Best commercial goat grain

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Taking the previous inquiry one step further, which commercial goat feed would you recommend?

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognnet.net), December 29, 2001

Answers

I feed my two girls Purina Goat chow.any other feeds I can get here have things in them I don't want my goats to eat.It is more expensive than other feeds so if you have a lot of goats you might need to find a less expensive feed. But my girls are small goats and don't eat as much as bigger goats so I can spoil them a little.

-- vickiP. (countrymous@webtv.net), December 29, 2001.

Hi Lynn!!

We currently feed Blue Seal Caprine Challenger for the does and for the bucks I feed Coarse 14 and Lamb Finisher. Everyone receives Black Oil Sunflower Seed, too. I provide free choice kelp and baking soda. They also have a salt/mineral block.

I've been satisfied with these feeds, but I am leaning more & more to having our own feed mixed. I'd like to get away from all the molasses and soy products that are in the prepared feeds. I don't like ingredients on the label that I can't pronounce. Lately, I've been reading as much as I can about feeds and trying to be more informed. I'm still not sure where to start. One problem that I do foresee is storage of the mixed feed. Right now, I can buy the exact amount of 50# bags that I need at one time, (which my husband thinks is the main reason to keep using these feeds) but with specialty mixed feeds, I may have to buy a minimum amount and until our new barn is built in the spring, it would be difficult to store it all.

Thanks to all the informed goat herders out there....Couldn't do it without you!

-- Charleen with Obies in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), December 30, 2001.


This is where I am at Lynn!! I would feed Purina Goat Chow, except it isn't high enough in fat, so I would add Black Oil Sunflowerseeds, which are 8$ more for 50 pounds, and right now the Purina is running under 10$ per 50. Then it doesn't have enough good fiber, so I would add beat pulp, and the copper level is way to low for my Nubian girls so they need the loose mineral, and it really has no bicarbonate or probiotics in it, and especially for a 9$+ feed it should, so.............. I simply don't have enough goats to feed a custom mix, but I am going back to just mixing my own formula until I can find something closer to my likeing. But give me two goats, and yes, Purina Goat Chow, BOSS, beet pulp, Diamond V Yeast, a mineral mix from a custom mill, and............;0)

Soybean meal has been the mainstay of good animal rations for years. I really hate seeing the internet info that steers folks away from it, leaving you feeding what for protein? It's one thing if the base of your goats diet is a non ending feeder full of alfalfa that has been kept in excellent condition with cold dry conditions. But here in the south I cringe with talk of not feeding soybeanmeal as the protein enhancement. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 30, 2001.


We have been through the gamit of feeds, the commercial goat feeds that is. We used Blue Seal when we lived in western NYS yrs ago when w ehad Nubians. But then most goat breeders did. then we fed our first goats in VA the cheapo stuff you can get at Central Tractor Supply, boy, glad I wasn't showing then, not good feed, not enough protein and vitamins, etc. So we then went with a speciality mix, we used that for almost 2 yrs and then stopped because our dear friends who owned the Bayview Herd sold Blue Seal. So we tried it again, the 3 hr drive one way to benson, NC to the mill was alittle old and tiring. So then we went back to blue Seal.

I noted that this past feb w ehad more kids who needed Mu-se or Bo-Se equivilant (our vet didn't have Bo-Se_ so we used that. Then shortly before we moved we noted that some of the tails were baldy, we had rough coats and that thei didn't ahve the luster they ahd on the old mix. That mix wa sspecially formulated and had everything balanced. We also fed a 2:1 mineral mix too, but switched to Blue Seal minerals too. So they jsut didn't get what they needed.

then we moved to AR, now we got a nice mix from a farm supply store going out but since he left w eswitched and now we are using our speciality mix again. I personally think Nutrena is good, we fed that for bit. I don't like purina which is big on Kansas, Ok, etc. But that is my personal opinion.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), December 30, 2001.


Bernice, Nutrena is less than 10 miles from here, do you remember which feed you fed? Was it pelleted or coarse, my girls hate pellets! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.


Vicki, I thought that my goats wouldn't eat the pelleted feeds either but I did buy the Nutrena Top Goat last week and every one just loves it. It's a combination of rolled grain and (soft) pellets. They eat every little bit. They didn't like other pelleted feeds and in some they would pick out the good things and leave the pellets behind, but not the Nutrina.

-- shari (smillers@snowcrest.net), December 31, 2001.

Vicki,

It was the course grain, not pelleted. Ours don't really care too much for pellets. If I had to just feed a commercial grain i would choose Nutreana, it seemed to work and thats what the 9 does i got from Washington ate, nutreana.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 01, 2002.


