How much to feed

[dcullon]

I have 3 pygmys and 2 nigerian dwarfs, all wethered males. I also have 3 ewes. I feed them all the poulin sheep complete. The goats get a small soup can twice a day.
Is that to much and do they even need the grain? I also feed free choice of the best hay I can get. They are all doing great but I noticed the goats are getting a bit chubby. Not sure if it is due to their winter fat and fur coming in or they are just getting fat. And can you give them whole corn sometimes? I read it isn't that good for them. I live in R.I.
Thanks Debbie

 

[freemotion]

My pygmies get no grain, and are fat on hay. They do need copper, however, and won't get that from the sheep feed. You need to get a goat mineral for them, and keep the sheep out of it.

 

[cmjust0]

I have 3 pygmys and 2 nigerian dwarfs, all wethered males. I also have 3 ewes. I feed them all the poulin sheep complete. The goats get a small soup can twice a day.
Is that to much and do they even need the grain? I also feed free choice of the best hay I can get. They are all doing great but I noticed the goats are getting a bit chubby. Not sure if it is due to their winter fat and fur coming in or they are just getting fat. And can you give them whole corn sometimes? I read it isn't that good for them. I live in R.I.
Thanks Debbie

Offer free choice hay, then supplement according to condition. If they're thin or aren't growing well, supplement. If not, don't. With that many wethers, it would be advisable to feed a legume or legume-mix hay to ensure they're getting enough calcium. Calcium helps prevent urinary calculi.

Corn, on the other hand, is really good at causing urinary calculi. I wouldn't feed corn.

And, like FM said...your goats need copper to thrive. Make sure they get it somehow.

 

[dcullon]

This is the analysis of the sheep complete I feed to all 5 wethers and the 3 ewes.

crude protein----min---16.00 %
crude fat----min---3.00 %
crude fiber---max---10.00 %
calcium --min---1.10 %
calcium---max--1.50 %
phosphorus---min--0.55 %
salt---min--0.45 %
salt---max--0.55 %
vitamin A ----min---7.200.00 IU/LB
Selenium----min---0.50

on their website it saids that it is good to feed to wethered goats. All I need to do is make sure they have access to their mineral and plenty of fresh water and great hay. They get all that. So what do you guys think after reading the analysis?

Debbie,

 

[goatgirl123]

I am completely lost as well. It is all trial and error with me for the last couple of years. I have two Nubians (wether & doe) and three Nigerians (wether and 2 does). They all eat together at the same time. I feed them 1/2 flake of wheat hay and 3 lbs of alfalfa pellets in the morning and at night time. They all look healthy. Probably a little too healthy. One of my Nigerian does always looks pregnant. My goats are in a large pen, lots of room to run, jump and play, but very little green on ground. All food comes from me. Am I feeding the right stuff ??? No lactating does.

 

[cmjust0]

Tis the eye of the master, what fatteneth the flock. There's no right amount of feed; it all depends on the quality of your browse, of your hay, your animals' level of exercise, right on down to the very nature of the beast itself. Some are thrifty...easy keepers; some suffer ill thrift, cradle to grave...poor-doers.

My advice is always to consider bagged feed as a supplement.. If your animal stays well conditioned on forage and hay alone, don't supplement. If your animal eventually gets thin on forage and hay alone, supplement enough to keep it well conditioned.. If they start to become overly conditioned, cut'em back. If they thin out too much, bump'em up. It's more time consuming and perhaps more aggravating than having a set amount that always works well, but by tending this way your animals will be healthier and your feed bill will be only what it needs to be -- not less, and not as much as it takes to keep fat goats fat.

Also, for what it's worth.. 'Looking pregnant' is usually the result of a well-developed rumen. A big rumen is a good thing, but doesn't necessarily have any bearing on the goat's actual body condition.. A goat can have a 'big fat rumen' and still be too thin, just as a goat without much of a rumen can be overly fat.

I always check just behind the shoulders, along the ribs. I wanna be able to feel a bit of fat there -- but not too much! Like, if you can grab a big handful of flesh there, the goat's too fat. If I can't feel very much if any fat there, the goat's too thin for my liking. I wanna be able to pinch up just a bit of fat.. Seems to me that when they put on just a bit of fat there is when they've already put on a nice overall sub-q layer. The overall layer makes their hipbones and spine feel less prominent.. To me, that's good conditioning.

Some folks keep'em thinner; some keep'em fatter. That's part of raising stock -- we all do it differently and look for different things in our animals, and we each get to make the choices that work for us.