# chicken feed toxic to goats?



## ASTONs Dairy (Aug 14, 2012)

I know I saw a discussion about something in poultry feed that is toxic to goats. Someone please point me to the thread. What is in the feed that is toxic and how do you treat if your goats get into the feed and get sick?


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Just did some quick research and found this thread on backyard chickens:
click

basically it's about the calcium/phosphorus ratio being really out of whack and the amount of corn in it, apparently.


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## Jodi_berg (Oct 29, 2012)

It's not toxic i don't think, it's just that goats will go hog wild if they get access to it and are likely to bloat, I know my 12 week olds have to be penned when I'm even trying to get into the chick feed cause they want to go nuts if they even smell it, it's super high in calcium so not the right balance for goats, I knew a jerk who only feed his new goats chicken feed, who thinks those poor creatures are still alive?


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

you should have your goats up to date on their CD & T vaccinations and have C& D antitoxin on hand, along with baking Soda(anti gas medicine like mylanta, gas x, pepto-bismo, mineral oil, a tubing kit and a feeding/drenching syringe. Giving antibiotics orally and injected can also help, I prefer Procain G for this. 

They can bloat easily from chicken feed and develope overeating disease.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

Wow! I don't have chickens yet but I am planning on getting them eventually. Thanks for the warning. The goats are always trying to get in the building we currently store animal food in. Thankfully they have not learned how to remove metal trash can lids off of trash cans, but anything can happen. I do not want sick goats so thanks for the warning.


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## goatgirl132 (Oct 18, 2012)

Texas.girl said:


> The goats are always trying to get in the building we currently store animal food in. Thankfully they have not learned how to remove metal trash can lids off of trash cans, but anything can happen.


Ohhh I know what you mean! Mine got into the hay shed! 
Boy did they have fun with those 20 bales!


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

mine can get the lids off. I have seen many goats die from getting into chicken feed on these forums. Keep your feed locked away, and have emergency supplies available. 
Even if you goats are vaccinated you can have a break through of over eating disease and it kills in just hours. We lost a 6 month old doe, who was up to date on vaccinations to over eating disease this summer. And she didn't even get into anything. 
We beleive she had a heavey load of Coccidiosis, that flared up the over eating disease, She died in 8 hours from the time she started scouring(runny poop). I didn't see if coming and sadly I had the C&D antitoxin in the fridgerator. She is hard to catch and when I saw she had scours she seemed active, so I decided to wait until husband came home and helped, That afternoon she was bloat and dead by 2pm. I had been in the barn just a couple hours earlier to check on her. 

Now we catch them right away, and treat them. Probably had I caught her in the morning and took her temp, I would have gotten a high temp. on her and realized right away she was in trouble. 

Keep your goats out of the chicken feed. Have some medicine available and a thermometer and take their temps.


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## Arkie (Sep 25, 2012)

Why not simplify things by just feeding the chickens goat feed? Long as it's not medicated and they have access to grit?

Bob


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## rgdlljames (Sep 8, 2011)

My 5 year old buck lives in an enclosed area with our chickens as room mates. The chicken feed is kept in a building with a small opening for them to go in and out of....very small opening so I thought my boy couldn't get in ( 7" x 9"). Well, the stinker forced his way in and started eating thier feed. I happened to be walking by when I heard a comotion, looked in the hen house and there he was looking back at me like "What?" LOL I got him out and made the opening even smaller. Thankfully he didn't get sick! Should have seen him after I made the opening smaller....he kept trying to get back in but no success. He sighed and snorted defeat after about 10 minutes. LOL


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

top left is the serach field.
search on chicken scratch.
It's that the milo/corn will throw off the rumen/ph.

hth,


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

Because I'm worried about bugs, I keep my chicken, parrot, dog and goat grain inside my house in airtight containers on wheels. I just keep them in a closet out of the way. Each having it's own scoop. That might not work for people with lots of animals. I have 7 parrots, 3 goats, 14 chickens and 3 dogs. I'd rather keep it inside than have to toss it due to bugs.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Goat feed does not contain the correct balance of nutrients for chickens, so the chickens would suffer from deficiencies of certain nutrients. 

I was in the hospital and my son got the goat and layer feed mixed up. The chickens got the goat pellets and the goats got the layer pellets. The goats did fine, no problems. The chickens eggs production dropped and their egg shells got brittle and weak. However, the layer feed did not contain a lot of corn and zero milo, it had flax seed meal instead.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

rgdlljames said:


> My 5 year old buck lives in an enclosed area with our chickens as room mates. The chicken feed is kept in a building with a small opening for them to go in and out of....very small opening so I thought my boy couldn't get in ( 7" x 9"). Well, the stinker forced his way in and started eating thier feed. I happened to be walking by when I heard a comotion, looked in the hen house and there he was looking back at me like "What?" LOL I got him out and made the opening even smaller. Thankfully he didn't get sick! Should have seen him after I made the opening smaller....he kept trying to get back in but no success. He sighed and snorted defeat after about 10 minutes. LOL


I keep my animal food in metal garbage cans inside a make-shift cabin the previous owner built and lived in for awhile. Half the cabin is actually a camper. They used the camper and just enlarged the area. Well, the camper area makes a great kitty condo for my barn cats so I had a kitty door installed in the door to the cabin. Whenever I go into the cabin I quickly shut the door if the goats are loose as they really want to come inside and investigate. Well, it sure is funny to see a goat stick his/her nose through a cat door trying to see what is going on inside.


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## ASTONs Dairy (Aug 14, 2012)

My grand daughter likes to collect the eggs and sometimes she does it before I get home. She tends to forget to close the coop and the goats can get in there.The last time she forgot to close the coop I was or my goats were lucky there wasn't enough chicken feed in the coop to cause any serious problem. Just wanted to know so that I could be prepared just in case. Texas.girl they will learn how to get those lids off unless they are the screw on type. My doe loves to run in the feed shed when I am in there scooping feed and as soon as a turn my back she pops the lid off one of the barrels and tries to get into to it to eat.


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