babies getting to big as she will be a FF). a handful of alfalfa hay on that stand. All she can eat Brome Hay, Pasture and Browse.

Anyway all she gets on the stand is the one cup of grain and a handful of alfalfa. I am thinking I will change the alfalfa hay to pellets for easier feeding because she dumps most of the hay on the ground, and I can't feed the hay to her in the pasture because of the goats that don't need it. (wether)

So when she is actually milking, my question is what should I feed her? I was thinking 1 to 2 cups of grain (purina goat chow), and alfalfa pellets (how much???) and possibly some beet pulp (I already have this for my older horse) but how much?

Would 1 cup of grain, 1 cup of alfalfa, and one cup of beat pulp 2Xs daily be too much??? right now she is in excellent body condition. Not to fat, but more on the pudgy side than the skinny side. 

I am also curious about what that does with her milk. I know alfalfa is supposed to make the milk taste better, what will the beet pulp do if I give that to her?


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Not sure on a full size goat but amounts do sound correct. Just watch her condition and add as needed. 
Beet Pulp pellets should not affect the milk taste in any bad way.


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## NubianLover (Sep 19, 2010)

I have nubians and as far as pre-birth that is about what I fed mine. 

As to after kidding.... mine get 2 flakes of alfalfa each in the morning (and another 2 at night) plus free choice hay. On top of that they get 4 cups of Purina Goat Chow morning and night..... Mine are doing a decent job keeping up their production with triplets.... I don't milk until after kids are weaned, though. You may not need as much grain, but mine tend to put everything into their milk so this helps me keep their weights up.


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## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

OK, so if I NEED to up the grain a bit, then it shouldn't be too much. Good to know. :shades: On the alfalfa I would love to be giving her more, but I only have so much time to allow her to eat it at chore time. Hopefully next week the boys will be seperated out (we are building a new buck/boy pen) and I will be able to feed her more. She doesn't really seem to want that much of it though, she bawls for her grass hay, but no so much for her alfalfa . . . such a weido! the boys would MURDER each other for it lol!


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

I have a yearling that is 4 months pregnant. I feed about a cup and half grain topped with a little boss a day. She gets free access to alfalfa and pasture. My wethers also get alfalfa with 1 cup of grain no problems. Once they freshen slowly work them up to 2 cups 2x a day and by the time I am milking they are at 4 cups a milking. This is what I do and so far it works but I think the boys I am going to go to grass mix hay this year. I feed cobb as my grain topped with boss. They all have nice coats amd are healthy.


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi! I'm new to the board and to goats and have my very first goat, which is a Toggenburg (Truffles) who is pregnant. I am in the unfortunate position of not knowing when she is due. She is from a dairy herd that had to be sold because the previous owner had health issues. Anyway she has been with a billy since Dec. and I just brought her home a day or so ago.Her udder has easily doubled in size since I brought her home and to my eye she seems thin... I have been trying to read as many posts about feeding as possible and this one seems to have the most specific info with the amounts to feed as well as the brands. This may be her first freshen..I hope I'm getting my terminology correct (young doe with first baby?). So it will be a learning experience for me and for her. I am spending alot of time with her and she is a sweety. After only 2 days she let me touch her udder today and I've been running my hands over her to familiarize myself with her and to get her used to touch. Because she may be so close to kidding should I be teaching her about the milk stand..ie: teaching her to get on it and giving her a cup of feed etc. or is it too strenuos for her to be jumping up there on top of the home change and everything else? She was only getting hay and a little oat straw before, so I have been giving her hay and tomorrow will begin to introduce a pelleted goat feed very slowly..1/4 cup in the mrning and at night. I'll also be introducing minerals. I just want to make sure I don't stress her too much but still teach her and give her the best care...your opinions and ideas would be appreciated, thanks so much in advance!


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

Another question,lol! What is "Boss" and "cob"? :? are they supplements or a brand or some type of feed? I've seen them mentioned alot and tried to do a search but couldn't find what they actually are.


