# But what do you use for creep feed?



## Gertie (Sep 2, 2012)

Heard lots of stories on how you creep feed but what do you use for creep feed for the babies?


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## goatgirlzCA (Mar 9, 2011)

I use a goat feed. Usually, I give momma the grain and hay, and babies pick it up quick. The creep feeder to me is a place they can fit that big goats can't so they can eat enough grain to grow. IMO


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## Gertie (Sep 2, 2012)

goatgirlzCA, thank you. I put my Momma's regular feed in a black feeder on the floor tonight and the babies took right to it! YEAH! I think this is going to go well. I was a little worried about them choking on the pellets and alfalfa pellets but thank God that didn't happen.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I also have grain in mine, but with the 'big kid' creep feed area there is alfalfa hay in it as well since they are going to be sold soon and the moms to the larger ones are going back to oat hay. I love having a creep feed area for the kids, they grow so much better, and when its time to wean they are not nursing on mom so much so the does bag doesnt get so big when you take the kids away.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

We've always had a sweet feed with our goats/babies, but switched to pelleted feed last summer, so this is our first year feeding pelleted feed to the kids. Our kids range from 6 weeks to 2 weeks old. The youngest set of triplets are the only ones not eating/trying grain yet. I think they will do fine on the pellets.

We use pallets for everything. I like them because I can tie them together and make temporary set ups, then when I want to change it, I can do it without hammers or nails 

We have a creep area for the kids about 5'x7'. It's at the front of the sleeping area next to the barn. 
It's that doorway on the right side of the barn. 









We have a pallet in front of the doorway with a board removed, and 'rigged' so that the big goats can't get in. Then on the opposite side, there is another pallet just like it, so the kids can go in/out on either side.
They LOVE it. They love to go in there and play, sleep, eat hay, pick at the grain, etc. The only thing I can't keep in there is water, they keep dumping it so they can play with the bucket lol

Front:


















It's been too cold to spend too much time on it, but now that I know the 2x4 running vertically on the bottom works <to keep the big goats out>, I'll nail it, and remove the annoying looking twine ropes LOL But it works good, later when I no longer need it I can just remove it and open it up or do whatever I need to do 

Here's the pallet on the other side:









Again, nothing fancy, but it works


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

I'm totally stealing your layout!! AWESOME idea!!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Im gonna use the pallet idea, its so hard to belive that the 'teenage' kids can some how pop their bones out of place and get threw small holes lol. My kids never eat any pellets, I got goat chow which has the pellets in it and they pick threw and leave it behind, which darn it I have to pay less money and buy the sweet feed lol. Also I was having issues with the dumping water out as well but then got a tub thing that hangs on the fence and seems to be working for now. Its nice since I was chasing around 30 kids trying to give them corid and it was just not working, they are fast lol. But now I can hang the does water on the fence up high so the kids cant get to it then put the corid water in the creep feed area and they have to drink it.


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## Gertie (Sep 2, 2012)

Wow HoosierShadow, what an awesome set up. Thank you so much for the pictures! I'm going to do that. I think I'm going to have to go with the sweet feed too Jess. It's all certainly coming together.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

we use the same pelleted feed we are feeding the entire herd. It is normally a 16 to 17 % protein, 3.5 to 4.5% fat, medicated for coccidiosis with Rumensin or Monensin, and had ammonia chloride in it.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks everyone! I didn't want anything permanent, so the pallets work great. The kids LOVE it! So far it's worked out great! We have 9 kids from 5 1/2 weeks down to 2 1/2 weeks. Everyone is eating or starting to eat grain, not much yet, but they go through about a cup in 24 hours.
6 of the kids <2 sets of triplets> are stalled at night with their mom's, so when we put grain in the stall for mom, we put the babies in first and let them nibble.
They have their own hay feeder w/alfalfa so they love having their own hay.

Tonight, before I came in, I saw that the 3 babies who aren't stalled were sleeping in their creep area vs. sleeping with their mom's lol 
I may have to make that area a little bigger, and add another feeder as they grow. Right now I just have a black goat feed trough from TSC.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Yeah I dont know what it is they will not eat the pellets, I have tryed every type of goat feed. I really like calf manna but even if I put a small handful in their feed they will still pick around it. If I smash it with a hammer they will eat it, but right now they are going threw about 40lbs a day of the sweet feed so there is no way I can smash that much lol, but they all seem to gaining very well so Im not to stressed about it.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Wow 40lbs a day? How many are you feeding? lol


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

we will go through 40 to 50 lbs of creep feed before we wean everyone. I figure each kid will be eating about 1 1/2 lbs a day before they are weaned. Some a little more, some a little less. All our kids aren't born at the same time, but last year we had 35 kids with in a month of age of each other.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I actually just counted today 41 lol and thats a guess of 40lbs but i sill have some left out of the 65lb bag at the end of the day. I am really looking forward to selling some lol.


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