Let's Look at our Different Feeding Practices *GOATS*

[elevan]

20kidsonhill - you stated you feed your kids in a creep feeder free choice...I think my goats would eat themselves to death. Do you find that overeating is only a problem for adults?

 

[20kidsonhill]

20kidsonhill - you stated you feed your kids in a creep feeder free choice...I think my goats would eat themselves to death. Do you find that overeating is only a problem for adults?

the kids put on some serious weight, quickly in a free-choice situation, I am guessing here, but I would be willing to bet if I continued to feed them free-choice up through their teen-age years(8-10months or older) they would get over weight quickly). Even on a couple lbs a day of feed the 10 months and up will get chubby if I am not careful.

WE sell most of our stock at 10 weeks(breeding stock) to 4 months( butchering), we keep very few past that. Just a couple replacement does, maybe a new buckling that we purchased young, they are fed 2 lbs a day until I think they look like they are putting too much weight on, normally around 9 months of age and then I go down to 1 lb.

Our show whethere are normally around 6 months of age for the show, they are pretty much free-choice fed pelleted grain, very little hay. But they are also exercised, a lot at the end. We do have a little dairy in some of our goats, I can tell the higher boers will get over weight easier. The dairy have a tendency to put frame on faster. The judge will comment about how nice the frame is, but they always come up a little short in the muscling down in their legs.

We shoot for atleast 3% feed consumption of their body weight on up to 4% for animals that need to put weight on faster.

So a 50lb kid would need to eat between 1.5lb to 2lbs a day, or 4 1/2 cups to 6 cups of pelleted goat grower feed a day, to maintain a weight gain of near .5lbs a day.

 

[helmstead]

We do have a little dairy in some of our goats, I can tell the higher boers will get over weight easier. The dairy have a tendency to put frame on faster. The judge will comment about how nice the frame is, but they always come up a little short in the muscling down in their legs.

We creep our babies (all dairy) til they're 6-8 mos old, too. 20 is spot-on that after 8 mos, you would experience over-conditioning if you continued, but it does aid the dairy goats in gaining maturity faster (which helps you both in showing juniors and getting to the breeding readiness more quickly).

 

[20kidsonhill]

We are not a pet operation, we try to turn a profit or atleast break-even. Our theory is put more into the growing kids less into the brood does, We do not show the adult goats, so we don't need to have them in show quality, we need to have them in good shape for proper ovulation and healthy pregnancy and to live a healthy life, but show animals are technically(atleast meat goats) over weight and not a healthy weight for a productive life.

We put most of our feed costs into growing out our market kids and getting our replacement does and bucks big enough to join the herd and become productive. The sooner you can tell how they are going to do the better for your evaluation of your stock.


This year I kidded out 4-15 month old does that were fed grain up until they were bred, then no grain until they were 2 weeks before kidding, and they kidded out 7 nice kids, plus one stillborn. I was able to evaluate everyone and decide if I needed to plan for any changes in my breeding stock. The answer to this was yes, one of the does has very poor udder attachment and ended up being completely fish teated, with no split what-so-ever, even at the end, so I never noticed it until she had a full-bag. Her udder is horrible and I am planning on keeping an extra doeling to replace her in a year. I will breed her one more year since my new doeling wont be old enough to replace her. We wont keep any future breeding stock from her and just market the kids. It is a shame she is out of my paint doe from Indiana and she had triplets her first kidding, although she had one stillborn.

If I had not fed her out and got her to weight soon enough I would have had to wait to breed her, I probably would have had all my doelings sold and would have had to wait another year to keep a different doeling to replace her. Does that make any sense??? One could argue why don't you keep a couple extra does in those situations?

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

Thanks Elevan...this is cool to see what everyones doing. I used your format!! It was easier! Thanks for the fill in form!!


Location: NH - United States
Goats raised: Toggenburgs
Use: Dairy
Climate: Cold almost all the time!! And feet of snow!!

Winter - Spring:
Hay (clover / timothy / alfalfa / Stemie 1st cut bales added) - Available free choice to all
Dumor Goat - Fed to all (A/C included)
Manna Pro Goat Minerals (loose) - Available free choice to all
Manna Pro Goat Balancer - Fed to all (Suppliment)
Salt block - Available free choice to all

Summer - Fall:
Pasture / Browse
Hay (clover / timothy / alfalfa *no stemies in summer) - Available free choice to all
Dumor Goat - Fed to all does *(bucks I start graining in the fall for condition before rutt and grain till browse comes in spring)
Alfalfa Pelletts - Added to milkers feed
Manna Pro Goat Minerals (loose) - Available free choice to all
Manna Pro Goat Balancer - Fed to all (Suppliment)
Salt block - Available free choice to all


Treats:
Raisins (training) / fresh veggies

Probios - As needed
* I feed by weight, age and needs ie lactating, pregnant etc.
* My new spring kids - Nevermind thats a whole new thread with in itself!!! ha ha ha!! They get Momma's milk!!!