We feed a goat grain mix from our local feed store, and supplement with kelp and black oil sunflower seeds. They each get a flake of alfalfa hay daily, and we also feed minerals and baking soda free choice. The "girls" also get an occasional serving of either bananas, pears, apples or carrots -- cut up of course -- about 1/2 cup for each goat. Yes, we baby them...

I'd like more information on getting nicer coats. We have oberhasli and while it is winter, their coats are rough and ready, but I'm still looking for some luster. Any suggestions?

-- Cynthia (blessmyown@yahoo.com), January 02, 2002.


Cynthia,

We too, have Oberhasli and their coat is not as shiny as it was when the weather was warm. I find that the black oil sunflower seed does help. Since it's wintertime, their coats are thicker. If you comb their hair in the opposite way that it grows, you can see the "winter" hair growing. Kind of like the "down" on a bird. This keeps them warmer and they'll shed it in the spring. The does really enjoy a good brushing.

One other thing that we do, especially in the winter when they need to retain body heat, is to give them unlimited grass hay each day. The goats need that roughage and fiber in their systems.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), January 03, 2002.


ok, now on other web places i have bemoaned the fact that thereare no feed mills around here to mix grain , and , its true , i asked several farmers what they do , well this is north dakota, and the beef farmers dont buy grain , all cattle are grass fed , till slaughter , the sheep farmers i have met , simply mix cracked corn and soymeal ..... i havent found any place closer than 130 miles that carries goat ration, finally i talked again with the local feedstore , promised them i would be buying about 200 lbs a month , and now , finally they will carry it , .....provided they can get it , not sure what company they deal with , but , they said it wasnt purina.....

ohhhh, funny , sad but true story

i went there , and asked them for some goat ration , they told me we dont carry it , i said fine , ican mix some up , now keep in mind this is north dakota , where most b.o.s.s. are grown ok, can i get a 50 lb bag of sunflower. no we ship all that out of state... ok, how about corn no sorry ma'am all sold ok, umm, do you have soybean ? yes , we have soybean meal all right 2 bags please , what about dairy ration?(thinking , ok maybe i can whip up a good mix..) no we dont carry that.

rrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh so , i ended up buying 3 bags of 12%horse ration , and 2 bags soybean meal, and 10 lbs of powdered molasses, not the best , but until they can get me some good goat ration....

way too much molasses in the horse feed.... why do they do that ?, my horses are tickled pink with plain old corn ...

any how , i got some 1/2 way decent ration for now , and am going to follow up call them on the goat ration , if they wont then the next step is calling a place about 60 miles from here ....

i love country life ...... really .....

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), January 28, 2002.



Beth- you might be able to get BOSS at a hardware store or maybe Walmart, look in the birdseed section, that's where it will be.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), January 30, 2002.

Where can I find beet pulp and Diamond V Yeast? Bettie

-- Bettie Ferguson (jobett@dixie-net.com), January 30, 2002.

Have any of you folks tried adding corn oil or rice bran (not similar at all to wheat bran - and its made by Triple Crown) to your feeds for added fat. We use it with the horses and had a nubian doe as barn mate that ate it along with her chow and she stayed in great shape. For show goats, the rice bran also would contribute nice muscling along with a great coat. There is also a product made by Triple Crown called Rice Bran Plus which is a rice bran oil, corn oil, and soybean oil mix. I haven't tried it but should be great also. Also we have a product here made by Carnation called Calf Manna which is excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals that is recommended for everything from horses to chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, hogs, etc. I've used it for years and just love. We only have Purina and Southern States Feed here for our horse feed and neither are top notch for show stock - you have to add to it. I've tried other similar products but Calf Manna is my favorite. For extra fiber and to help with heat retention in the winter (and just because it makes me feel motherly) I tuck my babies in with an evening feed of a bran mash made by pouring hot water over wheat bran, adding in loose salt, corn oil and liquid molasses and mixing in some oats. This sits until cool enough to feed - they just love it - they lick and slobber all over each other until the buckets are bone dry and clean. Race horse trainers use this every evening - when horses are fed primarily alfalfa hay (which I do) you have to balance out the calcium with phosphoros which is what the wheat bran does. This is also great for old animals with teeth issues. You just add their grain ration or pellets to it and it all gets soft enough for them to eat easily.

Hope this helps someone. If someone needs proportions for the mash they are and its really easy - you just want to make sure to add enough water to make it slightly soopy. For the average horse - I use 1 1/2 of a 2 lb coffee cans wheat bran, one 2 lb. coffee can of oats or sweet feed, 1/2 to 3/4 cup corn oil, small handful of plain salt, 1/4 cup mollasses, and enough boiling hot water to make to slightly soopy. I mix the dry ingred. first and then mix the oil, hot water, and mollasses together and pour over the dry and let sit till cool enough to eat.

-- pam lipscomb (plips71755@aol.com), November 04, 2002.


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