# Pelleted or textured?



## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

Our feed store just got Nutrena textured goat feed and it got me thinking....What do ya'll prefer for your dairy goats? Do you think one is better then the other? There is a cost difference but is their a benefit to feeding textured feed? I see only slight difference in nutrition but is it worth changing and paying extra money?


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## Breezy-Trail (Sep 16, 2011)

Mine prefer textured. Some will eat the pellets but it seems to get old fast.
I go with a cheaper feed from a local feed mill as agway feed is now $14 a bag for 16% tex.
I buy 14% sweet horse feed which is tex. and is less than $10 a bag and I sometimes mix in some 16% feed with it.
So I think all in all it is about a 15% feed. The horse feed has a lot of the same stuff as the dairy goat and is cheaper. I found this out from the breeder I got the Alpines from. She feeds about 18 milking does in the spring 2-4 pounds each....so that is a LOT of grain in one day and $14 grain would be way too much money.


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

I'll have 5 milking does this spring and they all eat the pelleted just fine and it's 16% protein $13 a bag.Compared to the textured almost $15 a bag and it's 17% protein.I use to buy textured when we first started out with goats..then I started mixing it with pelleted and now just do plain pelleted.Our milk production didn't change so I'm not seeing the benefit of textured so far :shrug:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I feed textured...tried the straight pellets once and my goats would not touch them, I ended up mixing the 2 types together and just stuck with the textured. I get Blue Seal at $15 per 50 and while I have pregnant does, and only feed them a set amouint as well as my boys during rut/winter...that 50lbs lasts my herd of 8 almost 2 months. After my does freshen and the kids start eating it is when I go through it quicker.


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