FEEDING GOATS
Contrary to what
everyone thinks, goats do not eat just anything. During the spring and summer
months we pasture the goats, but in the winter time we feed hay. Hay is
very important in keeping the goat's rumin working as they swallow their food into one of their
four stomachs, then regurgitate it for further processing by chewing their
cud.
Our goats are only
fed grain once a day and for 30 goats they get one 6 quart bucket of feed. This
is a combination of grain we mix ourselves which is nutrious as well as a way to get
the goats to come up every evening. We use 8" in diamenter PVC pipe cut in half for
grain feeders, which are easy to clean and allow numerous goats to eat at one
time.
Goats do their best by eating weeds, leaves of
trees, shrubs, and vines rather than grass. Goats have a very fast metabolism, and
they eat frequently. Pasture management is important to avoid internal parasites
near the ground, they need to eat weeds and grass from the top down. Overgrazing a
pasture can cause the desireable plants to die out and be replaced with noxious or toxic
weeds which the goats will not eat.
If at all possible it is best to have different
paddocks to rotate your goats so that not one area becomes overgrazed. Depending on the
number of goats you have will determine how big each paddock should be. If you
have never raised goats before, start small and you can then determine how much
pasture you will need. The most important thing to remember is to control worm loads
by not overgrazing. Assistance from a goat nutritionist is also a very good
idea.
Minerals offered at all times is very
important for goats. It provides supplements they need that your hay or pastures may be
lacking. We again use PVC pipe for our mineral feeders as you can see by the
picture. Be sure to purchase a mix formulated for goats as this will ensure
that your goats remain
healthy.
Water is also a very important element that is often overlooked
concerning all livestock. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.
|
