Goat Herd Management - Feeding - Forum - Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats

As all goat owners know, looking at how we manage our herds in the way of health and well being for our animals can be a challenge. We all live in different areas and environments, which influences the nutritional needs of our animals.

Knowing what to feed our goats has been talked about head to toe on this forum but thought a central place to list all that we feed our goats plus needed supplements and how much would be helpful to new goat owners instead of searching through mounds of info in the archives. I'm curious to know from others, their herd management system on how they feed their goats from the particular area they are from.

As a continued student in "goatology," I very much would appreciate any goat owners input. Don't hesitate to mention any herbal methods or supplements you use also, amounts, how often, what kind, where you get it and what dosage would be helpful to our new goat parents.

Example post - Please realize these are just guidelines, every herd and every goat is different in their nutritional needs and you need to adjust according to your herd and their environment.

Please if you can include in your info how much, or what dosages, and where you purchase.

Hay-

Minerals -

Baking Soda -

Grain -

Hay Pellets -

Copper -

Vitamin E and Selenium -

Kelp -

Dewormers -

Additional Supplements for your area or herd -

Herbal Supplements -

Any added tips, hints or info -

Thanks everyone! :)

I am in northeastern MN. This is what I am currently doing with my goats.

Hay- We feed a grass hay mix, both a soft, fine stemmed second cutting hay, as well as a coarser, longer stemmed hay. The fine, second cutting hay is more nutrient dense, and the longer stemmed hay is needed to keep them warm in the cold weather and for a properly working rumen. We feed this hay free choice year round.

As the does near the end of their pregnancies (last couple of weeks) we add some alfalfa hay to their diets, working up to a dishpan full per doe twice a day. Their kids eat this with them, and when the kids are separated from the does, we feed them their own alfalfa until they're about 6 months old.

Minerals- We feed Manna-Pro minerals free choice year round.

Baking Soda- We feed baking soda free choice year round to our does and doelings only. Buck/wether kids get it only until they're separated from the does/doelings.

Grain- We feed some BOSS year round, a small handful here and there where it appears to be needed. It's especially good for keeping their coats in good condition. In our area, I don't have to worry much about the selenium, but I like that BOSS has vitamin E and selenium in it, too. We begin grain slowly for does about to kid, and feed grain on the milk stand while they're in milk, adjusting the amount to the number of kids, amount of milk produced, and condition of the doe. We use a horse pellet with 50% copper, and 16% protein, and mix it as follows: 4 parts horse pellets, 2 parts barley, 2 parts oats, 1 part corn, 2 parts BOSS. We wean them off the grain as they dry up.

If the does are over conditioned, or I need to keep them on the stand longer, I mix beet pulp, soy hulls, or both into their grain ration to gain more time.

Copper- I bolus the goats with copper about twice a year. I'm not positive they're deficient, but I feel that twice a year is a good, safe spot for us. We have a lot of copper in our area of the country, but also a lot of iron. Our water is pretty high in iron, which can bind with copper and keep them from absorbing it as they should. I also give it to hopefully help with parasite control.

Kelp- I make sure to provide kelp to my does, free choice all the time. I also give it to my bucks about once a week in their mineral feeder when it is empty. They usually eat it right up, and then I put minerals in it again.

Dewormers- I really try to stay away from dewormers as much as possible. I don't have a schedule of any kind to tell you, "This is what I do." I just watch behavior, eyelids, poop, and when something concerns me I do fecals and go from there. I do deworm just after kidding, pretty much no matter what I see going on. I discovered last spring just how quickly things can get crazy parasite wise after kidding. It seems that kidding is the signal for the parasites in the doe to get busy, and it can get bad fast.

I feed many things that have been said to help with parasites. The ones I can think of offhand are;

-birdsfoot trefoil

-parsley

-onion skins

-garlic

-pumpkin seeds

-cinnamon

Browse- My goats browse in the summer on willow, aspen, tag elder, dogwood, raspberry, red clover, white clover, birdsfoot trefoil, dandeloin, pine, spruce, and whatever else they feel like tasting that I haven't identified.

