I'm off to pick up the Purina Goat Chow tomorrow because I've seen that it's been recommended as one of the best for them. From what I understand I'm to feed her a cup of that per day and make sure I keep it from my sheep.
I have "free feed" alfalfa for her and my sheep. Alfalfa costs the same as coastal here, but should I free feed something else? I only have a small pen for her right now and I want to make sure she gets enough roughage.
I have baking soda out and I'm picking up the minerals when I pick up the goat chow tomorrow. On another note the sheep are LOVING the baking soda. The didn't stop eating it until the three of them had eaten a box and a half. Is that going to hurt them? Should I just mix some soda in with the goat feed so I know she gets it?
I'm going to put apple cider vinegar in the water bucket. I'm confused about the molasses. Should I be mixing that too? Or is that more a "stress recovery" thing?
Does she need a certain amount of exercise each day. I know this will get a chuckle, but here goes....should I walk my goat?
Will she be able to tell the difference between plants that can kill her and plants that are safe? Or do I need to identify everything she will come across?
(don't despair yet at all my questions...lol....I'm working on finding a local mentor who might take me on as an apprentice or something. Then I solemnly swear to bug HER with all my stupid questions.:o)
Thank you in advance!
Wendi
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"Purina Goat Chow" is the name of one of Purina's goat feeds. They also have Show Goat and Noble Goat and others, but Goat Chow has the highest copper content, which is why I feed it. Dumor's Goat Sweet Feed also has 40 ppm copper; Dumor's pelleted goat feed only has 20 ppm copper, so they'd have to eat twice as much to get the same amount of copper.
Yes, the Sweetlix minerals for milkers has a lower calcium content. I haven't looked at the label in probably a year, but I want to say it was about half of what it's in the Meatmaker minerals.
If your hay is brown and crunchy, the nutritional value could be really low. We were in that situation here a few years ago when all the farmers went corn crazy and didn't plant hay because corn prices went through the roof. My goats looked horrible. If that's the case, you can mix in some alfalfa pellets with grain and feed that to them and see how they do. It's amazing how fast they loose weight when they're not getting what they need.
Melissa Johnson said:
should I be feeding a goat "chow"? - I dont really understand what chow - actually is. It isnt a grain with a high protein is it? My guys arent thrilledwith sunflower seeds - not alot of browse to speak of presently.
Melissa Johnson said:
Deborah, what do you mean when you say the dairy blend (dairy Magnum) assume alfalfa? is the calcium content lesser in that? I am looking over these post, cause my goats have lost quite a bit of weight - (well noticeably, their bones arent sticking out) since the "monsoon" started here in Oregon. All they get is orchard grass/ alfalfa (which isnt that great, really stemy) sweetlix meat maker minerals and 1/2 c. grain a day - I had stopped giving them grain a week or so ago, but they started noticeably losing weight. So I have beengiving it to them again. They are dry, 1 pregnant bred Oct. 20th. The other one is one that miscarried - had blood on her tail "feathers"
No problem on keeping posts on topic for the category. It definitely makes it easier on people looking for specific info!
Wendi Howard said:
Sorry I moved posts on you, I was just trying to keep the questions in their proper place so that if people are searching for the same type of answers they can find them easier.
Thank you for clearing up the molasses, I wasn't finding the reasons behind it.
The sheep are new here too. They've been waiting at my mom's for the last 6 months while we got set up at our new place. So they haven't been out of the pen yet.
I'll look for a low calcium mineral and see how things go.
Thank you Deborah!!
Baking soda acts as a pH buffer for ruminants, so it won't hurt the sheep. It's one of those things that animals don't normally eat unless they need it, so if they want it, you should probably be offering to them also. Don't mix the baking soda into the grain, because it should be available free choice, so that she only gets what she needs.
Don't worry about molasses. It's just empty calories, unless you use blackstrap molasses, which is high in iron, so that would be good for her if she's anemic. I only use it for animals recovering from a heavy parasite load, and I squirt it directly into their mouth with a syringe because they don't really like it.
If she's with your sheep, she'll get plenty of exercise. As for poisonous plants, if your sheep are doing fine, she'll probably be fine too.
Does she have a name yet?