What do you feed your does who are in milk? I have been going back and forth on weather or not I should make my own mix or use a commercial feed. I would like to mix my own but am not sure how much of what to put in the mix. It seems easier to just feed a commercial feed but I don't like the idea of GMO. I would love to hear what you do and if any of you mix your own please share your recipe!
The commercial feeds I were looking at are made by Purina one was just Purina Goat Chow and the other is Purina Mills Noble Goat Dairy Parlor 16. The Dairy Parlor 16 seems like a better choice to feed to a dairy goat.
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My does all eat a lot more minerals when they are pregnant too. I don't think it's necessarily bad. I usually apply a lot of what I know about humans and reproduction when I'm in doubt... I just figure people supplement with vitamins when they are pregnant, because a woman's body is supporting more than just her needs. I suppose it's kind of the same principal. As long as she's maintaining her condition, I would say she's getting what she needs.
Thanks for your reply Rachel. One more thing. I've noticed that our pregnant doe (due early April) has started to go through quite a bit more Sweetlix Meat Maker 16:8 lately. Is this normal, or is this because I'm not supplying her with enough of something else? She currently browses on grass hay all the time, and I give her about a 1/2 cup of BOSS 2-3 times a week. The Sweetlix is also available all the time. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated!!
I'm by no means an expert, but so far, it seems to be working well for my girls! I honestly don't remember why I gave that ration... and you can replace scoop with parts. The increment wasn't important. I want to say that I used that ration because barley had higher protein levels in it, but like I said... off the top of my head I can't remember exactly why, other than that is what the breeder that I got the idea from did. I never mixed the two together, because I wanted to be sure to get an even mix.
Jabe Thomas said:
Rachel - you have replied to some of may posts concerning grain for does. You mentioned your barley/oats/BOSS mix, and I think I'm going to give it a try. I was under the assumption that you would dump the oats and barley in together and mix it (obviously adding the BOSS separately with each feeding), but above you mention giving 1 scoop of oats and 2 scoops of barley and 1/2 scoop of BOSS. If you could, elaborate a little?? How much is a "scoop?" Is this a better balance than a 50/50 split? Thanks!!
I really like the idea of mixing barley, oats and boss. I can get the oats and the boss but how do you find barley seed? I thought my feed store barley was good until I noticed on the bags it says NOT FOR FEED as they add some chemical to it! I had planned to sprout it but I'm taking the bag back now. Where do you source your feed-grade barley?
I wish I was more knowlegable!! I only *kind* of understand it all... lol I fed 1 scoop oats, and 2 scoops barley, and 1/2 scoop BOSS. It seemed to work!! I also feed free choice minerals and hay. :)
According to the info I could find on line, alfalfa pellets have 15% protein, so I adding it to the barley/oat/BOSS blend wouldn't raise the protein any more than the boss already does. (as far as I can see)
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