# feeding I might be doing it wrong?



## lonnie (Jul 17, 2013)

Hi, I have 5 goats the boys are Neb. dwarf and my 2 girls are pygmy/ fainters. Any how I feed them goat chow they have been on it since I got them in may. They are going through a 50lbs bag in a 3 sometime pushing 4 week period. They get a sq bale of good hay every 4 days. Are they getting enough or to much? I am so confused... They act like they are starving at feeding time. Someone help me....:thinking:


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## 3billgoats (Jan 10, 2014)

Goats can eat 3 to 5% of body weight in dry matter per day. If hay is always present they will eat all day. Remember that goats can get a disease from eating too much. And of course it is called over eating disease. 

But they will pick three their hay, so feed them hay two times a day, only what they can eat in 15 minutes. Reduce waste and lowers cost. 

Mixed feeds are 1 to 2 cups morning feeding only. Little more for does getting ready to kid or lactating. 

They need less protein per day than cows and sheep. They prefer to graze. So they do not need 5 lbs per day feed and the highest quality hay on the market.

Bill


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## lonnie (Jul 17, 2013)

so you are saying like 5 to 10 cups a day in the morning.?
Since I have 5??? They will freak out on me...LOL


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## Rhandi74 (Dec 6, 2013)

I feed my does 1/4 cup of grain mixed with Boss and alfalfa pellets 2 times a day when not lactating and they get free choice hay, minerals, and baking soda. They are pygmy/ ND mixes and one pygmy doe. Mine always act like they want more, if I gave them free choice grain I have no doubt they would eat themselves to death. I believe this is very common in goats. I do not feel bad because they have as much hay as they want and pasture.


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## 3billgoats (Jan 10, 2014)

I use mixed feed that I have made at the local feed and seed store. It has all supplements and minerals already added. I have one mix for kids and another mix for adults. 

1/4 cup is better then 2 cups. If 2 cups for does 1 in morning and 1 in evening. To much protein in bucks will increase testosterone production, thus agression.

But in Wethers that means more meat production. 

Use different feeding for milk production


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

lonnie said:


> Hi, I have 5 goats the boys are Neb. dwarf and my 2 girls are pygmy/ fainters. Any how I feed them goat chow they have been on it since I got them in may. They are going through a 50lbs bag in a 3 sometime pushing 4 week period. They get a sq bale of good hay every 4 days. Are they getting enough or to much? I am so confused... They act like they are starving at feeding time. Someone help me....:thinking:


The goat chow figures out to roughly 1/2 lb/goat, and that is well within reason. Do you know what the weight is on your bales of hay? What kind of hay is it? A standard sized goat should be getting 5-6 lbs of something - hay, browse, grass - per day. I'm not familiar with Nigerian Dwarfs, but I'm assuming they would need somewhere between 2-3 lbs of something per day.

PS I would be finding something besides Purina to feed. Purina has a nasty habit of changing formulations in their feeds according to what is cheaper so the quality is unreliable.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

3billgoats said:


> They need less protein per day than cows and sheep.


This statement is totally incorrect. Due to their higher metabolism, feed stuffs pass through goats a lot faster. Goats actually need twice the quality of cows. Cows can maintain quite nicely on plain old straw, whereas goats will starve on it.


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## 3billgoats (Jan 10, 2014)

If I get alfalfa the protein is to high. A goat needs around 12% protein and horse hay is around 80%. So get good hay not fair. Lower quality hay could have mold, and can make the goats sick.

If grass hay go for a higher quality, horse hay works great. 

Always push your feeding away from grains and towards hay or open grazing.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Whether the protein content of alfalfa is too high depends entirely on what your feeding it to. The amount of protein required is going to vary depending on whether the goat is young and growing, pregnant, what stage of pregnancy, lactating, or open. No hay contains 80% protein - I don't care what it is! The maximum protein content in any hay is somewhere around 20%, and that is for dairy quality alfalfa hay. Grass hay will never contain more than 10 to 14% protein, and 14% is pushing it.


