# What grain do you use?



## winky (Jun 19, 2011)

I just picked one of my does up from 30 days at Buck Camp and the buck owner (who has a fairly large dairy herd) told me they have been using an all stock grain with just 8% protein. They chose this particular grain because it has 4 simple and not overly processed ingredients (rolled barley, corn, oats and cane molasses) and a preservative. I've been using Purina Noble Goat Dairy Parlor 16 and it's got a huge list of ingredients and most of the grains are highly processed. Sure it also has lots of extra vitamins and minerals but I'm providing loose minerals, copper and BoSE in addition to the grain anyway. The all breed grain above looks a lot healthier and it cost less too. I also feed alfalfa so I'm giving them lots of protein. Apparently the corn does not make the milk taste bad since she is selling the milk. I'm not sure my does will eat it but one of them won't even eat the Purina grain unless I sprinkle a bit of oats on it. What do you think?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I don't know. I usually just go with a brand name goat feed like Purina. A goat specific grain is usually going to be better for your goats than an all stock grain since it's designed specifically for goats. I personally would stick with the Purina stuff, but if you want give the other stuff a try and see how it goes then go for it. :shrug:


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

We feed Purina Goat Chow to our pregnant/milking does but all the rest get 12% horse grain. It's cheap and they all seem to do good on it.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

We have a brand call Dunmore, here. It's 16% protein and I use the sweet version, just because it looks so good. lol. It's about $15/50lbs. I use the All Stock brand too, they have 10% and 12% here. It's about $10/50lbs. for the 12%. I bought the Purina Noble Goat when they were out of the Dunmore once...mine wouldn't eat it at all. 

So, I use the Dunmore when the goats are milking. The All Stock for the youngsters and during pregnancy.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Dumor from TSC its a purina brand. I get the pellet

I always say try it and see if it works - milk production is half genetics and half the feed in my opinion. 

I like a higher protein for the milk production. Also it doesnt have any copper in it so make sure you are ready with copper boluses if necessary


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## Jessaba (May 13, 2010)

we use dumor too


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I get my feed custom made at a feed mill. It has corn and an easy keeper pellet made for horses. The pellet is 32%, but with the corn it comes out to about 20%. The goats do very well on it and I don't have to feed a lot since it is higher protein. Our goat milk tastes great, so not sure about corn making it taste bad...


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

I use non medicated Purina Goat Chow 16% with 20% BOSS on dry, pregnant and growing goats. The milking does get a mixture of 60% Nobel Goat Dairy Parlor 18%, 20% Purina Goat Chow 16% and 20% BOSS. How ever I might be changing it soon so that everyone is on a custom milled 15% grain. We will see if its any good.


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

I mix my own for a 16% to 18% protein.

Its made up of:
50 lbs. whole oats
50 lbs. rolled barley
4 lbs. linseed meal
1 lb. salt/kelp meal
Enough molasses to bind it all together

I've been experimenting with BOSS in there, and taking out the linseed, but the above recipe is my old, trusty standby. 

My goats do really well on this (from kids, to preggo does, to lactating does), and it's cheaper than buying brand name feeds.


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## apachedowns (Mar 14, 2010)

My girls are fat in the beginning of the breeding season (this helps me to produce multiples)!!!! LOL and I use purina (goat chow) sweet feed mixed with steam crimmed oats and BOSS mixed in and they only get grass mix hay till about 2-3 weeks before delivery and then I work in alfalfa hay...they do very well on that and they are not to heavy/not to thin...just right for delivery. by the time they deliver they are mostly on alfalfa hay and seems to keep thier weight, produce large amounts of milk, and are very healthy


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Mine have thrived on Blue Seal Caprine Challenger...it's a 16% sweet/textured feed that my local Tractor Supply carries, to a 50lb sack, I mix in 5lbs of BOSS and also add Calf Manna to it when kids start to eat it. I feed this mix to my preggers, milkers , buck in winter, wether gets enough to make him feel "special" and dry/unbred does get a bit as a treat on occassion.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

My girls are on BlueSeal Preimium(sp?) Dairy Goat Pellet, BlueSeal Sunshine Plus, BOSS, and alfalfa pellets. We were also using the BlueSeal C. Challenger, and liked it, but this summer we had a problem with grain mites and had to feed it to the pigs..... so we may get more when kidding season comes and just not use it through the summer :shrug:


