Follow this guide to learn what to feed goats, including the best kind of nutrition for a pregnant goat to support her milk supply for her baby. Then be sure to check out our goat must-haves so you’re prepared for everything that could (and probably will) happen when raising goats.
Goats on Our Farm
While chickens are hailed as the easiest farm animals to raise, learning to raise goats is a close second.
Still, it’s important to do your research before purchasing goats. We often get questions asking what to know before getting goats and what our must-have items are for goats. Knowing what to feed goats is also a priority that we recommend before bringing goats home.
The breed you choose will need to be suited to your needs. Whether you desire milking goats, meat goats, fiber goats, brush-clearing goats, or simply a family pet, there’s a breed that will work for you.
To have a healthy goat herd, you have to understand the basic digestive system of a goat and the proper goat nutrition required.
What Feed Is Best for Goats?
Goats are ruminant animals. God designed them to eat leaves, grass, and brush. We can’t let animals roam in modern society, which leads to necessary adjustments.
On most farms, goats require a mixed diet of grains, hay, and brush. Feeding goats too much grain without mixing in roughage will result in problems like bloat and scours.
Using 16% creep feed is a great way to introduce kids to grain without risking illness. If you have a small goat herd, measuring feed into these creep feeders will make sure the goats only eat what they need.
Seasonal Feeding
We practice a seasonal feeding routine on our farm. With seasonal changes, our goats require different feeding needs.
- Warm Weather – In the warm summer months, we don’t feed our goats any grains. Their diet consists solely of grass, brush, leaves, and anything they can reach to eat.
- Cold Weather – We give them access to hay at all times in the winter. We have a round feeder in the barn, and the goats have a free choice of hay. We don’t find it necessary to measure out a certain amount of pounds of hay per goat. They eat what they need when they are hungry. Because regular roughage doesn’t grow in the winter, feeding hay and grain provides the proper nutrients for goats.
Grains for Goats
Grain adds a lot of nutritional value to a goat’s diet in the winter. When the natural grasses have died out for the winter, hay doesn’t provide enough protein to support a balanced diet. So we feed our goats approximately 1½ pounds of 16% creep feed per goat per day.
We have goat feeders that we pour the grain for the entire goat herd. Some goats are larger than others and will naturally bully their way into eating more than the smaller goats. But the smaller goats eat what their body needs to sustain them, while the larger goats process the excess feed as required.
Sweet feed is a blend of grains with mixed molasses. Goats love it! The molasses adds natural iron, which is suitable for the goat’s nutrition. These fence feeders for goats are an easy way to feed a small herd of goats.
The Benefits of Hay
Goats are browsers, not grazers. Goats want to eat hay, but only if they don’t have access to brush. The hay we feed to our goats is just basic pasture hay. In our area, the grass hay is a combination with Sericea Lespedeza, a nuisance weed from Asia in the early years of America’s development.
This weed was imported for erosion control during the early building of American highways. The benefit of Sericea Lespedeza in our hay is that it’s a natural dewormer for livestock. Mixed with other grass hay, it works well as dual-purpose hay.
- Alfalfa – Alfalfa hay provides a higher protein level than other hay. But it’s not always accessible. Alfalfa pelleted grain is a good substitute and is easier for some people than big hay bales. Feeding one pound of alfalfa pellets per goat is what we recommend.
- Bermuda – Bermuda is often mixed with Fescue hay and is good roughage for the goats, but it’s deficient in protein value.
Storing Hay
Hay needs to be covered to keep it from getting moldy. A lot of people mistakenly assume that since goats are ruminants, they will eat anything. They will eat it, but moldy hay can make them sick. We use an old pool cover to cover our hay, which works well for our farm size.
There are other options for covering your hay, depending on your budget and farm. One of the most important things to remember when covering your hay is to allow it to dry out before covering it. You don’t want to trap moisture under a cover, or you might risk your entire hay supply becoming moldy.
Feeding Pregnant Goats
We breed our goats in the fall for spring babies. This season is an important time to provide nutrients for goats.
The goats’ health will increase the chances of twin or triplet births. Grain feed, vitamins and minerals, and grass hay are all a source of nutrients. Protein, vitamins and attention to nutrients are really important during lactation.
When the baby goats are born, you need a healthy mama to provide colostrum to the newborns. The immune system is compromised for life if a kid doesn’t get the right amount of colostrum within the first 24 hours. Before the birth, you should read up on our tips to connect the Dam with her kid.
Supplement With Trace Mineral
We recommend having trace minerals for goats available at all times.
Goats don’t get what they need in an average diet. In our experience, we haven’t found them to overeat the minerals when they have free choice. Their brains tell them to stop eating when they reach the amount their body needs.
Mineral blocks for goats are another excellent way to get those vital minerals into their diet.
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