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## lonnie (Jul 17, 2013)

WOW... Now I know why I am so damn confused! I don't know where everyone that is talking about grazing lives but I am in Il and everything has about 18 inches of snow on it. The temps was in the -30....So they are counting on what I feed them. Here is what I have all 5 are of the dwarf nature. 3 wethers 2 does. I feed them the goat chow cuz that is what both ppl I bought them from was feeding them. I mix (1) 50 lbs bag of goat chow with (1) 50 lbs of 11% horse feed. the each was getting about 36 cups in the am I have 4 feeders that they eat out of and I just measured I put 8 cups in each. mid day I throw out about 10 - 15 lbs of hay. It is not top rate. but it most definitely has no mold. is has some alpha in it but not much. They love it and they eat it. I was more worried cuz I give them no extra minerals they had a block and they didn't like it. So now that all my info is complete can someone tell me if I am doing good by my goats? They are getting fat but I didn't know if it was cuz they aren't running as much with this weather.... No fighting please just give me your best informed information.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

lonnie said:


> WOW... Now I know why I am so damn confused! I don't know where everyone that is talking about grazing lives but I am in Il and everything has about 18 inches of snow on it. The temps was in the -30....So they are counting on what I feed them. Here is what I have all 5 are of the dwarf nature. 3 wethers 2 does. I feed them the goat chow cuz that is what both ppl I bought them from was feeding them. I mix (1) 50 lbs bag of goat chow with (1) 50 lbs of 11% horse feed. the each was getting about 36 cups in the am I have 4 feeders that they eat out of and I just measured I put 8 cups in each. mid day I throw out about 10 - 15 lbs of hay. It is not top rate. but it most definitely has no mold. is has some alpha in it but not much. They love it and they eat it. I was more worried cuz I give them no extra minerals they had a block and they didn't like it. So now that all my info is complete can someone tell me if I am doing good by my goats? They are getting fat but I didn't know if it was cuz they aren't running as much with this weather.... No fighting please just give me your best informed information.


They absolutely need a loose mineral designed for goats and fed free choice.


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## lonnie (Jul 17, 2013)

ok so it states somewhere that pygmy goats can't have cooper? Can anyone tell me the name of what mineral you give so I can buy it online? I don't know how I will get the boys cooper without the girls getting into it. They feed together and share everything??? maybe there is a way to just hand feed the boys the cooper? I have asked the feed places here and they all look at me like I am nuts when I say cooper boxis (sw)


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Hi Lonnie, I'm fairly new to goats myself, and like to keep things simple for my own sanity, so I'll pass on what I've been doing as basic feeding, with everyone remaining healthy. (I have Nigerian Dwarfs, myself.)

-If you transition your feeding so that the majority of what they eat is *hay*, you will do them good, even if that's grassy hay. Digesting it will help keep them warm in winter. 
-Have a loose mineral out for them free choice; if you can purchase a goat formulation, great; otherwise, loose dairy mineral will be okay. 
-Put out all the clean water they can drink--don't let it run out. (If you have wethers, a splash of apple cider vinegar in the water to keep it acidic will help prevent urinary calculi, I've read, and will do no harm to anyone else.)
-Grain is a treat, a supplement; if your goats are not growing youngsters, rutting bucks, or pregnant or lactating does, you don't need to give them grain/chow. (If they are in the above special categories, that's a different matter; there are formulations for feeding in different cases like that.)

It is important to make the transition in feeding regimen gradual, so their systems aren't too shocked. Something you can do to judge their body condition is put your hands on them and feel their backbones, their ribs just behind their elbows, the fat pad on their fronts, and their lumbar vertebrae, and compare how they feel to different parts of your arm. The method is well explained in the u-tube video by OSU linked to at the end of my post. There are many ways to feed goats successfully, but starting with the basics (which you have in front of you) and elaborating as needed, would make sense to me. All the best!