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## winky (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks for your replies. Looks like there are a lot of very well fed goats out there. After talking to the feed store I have learned that the price on the all stock I mentioned earlier is about the same as what I'm paying for Purina Noble goat and it won't keep well in the summer. So it won't save me any money and the risk of spoilage scares me. I still want to feed a less processed feed. I wonder if I could get away with just feeding one flake of alfalfa/day, free feed grass hay, continue to offer loose minerals, copper boluses, baking soda and BoSE injections. Then just fed plain old oats at milking if this would meet their dietary needs without all the soy and other grains I don't like? Right now it would appear that I'm giving them way more protein than they need and maybe that's why they're wasting so much alfalfa :shrug:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I do think that part of being a goat owner is knowing how to feed each individual herd and be able to control costs without compromising the nutrition and that will be different for each of us, and really the only way to know if our goats will do well with what we choose will be to try it and see. Winky...I think that any herd will do well as long as they have the quality browse/forage nutrition as well as the minerals they would require for your area, milk does do need a bit more as far as quality and quantity to produce so that area may need some tweaking as you see the need. You may even be able to feed your milkers alfalfa pellets with the oats on the stand to help with the protein and calcium intake....and still keep the alfalfa hay waste to a minimum.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I like the Noble goat you are using but remember if you plan to milk those does for your consumption it is medicated so you would have to switch at that point. I use the Noble or Dumor and mix in whole oats, BOSS, Alfalfa pellets and beet pulp pellets. My goats do well on it.


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## winky (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks Liz. I see your point about it needing to be an individual thing. I have definitely noticed much less waste when I feed alfalfa pellets. I'll try it and see how it works for my little herd. I'm less concerned about saving money than I am about feeding my goats a healthy diet that isn't overly precessed. 

Freedomstarfarm, What do you mean Noble Goat dairy is medicated? :shocked: How could it be medicated? It's meant for lactating goats. I just checked the label and I don't see any reference to it being medicated. :chin:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Purina makes 2 different "Noble Goat" feeds...one is a dairy ration and the other is a medicated "grower" that contains a coccidistat...I know that my local Tractor Supply carries both types.


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## winky (Jun 19, 2011)

Yikes! That could get confusing. I hope they at least put them in different colored bags. I'll be sure to check the label on the bottom of each bag just in case. I don't mind a little medication in my milk now and then but I sure don't want to give that to my grand kids. Thanks for clarifying Liz.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

if its Ruminsen (sp?) its safe for human consumption


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Well it says _Medicated Options: Rumensin or
Decoquinate (depending on plant)_ So check to be sure which medication if the grower (medicated type is the one you are using)
http://goat.purinamills.com/OURPRODUCTS/PRODUCTS/NobleGoatGrower16/default.aspx


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## BoringGoat (Jul 27, 2011)

I was feeding Noble Goat, but I switched to Producers Pride 12% horse feed. It is $5 cheaper per bag at my store and it was very similar in nutrients. The biggest difference is the 12% vs 16% protein. Otherwise, it was only a small difference in the calcium and vit A levels. I feed two types of minerals (one on top of the grain and one as a free choice block), so I didn't see a big deal with the differences.


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## LoneStarChic (Jan 19, 2012)

I've noticed goat feeding is a very diverse topic. I get weird looks for what I feed but I'll share anyways.

My milking girls get a mix that is 1/2 whole oats, 1/2 Purina Strategy Healthy Edge (yellow bag). This horse feed is high fat, high forage & higher calcium than some of the goat pellets I've tried. The protein is lower, 12.5% & I love this feed!! I got a bunch of beet pulp shreds free, so I add 1/2 cup of BP & top dress with a lil rice bran pellets (used to use BOSS, but the rice bran is higher fat, higher vit e & cheaper than BOSS)

Alfalfa pellets, coastal/sudan hay, & Cargill Right Now Onyx are also fed.

My Alpine doe, who was kind of a poor keeper on the 16% Dairy Parlor really shocked me on this feed. She milked 14lbs, during our awful west Texas drought (temps stayed over 103° for weeks!) and was eating no more than 2lbs of grain per day, PLUS she actually gained weight despite milking heavy in awful heat & she shines like a new penny. So even though the feed store guy thinks I'm weird, I'm thrilled  Been on this for almost 8 months & of all the feed concoctions I've tried, this by far has impressed me most.