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## GingersMaMa (Aug 4, 2011)

Boss is black oil sunflower seed


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

Thanks Amanda! :hi5: I am going over this site like crazy and learning so much. I am just wondering if there is a page here that is like a dictionary of terminology? Sometimes it's hard to know what you're reading when things are reduced to letters or more "experienced" terms,  . I am a retired paramedic and my husband always used to ask me to explain things in laymans terms, now I guess I'm on his end of the stick, lol. :scratch: Thanks again for the black oil sunflower seeds Amanda!


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## GingersMaMa (Aug 4, 2011)

No prob ! :thumb:


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

Oh! I forgot to mention that I got Truffles some new feed today. Purina Goat Maximizer B16, Dairy goat Complete. I gave her half a cup tonight and she ate it right up and wanted more,lol! I was so tempted to give her more but I know that too much too fast isn't good. Will it be ok to give her half a cup 2x a day for ...3 days, and then increase to 1 cup and keep increasing to 1 1/2 cups twice daily? I noticed today that her belly is starting to look bigger and her coat is getting softer and shinier,  hopefully I can get a little bit more meat on her bones before the baby comes.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

I think u should be fine with those feed increases. She sounds like a really nice girl. I also have a Truffle but we call her Tru and she is 4 months pregnant. It sounds like your girl is getting really close if her udder is increasing that much. I love feeding boss to my goats, it makes their coats look so nice. Cobb is a mix of corn oats and barley.


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

Yeay!!! Thank you so much! Next trip to the feed store I will be trying to get some Boss for sure and if I can find quantities small enough , I'd like to mix my own cobb for her. I grow most of my own herbs and use alot of them for healthy maintenance of my family and our Rotty. Rocky gets a fall and spring "tea" that consists of thyme, sage and wild oregano. It cleasnes him of any parasites he may pick up and just gets his gut in order. I also give him ground fennel every day on his food (if you've ever had a Rotty the gas is ...well...not pleasant,LOL). I am wondering if there are common herbs that I can feed her for her coat and health? I grow quite a few different ones and just want to be careful because some can't be taken while expecting. Thanks again!!  I am loving this site and am soooo glad I found it!


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

Again with the forgetting, :scratch: , What kind of goat is your Tru? My girl is a togg and she and I are just learning together. I could have bought a more experienced girl but...well ,I just like to learn and she was in such a big herd and she just walked right up and nuzzled up to me. I think she had me pegged from the get go,"ah ha! here's the human for me! Little lovin and she'll be wrapped around my little overgrown hoofs :laugh: "! And of course she was right  . Wouldn't it be something if they were in the same place in their gestation, LOL !? BTW, I started trimming her hooves (that is what goat feet are called, right?) yesterday with a pair of wire snips and she just stood there, :leap: , I couldn't beleive it! But I wanted something better for the rest of the job so I also bought a special pair of snips that will go into my "just for goats" bag. I can hardly wait to get her looking so beautiful!!! Then the baby ( not necessarily in this order, onder: )and then bring home little Ovaltine (that is the LaMancha that is getting weaned and will be home is 2 weeks!!!). Oh My Gosh!! I'm sorry to go on so much, :lovey: . I'm even planning some of my garden for her this year already! Spinach, more chard then usual and just more stuff that will yeild trimmings for her and Ovaltine,lol. OOHHH, I think I'm hopeless, LOL!


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## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

LOL! I know exactly how you feel! I am so excited, my girl is due really soon and I am so excited and NERVOUS that everything goes right! 

From what I understand be careful not to feed to much grain while pregnant as it can make the babies grow too big for easy birthing. but you can feed alfalfa hay or pellets to help her gain weight too. My bottle babies right now are gobbling up the alfalfa hay and they are getting chunky! LOL! I was told that you really can't feed to much alfalfa hay to a preggy goat. Not sure about pellets. It also will make her milk taste good when milking 

don't be shy to ask your questions . . . that is how we all learn. I have had my doe since she was 10 days old and now she is almost due with her own, and I have learned (and continue to learn) so much!


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

Definitely ask away! I just went thru my second kidding and was still really nervous something was going to go wrong. It was different because she kidded standing up but otherwise it was a great kidding. She had triplets that weighed in at 8,7, & 11lbs. All of my goats are nubians. The next one that is due my Truffle or Tru is a FF and I am still nervous because I think she is having a single or twins. My girls that have kidded so far have been triplets and obviously good sized babies so I am praying that these are not too much for her. I have tried to make the grain amount smaller but I like to grain some because she is still growing herself. 

