# Goat Feed. Cost? Mix your own? How much protein?



## wickedzoot (Feb 20, 2012)

I was trying to do up maths (I'm not good with math, but I'm neurotic/OCD) to determine monthly upkeep costs.
Do you think it's more feasible to mix your own grain, or buy premixed? Obviously you have more control when mixing your own, but cost-wise, is it smarter to buy premixed?
I've been reading contradicting information on various sites as well. One site says protein in feed should be at 16%, and another said between 12-14% for dairy goats. 
The contradiction makes the maths for my future recipes difficult. Should I be aiming lower or higher for protein? 

Also, I heard (from a clip on youtube, haha) that male goats cant have grains... This blew my mind. The guy claimed that grains would cause crystallization of something (maybe I should have paid closer attention to verbiage), that could be fatal. My brain registered his claim as kidney stones. Is that true? If so, what do you feed instead??


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## wickedzoot (Feb 20, 2012)

Husband helped me with the maths (ouch).
Of course, I'm assuming bucks DO eat grains. Because I cant figure out how they would survive otherwise. I have to assume the video I saw, that the guy was inaccurate, or I misheard.

So with the numbers I read on another site, one buck eats 1-3 cups of grain per day. We called this 1lbs average. Same as does (dry), and pregnant does (though they're on the higher end). Does in milk, however, apparently need to eat 2-3lbs per day in grain. Makes sense, as I know I burn 3-500 calories a day just makin' milk for my bratty kid (human...baby.. haha).

Assuming the average 50 lbs sack of premixed feed costs around $20.
A buck, or a dry doe will eat about $0.40 per day in premixed.
A doe in milk will eat $0.80-1.20 per day in premix.

DIY will cost more upfront, obviously. But pound per pound is what matters.
Depending on your mix (I configured a recipe that was at 15.7% protein), a buck or dry/pregnant would eat about $0.29 per day.
A doe in milk, $0.58-0.87 per day on DIY mix. Likely cheaper, actually, as I rounded up costs, and my mix is more expensive stuff. Like linseed meal.

So if you have the minimum heads to feed, 2 bucks a 2 does (more expensive end, in milk),
it's $2.40 per day VS $1.74 per day. You'd be saving .66/day DIY, that's $240.90 annually. :O
For 500lbs (about 2 months worth, [assuming 2 bucks, 2 does in milk]) premix will cost you $200, vs around $146, depending on your area and your mix.

Now, I'm gonna go throw back some Advil for my "Thinking-Too-Hard" ache. 

But what's the preferred method? Anyone know what their costs are (if it's not too nosey)?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The important thing for bucks is to make sure their entire food intake (hay, grain, browse) is at least 2:1 calcium / phosphorus. I do feed my bucks grain. I find they need it, especially in rut and after rut. My grain also includes ammonium chloride which helps prevent UC too.

I feed ADM products so I won't be much help with mixing feeds. It is easier for me just to buy the bagged feed and I know the proper stuff is in it for the goats.

Mineral is very critical for goats. Make sure you have a good loose goat mineral out as well. The listed minerals should have sulfate or chelate at the end of them. You want to see as few oxides as possible.


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## wickedzoot (Feb 20, 2012)

Thanks for clearing that up for me!
This nutrition business is way complicated.. I can COMPLETELY understand getting premix right now. I've honestly been crunching numbers all day trying to find a good mix of foods. Fortunately, the money side of the math will stay around the same figure (likely cheaper, really). It's just finding the right balance that's mind-numbing. This part is high in protein, but also high in phosphorus, and low in calcium. So one number is too high, another too low.
Arg.
It's a good thing I don't have goats yet!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

We buy feed premixed from the feed mill for $8.00 50lb. bag for goats, it's 15% medicated sweet feed. We have boer & boer mix.
We don't have much land for pasturing, so we supplement with grass and clover hays, and the girls get 1lb of grain, buck gets a little over 2lbs a day. Nursing does around 2lbs a day.
Everyone in this area recommends the grain from the feed mill, never had any problems with it, especially with bucks. 

We thought about mixing our own grain, but at least here I know you have to buy large quantities in order to make it worth while on your finances. Feed store recommended that we not store any feed longer than 4 weeks at a time.
I haven't looked much further into mixing our own, I've thought about it several times, but I am lousy with trying to figure out how much of each thing they need, etc. One day I might look into it and see if it's going to cost way too much extra or not.

Instead, I supplement the does with alfalfa pellets, and I've been meaning to add BOSS back into their feed as well.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

I'm probably going to be hated for this soon, but I dont fed grain at all. Goats are ruminants and were designed for browse. It's not that grain isn't good for them, it's that they can do just as well on a grain free diet. It cut my feeding costs by a ton not having to buy both grain and hay. I fed a mix of alfalfa and a timothy/oat mix to keep a rough balance, plus a mineral. I spend about $100 per month on hay, just for acost idea.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I'll join you being hated. I also feed almost no grain. I say almost because my milkers do get 1/2 lb of mixed rolled oats and rolled barley on the milkstand. Nobody else gets any grain at all. They get Alfalfa pellets, mixed grass hay, and a small amount of beet pulp plus minerals. Really they keep their weight better, get sick less, and live longer without the grain feeding. The girls milk well and I haven't had a congested udder since starting this way of feeding.


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## wickedzoot (Feb 20, 2012)

No grains? Do your goats go out to pasture a lot?
What if you're raising goats for meat or for dairy, would they require boosted fat/protein in their diets?


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Mine are actually kept on a thick grass lot thats about 1/4 acre. They usually have plenty of trees and browse for most of the year, and I off-set what they dont get with hay year round, usually alfalfafor the added protein and calcium. 

In april they will have been grain free for a year, and I haven't changed how they are fed once. Both does are due any day, and they have been doing great. I also haven't wormed them since april, we haven't had scours or weight problems, and they appear much healthier in general. They will have access to a much larger pasture this summer, so I can see how much of a difference that will make.


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## klingshirnm (Mar 3, 2011)

We also don't feed everyone grain. The only ones getting grain are the new kids bucks and milkers. They get as much feed asking they milk, 1# to every 2 to 3#'s of milk. Bucks mainly get grain before, during, and for a little after breeding season depending on body condition. The grain we feed is a homemade blend mixed on farm. Costs like 22 cents a pound. Don't remember the nutrients of it though. It has worked great actually our dry yearlings are a little fat. They get a second cut alfalfa, the kids get a second cut grass, the milkers get a fourth cut alfalfa, and the bucks get the same second cut alfalfa the yearlings get but has a lot of stems. So, for everyone you talk to you will get a different answer.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Most will agree though that the best hay/alfalfa/forage you can find/afford is the base of the diet. It's when people think that feeding grain/goat ration makes up for poor quality hay/alfalfa/forage that the start running into trouble.


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