Growing kids & bucks get N-Timidator Meat goat pellets (the bucks don't get much) & I switch young does to my milk stand mix during the last 2 months of pregnancy.


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

I was feeding the Noble goat 16% all last year and my doelings loved it and did great on it. Last month I switched them over to the Kent 18% milking goat from a local elevator. Its a little cheaper than the purina (about $11 per 50 lb bag) and its unmedicated since they will be kidding in a month and a half.


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## ettasmama (Jun 27, 2010)

We try to avoid processed foods for us and our animals. We try to support local. If I had to I would buy a mix but they don't seem to need it. My goats get a mix of whole oats, corn, field peas, BOSS, wheat berries. They get really nice alfalfa. And get minerals and kelp free choice. Their coats are so soft, shiny and healthy. I have done no analysis on it but they seem to do well on it. If someone wanted to help me figure it out I'd be grateful.


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## realfarmgirl (Feb 26, 2011)

I've used a variety of the mixes mentioned, including Noble Goat, Purina Goat Chow, Dumor Goat Sweet Feed, Blue Seal Caprine Challenger, Blue Seal Dairy pellet, Blue Seal Meat Goat Finisher/grower, and also, Blue Seal Medicated Calf Feed (one of the doelings I bought was on this feed).

My goats seem to prefer the Caprine Challenger. I tried adding "Goat Balancer" for my one doe last summer, because she was just too thin, but I didn't find this to be helpful at all. I tried adding beets to her diet, but after the initial wolfing, she turned her nose up at them. Now I am adding oats, so hopefully this will help. 

I use the Meat Goat starter/finisher for the kids, and then switch to the dairy pellet until the does are about to be bred. Then I switch to Challenger, but back off until about 2 months before kidding.

What is BOSS?


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## Petersfamilyfarms (Jan 15, 2012)

Our concoction is a lot like goat song's... mostly oats and a bit of alfalfa is the base, that we grow and harvest ourselves.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Why do so many of you Beet Pulp? It's just a filler...no nutritional value and so it just costs you money. I looked into it for my all purpose feed and chose not to feed it for that reason. Just curious. 

Also, those of you feeding medicated feed with Rumensin, if you have horses make sure they don't get it cause it is suppose to be deadly to them. (I say suppose to be cause I had 4 horses get fed it once and they all survived it with no problem)

From past experience a diet of corn and alfalfa will give the milk a funny taste. Milk tastes like what you feed. Feed your goat some garlic and see what your milk tastes like!! Last year, the best milk I had was from letting my goat forage and then giving her 12% horse sweet feed (cause it's cheaper than all stock sweet feed) on the milking stand.


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## LoneStarChic (Jan 19, 2012)

kccjer said:


> Why do so many of you Beet Pulp? It's just a filler...no nutritional value and so it just costs you money. I looked into it for my all purpose feed and chose not to feed it for that reason. Just curious.
> 
> Also, those of you feeding medicated feed with Rumensin, if you have horses make sure they don't get it cause it is suppose to be deadly to them. (I say suppose to be cause I had 4 horses get fed it once and they all survived it with no problem)
> 
> From past experience a diet of corn and alfalfa will give the milk a funny taste. Milk tastes like what you feed. Feed your goat some garlic and see what your milk tastes like!! Last year, the best milk I had was from letting my goat forage and then giving her 12% horse sweet feed (cause it's cheaper than all stock sweet feed) on the milking stand.


Beet pulp is good stuff....read here:

http://shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

My vet says it digest more like roughage, but has the calories more similar to grain. Works great for keeping the weight on my heavy milkers. And they love it


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## .:Linz:. (Aug 25, 2011)

At the moment we're feeding Blue Seal Caprine Challenger, but on Saturday we get our first delivery of the same mix they were being fed on the farm we bought them from - we just found out that though they are in York, they will deliver to us for an extra 6 bucks. I'm not entirely sure what's in the mix - oats, field peas, and molasses I know, maybe some corn, not sure what else. It's all organic, and even with the delivery fee it's going to be less than what we are currently paying for the Blue Seal. But most everyone I talked to said that if you were going to go with a pelleted feed, Blue Seal was one of the best.


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