Milk Production

[Nathan Justice]

That is a huge debate. I always give mine dry. Some say soak the pellets and not the shredded, some say don't soak either, some say soak both. Some say soak for horses and not for goats. I think that if you are only giving a cup or so at a time they will be fine dry. Look for calf Manna too and only give it to the doe on the milk stand, and just a handful mixed into her other grain. Mine LOVE it but I almost lost a doe when she sneaked into the barn and helped herself to about a quart or more at one time.

I was confused on if I should or not. I wouldn't give her no more than a handful per milking, which is twice a day. The buck would get very little to none a day. I will try all of these ideas and see which one suits me and my small herd of two the best. Thanks everyone for the advice! It sure has helped. God Bless.

 

[Nathan Justice]

Also, about how much do ya'll charge per gallon? Since I am feeding Non-GMO feed, I didn't know if that made a difference

 

[Southern by choice]

@babsbag is right I have weird picky goats.
They will throw the alfalfa pellets out, They won't eat them.
So I don't know how much pellet to feed.
I don't feed any sweet feeds... my goats are so weird they won't touch any kind of sweet anything.

Minerals are a must!

I agree everyone needs to do what works for their herd but keep in mind you have many experienced people that just want to give a heads up. Sadly we see goats go downhill, mineral deficient, parasitic the list goes on and goats drop dead and for the most part most things can be prevented.

I have one Nubian ... we have 47 goats total. I can tell you minerals are essential. Milk production is best achieved by good diet. We don't "push" our goats to produce but we do provide forage, alfalfa/orchard hay and feed on the stand.

Not sure of your region but copper /selenium are two biggies in many regions where additional supplementation may be necessary.

As far as selling milk- Unless you are a graded dairy it is illegal to sell milk in my state. We can sell for animal use but milk must be labeled in a particular way and must say NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. I think here people sell for $8-$10 gallon. We don't sell it... not worth the risk IMO.

 

[alsea1]

It is legal in Oregon to sell off the farm if you have under a certain number of animals.
I cannot remember what that number is.
The going rate in my area is six to ten per gal.
Anytime you sell something to the public there is def. risk involved with ending up in court.
I inform them that I have not pasteurized the milk. I give out a sheet on how to pasteurize the milk and suggest that they do so for safety.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Also, about how much do ya'll charge per gallon? Since I am feeding Non-GMO feed, I didn't know if that made a difference

Probably makes difference to some people

What is the feed if you don't mind me asking ?

 

[Nathan Justice]

Probably makes difference to some people

What is the feed if you don't mind me asking ?

Tucker Milling is the producer. It is produced in Guntersville, AL. It is Non-GMO and Soy free. It is the Multi Species.

 

[Southern by choice]

Tucker Milling is the producer. It is produced in Guntersville, AL. It is Non-GMO and Soy free. It is the Multi Species.

Is this it?
http://www.tuckermilling.com/nongmo.html

It does not list everything on the label. If you can grab a tag and get a picture.

Often Multi- species feeds are NOT great for goats, usually the Ca/P ratio is way off.
There is a place locally here I looked into and it was formulated for goats but the ratios were so off there is no way I would feed it.

 

[alsea1]

After losing a really nice buck to urinary stones I quit feeding my bucks grain altogether. They eat grass hay and brush. They keep a healthy weight. Of course if that changes I will be on the hunt for a safe concentrate.
In my area organic non gmo feeds are way out of my price range.

 

[Southern by choice]

After losing a really nice buck to urinary stones I quit feeding my bucks grain altogether. They eat grass hay and brush. They keep a healthy weight. Of course if that changes I will be on the hunt for a safe concentrate.
In my area organic non gmo feeds are way out of my price range.

We feed all our bucks but only a small amount. The Ca/P ratio is good and we give alfalfa/orchard hay and they have the land.
So far so good.
We only do the feed because we need a better balance. Winter they have nothing so they are basically dry lot and being in rut they need the calories etc.

If the land will support them and they are gettingminerals and not losing condition then stick with that.

There is no one right way as we all know... it just takes time to see what works for you.

 

[alsea1]

I think location has a lot to do with it. I am in Oregon and the vegetation is lush and booming.
The only thing lacking is a good selenium content to the grass and hay. That gets fixed via a mineral mix that our vet puts out. It is geared for this area.
I'm just hoping the summer is a mild one.