How often and what tiime of day do you feed your goats

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My dry does get a small amount of grain btween five and six in the afternoon, depending on season. When they are pregnant or in milk they get grained about 8:30 am and then between five and six in the afternoon. They get hay spaced out three times a day; otherwise they will either gorge themselves on it or waste it. It works out very well for me. In nice weather they get out on pasture a few hours a day as well.

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), March 01, 2002

Answers

Twice a day, morning (8-11) and night(10-12). Right now they are all (but one) dry and pregnant. They get grain morning and night in two troughs, they have to stick their heads through stock panel to get to the grain. They get alfalfa hay at the same time. If they waste a lot of it, I feed less, I want them to eat the stems. Feeders that reduce waste and keep the hay clean really help here.

when they are milking, I try to keep it at 12 hour intervals, and they get grain at milking time. In years past we have had them on pasture, I think we will be supplementing with hay even in the summer now.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 01, 2002.


When the does are dry and pregnant they get very little grain twice a day, 10 am and 10 pm usually. Once very pregnant I start adding their chopped alfalfa to the evening meal and upping the amount of grain to 1 pound in the morning and 1 pound at night. We keep our good grass hay out all the time, but once the woods are back in the spring, they eat very little hay. Once a doe kids she goes onto the milk stand twice a day to be milked and to eat extra grain to keep her in good milk and good flesh. Infants are free choice fed, with grain and hay in front of them all the time, the juniors and yearlings get 1 pound in the am and 1 pound in the pm till they are bred, here that means 135 pounds and very well grown. We have horrible keeping quality of our hay, otherwise I would feed alfalfa exclusiviely perhaps using a little grass hay also during pregnancy, and would only grain on the milk stand. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 01, 2002.

To avoid midnight encounters with dark vipers I feed at 7-8am and then at 6-7 pm and milk at the same time. Mine get alfalfa at feeding time free choice grass hay all day. They usually don't eat too much grass hay. If they aren't in milk tho, I don't give them alfalfa. The stuff is just too expensive here at $8.25 a bale now. I am seriously considering finding the highest protein grass hay I can and buying a hundred bales at one time. $8.25 just hurts.

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), March 01, 2002.

I hate to sound ignorant but it seems with goating I am. What kind of grain do you feed your goats? I've always just given my oldest goat the Purina goat food. She won't eat the hay that I bought. Don't ask me what kind because before I came to this forum, I thought that all hay was the same. I have also given her dried shredded beets.

-- Sheila in NC (nannie@intrstar.net), March 01, 2002.

$8.25 a bale ! manoman .and I complain about $5 a bale

-- Lee (sgrmtn@moaccess.com), March 02, 2002.


Sheila, how much grain are you giving your goats? Maybe it's too much so they don't want hay. Or maybe they are just holding out for the grain. A good timothy/alfalfa mix should do fine. But they need that roughage. Too much grain is not good and they'll tend to gain weight.

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), March 02, 2002.

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