Milk Goiters and Minerals

The barn that he got into that was my rabbit barn which they are not allowed in or have access to until I am doing chores which is their dinner time as well so they get it in there while I am feeding and watering rabbits. That is when I found him tail up, head down in the oat bag. Not for more than a few seconds. They do get their goat grain mix that my feed store makes themselves and then I mixed a sprinkle of their mineral in with it because they were not interested in it? They didn't eat much of the mineral but got some and then they still would rather attempt to eat from the bag of feed instead of their bowls but I keep on them and do not let it. They do have hay to bed down in in their hut and then I give them some fresh hay daily in the morning. They also get out hopefully every night to run and eat grass with me as I walk them through the yard.... Is that ok @babsbag ? I am too new to all of this to know for sure... But surely want to learn!

Don't worry about the mineral, they don't need it everyday, that is why you just get a feeder that you can attach to a fence out of the rain and leave it out all of the time. They will nibble on it when they need and want it. I sometimes put in the feed but I have certain goats that won't eat it that way but they also have it in their pen all of the time.

Check your goat feed and see if it has any Ammonium Cholride added to it, if not you can buy some and mix it in with the feed; about a teaspoon a day is all they need. Feeding wethers can be tricky and the AC won't hurt the doeling. You need to keep the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio 2:1 so check you feed and see what it is. I lost a wether as I was feeding wheat hay and not alfalfa, thought I was doing him a favor. Well the hay was WAY over on phosphorus. Now they get maybe a bale of wheat hay about every other month and that is split between 30 goats.

The simpler you can keep the feeding the easier it will be. I used to mix goat chow, sunflower seeds, beet pulp, barely, and sweet cob all together. That got old after a few years. Now the does get alfalfa all of the time and a 16% grain from the local mill when bred and in milk. I will add a protein supplement when milking. The boys get alfalfa and their minerals, that is it.

That is very good to know.... We will be selling the wether once another doe is available as my husband doesn't want a male on the property... I will have to call the feed store and ask them what the ratio is for it and get a different blend if need be... Is timothy hay ok? I have to feed that to my rabbits so that is what I get?

Having a wether is not much different that a having a doe, they make great pets; no smell, no wanting to breed, no heats. I like them.

The timothy hay will be ok but I would look for the Ammonium Chloride to add to his feed or some minerals might have it add already too. According to this site it might be a little high in phosphorus.

http://www.feedipedia.org/node/16886

It looks like I will need to buy some to add it in... I am still waiting to hear back from the feed store on if it is added to their feed I bought or not. The label was too worn to read.

Ingredients:
Salt, Dicalcium phosphate, Calcium carbonate, Molasses products, Mineral oil, Magnesium oxide, Copper sulfate, Zinc oxide, Vitamin E supplement, Ferric oxide, Manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, Cobalt carbonate, Calcium iodate, Ethylenediamine dihydroiodide, Sodium molybdate, Vitamin D³ supplement, Manganous oxide, Ferrous carbonate, Zinc sulfate, Fenugreek flavoring, Sodium selenite.