What Grain do you feed your does?

I'd like to hear from folks what brand grain they like to feed their goats?  Any particular reason why one is favored?  Does anyone make up their own grain mix?  Does anyone feed the grain recipe posted by Sandy Lane Dairy Goats ( http://www.sandylanedairygoats.com/feedrecipe.htm )?

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  • Judy - I"m hoping you might come to my goat party - since you are now in Massachusetts - I had forgotten you did the big move!!  Please come!!  Meanwhile - I have fed Countryside Soy Free grain and will have to go get the specs on it. Right now - everyone is dry and not pregnant so they aren't getting much of anything other than hay, minerals and some treats.  I added Chaffhaye as a treat but frankly - I'm not so sure that is a good addition. 

    It either throws something off OR the fact my goats stopped browsing (nothing out there to eat) - there is a slight change in their coats. Still shiney and lovely but something different - could be the winter fluff!

    Either way - I will post the countryside specs later but for me - soy free is very important. And organic (non GMO) is very important. How to find adequate minerals and cleaner food is always a challenge!

  • Branden,

    I looked in to trying to get Blue Seal, but my local feed store does not carry it and since the Dumor and Purina brands have more Copper I thought I'd put my energy into trying to get that (as a special order, local feed store also does not carry it).  Thanks for the reference to Kalmbachfeeds, looks interesting.  Unfortunately the closest dealer is in CT 68 miles away from me!  Next time I am driving through CT I'll try and pick some up.  There are some limitations when you live out in the sticks....

    Branden at Healthy Hills Farm said:

    Judy  - I am curious if you actually have ever tried Blue Seal...or really anyone for that matter.  I looked at it awhile back, but couldn't get it in my area.  I think Kent Feeds owns it, or makes it.  I ended up trying and REALLY liking another feed, so in hindsight, I am thankful I couldn't get it.

    I used Dumor, like others here, for a bit including their minerals.  The goats did fine on it, but just out of looking to find a less expensive alternative, I tried a regional brand Kalmbach feeds.  The feed tag had what I was looking for and it was more than a few dollars less expensive.  I know for sure they are in the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan) but they are also in Florida and New York.  Probably elsewhere, but I am not 100%.

     I use one called Milk and Meat-something-or-other, 6016GT.  Copper is 30-50 ppm.  It also has Selenium and 2:1 Calcium and Phosphorus.  I use their loose minerals too, and my boys really like that as well.

    In case you are interested in seeing if they are in your area:

    http://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/

  • Thanks so much for sharing this! There are so few feeds that have enough copper in them.

    Branden at Healthy Hills Farm said:

    Judy  - I am curious if you actually have ever tried Blue Seal...or really anyone for that matter.  I looked at it awhile back, but couldn't get it in my area.  I think Kent Feeds owns it, or makes it.  I ended up trying and REALLY liking another feed, so in hindsight, I am thankful I couldn't get it.

    I used Dumor, like others here, for a bit including their minerals.  The goats did fine on it, but just out of looking to find a less expensive alternative, I tried a regional brand Kalmbach feeds.  The feed tag had what I was looking for and it was more than a few dollars less expensive.  I know for sure they are in the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan) but they are also in Florida and New York.  Probably elsewhere, but I am not 100%.

     I use one called Milk and Meat-something-or-other, 6016GT.  Copper is 30-50 ppm.  It also has Selenium and 2:1 Calcium and Phosphorus.  I use their loose minerals too, and my boys really like that as well.

    In case you are interested in seeing if they are in your area:

    http://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/

  • Hi, Judy! I feed Purina Goat Chow because of the copper content, and the girls have always done well on it. My local Agway was able to find a Green Mountain organic feed from Vermont, which is the same company that makes the organic layer pellet I feed to my chickens. But the goat feed had a very low level of copper, plus my goats hated it, which may have been due in part to the lack of molasses in it. My little sugar junkies!

