What Breed of Sheep Are These Babies? Photos Page 3

[thailand]

Hi everyone....it's been a while since I was last on here.

I've been reading through the thread "Let's Look at Our Different Feeding Practices *GOATS*". What a fabulous read! It's got me thinking that I should really have a firm feeding plan for my 3 goats. It's kinda been a bit hit and miss up to this point really. After Khaleesi kidded I fed grain/loose minerals/BOSS and pangola hay free-choice, and cut & carried forage 2 x a day for all 3 of them.

I have now dried off Khaleesi, and I believe she is pregnant to her son, Jabari. This is where I've come a bit unstuck. Should I still be giving her grain every day? When she was milking I was giving her 3 cups a day. I cut that right back to nothing while I was drying her up. I believe she is now 58 days pregnant.

I don't know if Aaliyah is pregnant to her brother Jabari or not. I haven't seen her come into heat (I witnessed Khaleesi on heat and Jabari doing 'his thing'. Khaleesi hasn't come into heat again, so it would seem things took). So, should Aaliyah still be getting some grain? Jabari and Aaliyah are now 9 months old.

Next issue - Jabari. I've been reading about ammonium chloride. Should I definately be giving this to Jabari? And what about grain for him?

I think all 3 are looking a little on the thin side. I'll have to post a current photo here later.

I am not able to purchase either alfalfa hay nor alfalfa pellets here in Thailand. But, what we do have tons of is this http://www.feedipedia.org/node/282 It grows like weeds everywhere and is as common as grass! Looking at the nutritional analysis it appears it's just as good as alfalfa?

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

 

[Sumi]

@Southern by choice @Goat Whisperer @Ferguson K @babsbag @TAH

 

[babsbag]

I do not give AC to my bucks, but always to a wether. But it would not hurt to give it to bucks IF you can get them to eat it. I always had to either buy grain with it in it already, or sprinkle a little on the grain each day. But now that I don't have any wethers my bucks get only alfalfa, no grain at all therefore no AC

The plant that you mentioned does look good for goats. I see that it can be toxic to some animals that are non-ruminant so I would add it slowly as with any new feed. Also it said this...Adding iodine to leucaena can alleviate the detrimental effects of mimosine in goats. I would put out some kelp meal for them if you can get it. The calcium to phosphorus ratio is high in calcium which is ok, the feed would even be ok for the buck. Wish we had that stuff here.

I don't feed grain to my does until they are being milked. I believe that some people will start adding grain 30 days out from freshening but you don't want a fat goat. The loose minerals should be available all of the time.

 

[thailand]

Hi Babs,

Thanks for your reply. I should clarify (my fault), I'm not actually giving grain. I've been giving them bagged dairy cattle feed 16%. I've raised Aaliyah and Jabari on this cattle feed and have just continued up until now (9 months old). Khaleesi has had it all through her milking season, only when she was drying up over the last 3 weeks did I cut right back from 3 cups a day to 1/4 cup a day and then to none. In the last week I've doubted myself and decided to go back to feeding her a little cattle feed - 1/4 cup a day.

Should I not be giving this to any of them now? Especially not to Jabari? I have shredded dried kelp available 24/7. I can't get kelp meal here that I know of....only this shredded people food kelp (used in Japanese cooking) from the supermarket.

Does that all sound ok then?

While I'm in a quandry with feeding and wanting to do the best I can for our goats, DH came home last night and said he'd seen baby lambs for sale. He thinks it'd be a good idea to get one (I'm thinking 2 for company). Here's the thing....he usually complains we have to many animals and now he wants sheep to keep the grass down. I'm thinking I should jump at the chance. What does everyone think? Good idea? Do sheep mix with goats ok? I do know that I'd need to be very strict about not letting sheep get into goat food re: copper.....that won't be a problem at all cause all the animal food is kept away in another building a short distance away from animal enclosures. Anything I need to know before we jump in with both feet?