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## Goat_in_Himmel (Jun 24, 2013)

Hi again Lonnie, about copper...all goats need copper as far as I know, regardless of breed or sex. People here talk about copper boluses, which I haven't used, but I do use loose copper sulphate in small doses if they look like they need it. If you can get hold of copper in bolus form, or perhaps in rods, it would probably be better. If you search on this site for "fish tail", you can find photos which show goats who need a copper supplement. Signs of copper deficiency include fish-tail, where hair on the tip of the tail falls out; a rough coat; and black hair turning reddish, which is particularly noticeable on the legs.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

First you can get good loose minerals from TSC. They are called Manna Pro loose minerals for goats.You leave them out for your goats free-choice so they eat what they want and you just refill as needed.

Any breed of goat can get copper.If you decide your goats are copper deficient, then you would want to go online and order some copper boluses from Jeffers. They are called Copasure and come in doses specifically for goats. Since yours are small, I would give the 2 g pills.This is not a daily or even monthly thing.You can OD your goats on copper so you need to be careful. I give boluses twice a year.


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## Rhandi74 (Dec 6, 2013)

lonnie said:


> WOW... Now I know why I am so damn confused! I don't know where everyone that is talking about grazing lives but I am in Il and everything has about 18 inches of snow on it. The temps was in the -30....So they are counting on what I feed them. Here is what I have all 5 are of the dwarf nature. 3 wethers 2 does. I feed them the goat chow cuz that is what both ppl I bought them from was feeding them. I mix (1) 50 lbs bag of goat chow with (1) 50 lbs of 11% horse feed. the each was getting about 36 cups in the am I have 4 feeders that they eat out of and I just measured I put 8 cups in each. mid day I throw out about 10 - 15 lbs of hay. It is not top rate. but it most definitely has no mold. is has some alpha in it but not much. They love it and they eat it. I was more worried cuz I give them no extra minerals they had a block and they didn't like it. So now that all my info is complete can someone tell me if I am doing good by my goats? They are getting fat but I didn't know if it was cuz they aren't running as much with this weather.... No fighting please just give me your best informed information.


 I live in east TN and we still have green pasture here, although it is starting to die due to our recent freezing temps and half an inch of snow, that is now gone, they still are able to graze. We also have a forest area with a lot of greenery left. I do not rely on this and they do have hay all the time. Mine get Manna Pro goat minerals from TSC free choice.


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## lonnie (Jul 17, 2013)

:fireworks: Ok this what I think I have learned. I am over feeding with the goat chow. I could be giving them a little more hay then I do. I have ordered 
Copasure® Capsules for Sheep & Goats from Jeffers and I need to go get them some manna pro goat mineral asap.... How is that did I leave anything out that you feel they should also have? Thank you all for your help. Just wait I want to breed one of my females and I am clueless on that area. LOL


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Lol...keep researching and you'll do fine  Do you live in a selenium deficient area? If so you need BoSe shots from the vet or you need selenium/e gel also at Jeffers.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Sounds good, Lonnie! Make feed changes slowly..it's easier on them. And breeding the goats is easy... They do most of the work..ha ha! Just need to locate a nice buck in your area. By word of mouth, or Craigslist, or a notice at the feed store... The term is "buck service"


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Just wait...after you bolus them and they get the good minerals and sel/e if needed? Those does will be so gorgeous, you won't need to know anything but to put the buck in there!


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## 3billgoats (Jan 10, 2014)

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/Resources/onioncreekranch-26.gif

This should really help. It will explain feeding and why your goats look fat, but are not really


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## goatygirl (Feb 16, 2013)

Goats naturally act like that its not that they are hungry its because they love that your there


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## fiberchick04 (Mar 8, 2010)

There are a lot of people that feed purina with no problems. I think people will always find a problem with another feed company. We use noble goat and have had no problems with it. 

Find something that works for you and keep it. If you like the goat chow then use the goat chow. 

We only feed grain to expecting does and lactating does, but that's what we do. You don't have to. Our goats are on 150 acres of gorgeous green pasture in the summer. So they don't need grain. 

As long as your goats aren't skinny unhealthy looking and starving and not morbidly obese, then you're feeding program is okay. There are tricks and tips for reducing hay waste. And all of these suggestions are good. Ultimately it's up to you and what works for you


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