  • Deborah - thanks for the great input on the subject, I really appreciate it.  Also, I love your book!  Packed with great information in a fun, easy to read style.  The anecdotal stories that you scatter throughout from both your experiences and other goatherds are invaluable.  Both your book and this forum has made such an impact on my herd and goatkeeping, I just wanted to take a minute to give you my sincerest thanks. - Judy 

  • It is worth noting that the feed companies do a lot of marketing directly to veterinarians. "The grain companies" do not have it all down because if they did, they would all have at least 35 ppm copper, and they don't. Commercial grains vary from 5 to 80 ppm copper. I really don't understand why some of them have such low levels of copper. And it varies from one label to another WITHIN the SAME company! I always have to be super specific about Purina Goat Chow or Dumor Sweet Feed for goats because both Purina and Dumor make other goat feeds that have half as much copper. It really is not as easy as simply picking up a feed that's labeled for goats. That's why I don't have organic feed. I contacted an organic feed mill in Wisconsin (6 hour drive) and they make a goat feed that has ZERO copper in it. :( That's why in Raising Goats Naturally I talk about what nutrients goats need to have, as well as what can interfere with absorption -- so that people can be sure they're getting feed that has enough of the nutrients AND that their goats won't be suffering from secondary deficiencies caused by mineral antagonists.

    It is also important to note that although your goats did well with that particular feed in California, they might not do well with it in your new location. Because of the sulfur in our water, we must have a feed that's got plenty of copper PLUS a free choice mineral PLUS copper boluses every 3-4 months PLUS we spent $2,000 on a water treatment system to reduce the sulfur levels in our well water. I used to live in Conn and Vt and drank well water in both places, and it was the most wonderful water ever, so you probably won't have as much of a problem with copper as we do here in Illinois -- unless you live within 30-40 miles of a coal-fired power plant that might be putting sulfur on your pasture. Because we have such a problem here, I'm very hesitant to try and mix my own grain, but it might be easier in other parts of the country. Only thing is that it's a matter of trial and error, and if you err, it's not fun. The only good thing about commercial feeds is that they are labeled with guaranteed nutrients. Unless you can afford to pay someone to mix and/or test your feed, special mixes are too risky for some of us. I do know someone who has her grain mixed up in 2,000 pound batches for her goats, and I wish I could afford to do that, but I can't. She actually has her hay tested every year and then the grain has supplements added to it based on her hay results. 

  • Emily,

    When we were on the west coast I made up my own feed and used the Sandy Lane Dairy Goats recipe.  I wanted an organic feed, and there was none available locally.  Making my own feed enabled me to source organic ingredients.  The goats loved it, and the milk tasted fabulous, everyone was happy.  After our relocation to MA this summer, being still not fully unpacked and settled in, making my own feed was more than I had bandwidth for.  So I bought Poulin brand grain, that is all our local feed store has.  It looks like it is a total candy treat, covered in molasses, a sugar bomb.  It has 25 ppm Copper.  My goats were slow to take to it, but now they are OK with it.  All that said, last week when the vet visited he advised that I not go back to making my own grain because the grain companies had done the science and had the nutrition down.  I'm not so sure about that.  It is certainly not true for dog food.  Anyway, that is why I was asking about what people on this forum are feeding since I am rethinking it all.  The vet recommended Blue Seal, the Copper range is 25-40.

  • I feed Dumor for the same reason as Deborah. I was using the Purina Goat Chow, but Dumor is like $3 cheaper here and my goats like it just as well. I have to have copper and selenium in the feed, free choice mineral mix (manna pro) and free choice selenium as well as copper bolusing to make sure my goats get enough of those two minerals because I live in such a mineral deficient area.  I am interested to see if anyone makes their own mixes and how they like them!

  • I currently feed the Dumor Sweet Feed for goats because it has 35-40 ppm copper. I used to feed Purina for the same reason but switched to the Dumor because it's a couple dollars a bag less. After having many problems with copper deficiency, I won't feed anything that is not at least 35 ppm copper because that's the number I got from a Texas A&M animal nutrition researcher when I tried to find research on goat nutrition. There are very few goat feeds on the market that have more than 20 ppm copper. I've seen one that's as low as 5 ppm. We also have free choice minerals available, but we had problems with copper deficiency when we were feeding a feed that was only 10-15 ppm copper.

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