Unbelievably, DH has even said he'll take care of any shearing...I won't have to worry about that.

 

[Southern by choice]

I think reading and understanding body condition score will be of great benefit to you. Some herds need no grain other do. It is very individual. I personally don't like a skinny goat but really don't like a fat goat either. LOL

I looked at the calcium and phosphorus levels and the ratio is very high. The max ratio should be NO more than 4:1 and that is pushing it. If I read this right I think it said 5:1. With min and max being 3:1 and 9:1 The best is 2:1- 3:1.

The protein is also extremely high.
Too high of calcium and too high of protein can cause many issues.

Personally I would NOT add in another species until you have had a few seasons with the goats.

 

[babsbag]

Your goats should have loose minerals with copper available at all times, but the sheep can't have that so it is hard to raise them together.

I would not give your buck any grain, or at least not much. Good hay is really enough. IMO. The shredded kelp is good, probably better than the kelp meal...more fiber.

@Southern by choice, I compared the Leucaena to Alfalfa on that site and the Leucaena is about 5:1 but the alafalfa is 10:1. The Leucaena is 23% protein and alfalfa is 18%. I personally would like the higher protein and I would just cut back on the grain. I top dress my grain on occasion with calf manna for more protein. If the plant is available I certainly wouldn't hesitate introducing it to the diet.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

It really depends with the buck. How is his BCS? Is he gaining at least 10 pounds a month? Some bucks need feed, others are fine without it. Same with the does. You should be able to tell if they are fat or thin. If thin- feed them. If dat- don't feed them/feed less.

As long as the CA: P ratio is correct he won't have issues with UC.

My growing standard sized bucks eat several pounds of feed a day, free choice actually. My Nigerian buckling gets free choice feed too. The feed is balanced so no UC. I avoid BOSS like the plague when it comes to bucks and wethers.

Most milking does need more than three cups a day. Do you have pics of the goats?

 

[Southern by choice]

I think every herd is different. The amount of available forage, the quality of hay. the land space all make a difference.

There are issues with feeding too much protein and too high calcium.

I would learn how to do the BCS on your dairy goats and go from there. What works for one farm may not work for another.

Our Kikos when out on the land need nothing... and I mean nothing. They get everything from the grasses, weeds, leaves vines, trees. They do not even need mineral. In winter when all that is gone they are lotted and get hay and we must give feed. This breed of goat does NOT thrive off of hay or feed... they thrive off of forage.

Our dairy goats have a diverse diet that works well for us. They have different kinds of hay. Rarely do we feed straight alfalfa. Some of our does, one in particular got very ill. This dairy doe does best "on the land" yet another doe we have has a more difficult time maintaining her weight even though her parasite load is next to nothing. We feed a pelleted, balanced feed as well. Our bucks do get feed along with hay. We have found over the years that they did far better with the balanced diet that hay alone cannot give.
The majority of dairy goats that I see fed hay only and nothing else are skinny and usually parasite ridden as well, have low milk production, and generally are nutritionally deficient. Hay is tested by some but not by most, so not always nutritionally good. Pretty hay doesn't always mean good hay.

There really is no one size fits all. If you find your animals do not need grain/feed then why use it. At the same time if they are losing body conditioning then adding it back is good.

This is from the ADGA along with UC Davis I believe - it is how to body score your dairy goat. It is long but thorough
The first 4 minutes they explain a good deal but after that begins the "how to"

 

[Mike CHS]

That Sanaan (I assume) is one beautiful animal. It may have faults but I can't see them.

 

[NH homesteader]

Thanks for posting the video! I've bookmarked it to watch when I have more reliable Internet access. I do need to learn to do this. I have one goat (dry doe, herd queen) who gets fat looking at grass. Then I have my mini alpines who truly need some grain to look good (in my eyes). I might have to feed them separately... Although I'm not breeding the fat one (even though everyone asks me if she's pregnant) so it's not as big of a problem.