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

Location: Central Alaska
Hardiness Zone: 1
Average Winter Temps: -20 below zero F, with weeks at a time where it can drop to -50, and quite often to -40. Highs are 10 above.
Average Summer Temps: Lows of 40's on wet rainy yucky days, highs of 90's average temperature is 75.
First snow flies anywhere from mid Sept to mid Oct and is gone by mid-late April
Breed: Purebred Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goats

Winter:
Feed consists of local no chemical brome hay for all.
Does in milk and any needing extra conditioning receive a grain mix I make myself consisting of local no herbicide/pesticide barley (often it's just this), no chemicals BOSS, and local no herbicide/pesticide oats. Does in milk also receive alfalfa pellets and I use alfalfa pellets as a treat for the others on occasion. And for bribes.

Summer:
The same except they also get browse which consists of lots of garden weeds, wild roses & raspberry's, birch leaves, spruce needles.

Kids receive no grain, GI Sooth from Fir Meadow for cocci preventative.

For minerals I use kelp, which seems so far to work well for everything except copper and selenium, which is provided through another Fir Meadow herbal formula Kop-Sel.

I will be deworming with whatever Fir Meadow formula's are right for my needs. In the past I used Hoeggers.

Does in milk and pregnant receive red raspberry leaf. At first sign of illness goats get at least 1 clove of garlic each.

I am currently working on setting up a barley fodder system but because of some family issues that has been put on hold.

I do not vaccinate, and so far have had no need to medicate with standard drugs or chemical dewormers.

 

[elevan]

AlaskanShepherdess - I take a garlic supplement daily myself so I completely get where you're coming from with garlic at the first sign of illness for the goats. My question for you is - How do you administer the garlic to your goats? I have such picky goats that it becomes a PITA to give them anything at times. Do they just take it like a treat or do you hide it or what...how do you get them to eat the garlic?

I'm also unfamiliar with the benefits of red raspberry leaf...I suppose I could look it up - but that's why I started this thread so we could learn from each other. What is the reason for supplementing the red raspberry leaf and what benefits are you seeing in your herd because of it?

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

I recently started making garlic oil, I put a bunch of cloves in a mini blender with just enough oil to keep everything moving smoothly so all the garlic can be entirely shredded up. Then I add in more olive oil until I have about triple the amount of olive oil as garlic. Then I can just drench them with the oil. I have 2 that drink it like they do their herbal "treats" (herbs with molasses and just enough water to get through syringe)

Previously I just put them through the garlic press into their grain. They never turned their nose up to it.

Red Raspberry leaf tones the reproductive organs and helps the body prepare for birth. I recently read about how much a strong decoction the day of birth helped in humans, and I want to try that on my does as well.

ETA: I haven't had enough does give birth yet to say for sure it works etc. The one kidding I have had so far was very easy with no problems.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Garlic is also helpful in keeping the ticks off

1 tsp of minced or dehydrated garlic mixed into their morning feed keeps them & mosquitos at bay.

 

[jodief100]

WE sell most of our stock at 10 weeks(breeding stock) to 4 months( butchering), we keep very few past that. Just a couple replacement does, maybe a new buckling that we purchased young, they are fed 2 lbs a day until I think they look like they are putting too much weight on, normally around 9 months of age and then I go down to 1 lb.

Our show whethere are normally around 6 months of age for the show, they are pretty much free-choice fed pelleted grain, very little hay. But they are also exercised, a lot at the end. We do have a little dairy in some of our goats, I can tell the higher boers will get over weight easier. The dairy have a tendency to put frame on faster. The judge will comment about how nice the frame is, but they always come up a little short in the muscling down in their legs.

We shoot for atleast 3% feed consumption of their body weight on up to 4% for animals that need to put weight on faster.

So a 50lb kid would need to eat between 1.5lb to 2lbs a day, or 4 1/2 cups to 6 cups of pelleted goat grower feed a day, to maintain a weight gain of near .5lbs a day.

20 kids- I find it interesting that we have the same goals, market meat stock and make a profit, yet we have very different approaches. I don't creep feed the kids and they take 6-8 months to get to market weight (60-80). I find that works out for me financially. When your kids gain weight that fast do you have trouble with the meat animals being "fatty"? My customers are pretty adamant they do not want any fat on the animal. With my low stocking rates feeding them longer doesn't cost me anything. It is only an issue when I carry a few over in the winter but I justify it by the fact that winter/early spring prices are so much higher it is worth it.

I can see how your approach would have the advantage of being able to breed back the does quicker. I will stick with mine for now but I would love to understand more about your approach from a financial perspective.