I have had goats coming up on two years now and I have learned alot here and by asking questions when the vets come out. They probably think I am questioning them but I am really questioning my knowledge. This year has been interesting trying to mix the new babies in with the herd. My other does weren't too happy about the new babies but they are coming around. Just very time consuming, but it also gives us time with the babies to make sure they are friendly.


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

I'm a little , well alot nervous :roll: of my Truffles' impending birth. She hasn't got a great big belly so I'm thinking 1 maybe 2 babies. I am also wondering if I should finish weaning my other new one here instead of letting them do it at the farm? If I pick up Ovaltine on Wed. she will only have a week and a half left ...I just thought it might be good for her and Truffles to meet before the baby comes, and then I can also wean her onto my feed instead of them weaning and then I pick her up and switch her to my feed? :shrug: When you mentioned introducing the new ones to the herd...I only have Truffles who is about 1 year old and an FF and Ovaltine will be the second and is only 3 months old...should I put them right in together, or introduce slowly... hmmm?


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## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

You will just have to see how they react to each other. I tried to to put my very gentle pregnant doe in with my new bottle babies thinking she would be a great babysitter goat. NOT SO MUCH. I have never seen her take an instant dislike to another animal until then. she is fine with the dog, she is fine with the cats, she is fine with the other goats, totally gentle and sweet . . . she was instantly a grumpy old woman when I put her in with the new babies . . . . they were only 3 weeks old at that point so I just left them together in a sperate pen without the older goats. (my other adult is a buck, and then I have a ND wether who is food aggressive). they are closing in on a couple months old this weekend so I might try again soon. I really wanted her to like them and "protect" them, but what we want is not always what they give us LOL! She surprised me with her grumpiness toward them, she seemed almost afraid of them.


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

Devin it could be her hormones and protective nature coming out. My doe that is going to kid here in May is acting much harsher with the babies than the one that won't kid til June. Although she is also the new mamas girl from last years kidding so there may be some jealousy as well. Yhe one that is kidding in June just nudges them away, that is understandable and good. Not the other one, she wants to press them into the ground. 

I would supervise visits or let them me thru a fence for a little bit. You want to especially be careful with the doe that is far along in her pregnancy to make sure she doesn't get overheated or headbutted in the belly. 

I grain during my pregnancies but keep it minimal. I do about a cup per feeding. Tru who I think is only having twins or a single I have been staying closer to 1/2-3/4 cup (I hope) a feeding. They don't need much but knock on wood I have had healthy babies. With both sets of triplets I have had one that can suck but doesn't seem to get the idea of sucking on the teat. So.. I milk out a little colostrum and use a needless syringe to get some in their bellies. It seems to help and I feel better that they are getting some colostrum right away.


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## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

I am sure you are right about the hormones :ROFL: poor thing is groaning regularly these days and she is laying around a lot more. she is due soon. First possible date is only a week away. we are not completely sure she took the first time though.


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

So some of you have probably read my other thread about the fact that Truffles is not pregnant but has already had a baby at the farm...Well she is a trooper on the milk stand ! Once I found out that she had already kidded we got her milking and she is just a champ,  . There was about a week and a half were she wasn't milked (hence the udder getting so big,  )I get about a pint with my first milking in the morning and then was told to milk her at noon and night to bring her production up. At the other milkings she gives from 1/2 to 3/4 cup. So she is producing between 3 to 3 1/2 cups a day, which I hope will increase. But her appetite is through the roof! She is getting 1 1/2 cups of the dairy pellets x2/day and all the grass hay she wants...but she is practically climbing out of the pen for more of everything :shocked: . I'm going to look for alfalfa pellets today and put some with her dairy ration...I'm just not sure how much is too much? Is her appetite huge because she is producing more milk or is it that she never had pellets before and is just making a pig of herself,lol !?


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## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

LOL! I hope someone can help you with that . . . I don't know. I just recently added 1 cup of alfalfa pellets to my doe's diet.


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## ovaltine (Apr 15, 2012)

I think I have a jealous goat! LOL! She just wants all of the attention for herself, what a little diva! :angelgoat:


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