Garden goodies- The goats get lots of garden extras, such as kale, swiss chard, summer squash, pea vines and bean plants, broccoli plants, corn stalks, squash and pumpkin guts and seeds, and weeds like sorrel and lambs quarters.

Other things I've used to supplement/medicate my herd are, Molly's Herbals immune support tincture, and her herbal dewormers, power punch, goat probiotics, and red cell

I haven't been at this long, so I can't say, "This is the best way." All I can say is that it has been working well for us so far. I've also changed things as I've gone along, finding better ways to do things that make things work for our situation at any given time. So, this is what I do now, but I don't know if it is what I'll be doing two years from now, or that I started out this way.

Replies

Patty Meyer November 27, 2012 at 4:26pm

I am in northeastern MN. This is what I am currently doing with my goats.

Hay- We feed a grass hay mix, both a soft, fine stemmed second cutting hay, as well as a coarser, longer stemmed hay. The fine, second cutting hay is more nutrient dense, and the longer stemmed hay is needed to keep them warm in the cold weather and for a properly working rumen. We feed this hay free choice year round.

As the does near the end of their pregnancies (last couple of weeks) we add some alfalfa hay to their diets, working up to a dishpan full per doe twice a day. Their kids eat this with them, and when the kids are separated from the does, we feed them their own alfalfa until they're about 6 months old.

Minerals- We feed Manna-Pro minerals free choice year round.

Baking Soda- We feed baking soda free choice year round to our does and doelings only. Buck/wether kids get it only until they're separated from the does/doelings.

Grain- We feed some BOSS year round, a small handful here and there where it appears to be needed. It's especially good for keeping their coats in good condition. In our area, I don't have to worry much about the selenium, but I like that BOSS has vitamin E and selenium in it, too. We begin grain slowly for does about to kid, and feed grain on the milk stand while they're in milk, adjusting the amount to the number of kids, amount of milk produced, and condition of the doe. We use a horse pellet with 50% copper, and 16% protein, and mix it as follows: 4 parts horse pellets, 2 parts barley, 2 parts oats, 1 part corn, 2 parts BOSS. We wean them off the grain as they dry up.

If the does are over conditioned, or I need to keep them on the stand longer, I mix beet pulp, soy hulls, or both into their grain ration to gain more time.

Copper- I bolus the goats with copper about twice a year. I'm not positive they're deficient, but I feel that twice a year is a good, safe spot for us. We have a lot of copper in our area of the country, but also a lot of iron. Our water is pretty high in iron, which can bind with copper and keep them from absorbing it as they should. I also give it to hopefully help with parasite control.

Kelp- I make sure to provide kelp to my does, free choice all the time. I also give it to my bucks about once a week in their mineral feeder when it is empty. They usually eat it right up, and then I put minerals in it again.

Dewormers- I really try to stay away from dewormers as much as possible. I don't have a schedule of any kind to tell you, "This is what I do." I just watch behavior, eyelids, poop, and when something concerns me I do fecals and go from there. I do deworm just after kidding, pretty much no matter what I see going on. I discovered last spring just how quickly things can get crazy parasite wise after kidding. It seems that kidding is the signal for the parasites in the doe to get busy, and it can get bad fast.

I feed many things that have been said to help with parasites. The ones I can think of offhand are;

-birdsfoot trefoil

-parsley

-onion skins

-garlic

-pumpkin seeds

-cinnamon

Browse- My goats browse in the summer on willow, aspen, tag elder, dogwood, raspberry, red clover, white clover, birdsfoot trefoil, dandeloin, pine, spruce, and whatever else they feel like tasting that I haven't identified.

Garden goodies- The goats get lots of garden extras, such as kale, swiss chard, summer squash, pea vines and bean plants, broccoli plants, corn stalks, squash and pumpkin guts and seeds, and weeds like sorrel and lambs quarters.

Other things I've used to supplement/medicate my herd are, Molly's Herbals immune support tincture, and her herbal dewormers, power punch, goat probiotics, and red cell

I haven't been at this long, so I can't say, "This is the best way." All I can say is that it has been working well for us so far. I've also changed things as I've gone along, finding better ways to do things that make things work for our situation at any given time. So, this is what I do now, but I don't know if it is what I'll be doing two years from now, or that I started out this way.

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