Category: Feeding Goats

Supplies Needed for Goats

1/27/2020

8 Comments

Before you bring home your new goats you should be prepared with all the supplies you’ll need to take care of them. Below is a list to get you started!

Basic Supplies

hay feeder/rack (we use a rack for alfalfa and horse hay bags for grass hay)
feed buckets/pans
water bucket (we like automatic ones)
mineral feeder (for loose minerals)
rake
pitchfork
broom (goat berries are hard to rake!)
horse brush
hoof nippers
hoof pick
hoof rasp
digital thermometer
stethescope (goats are prone to pneumonia)
bandage or surgical scissors
dog clippers & blades
large dog kennel for transportation
collar (we like the plastic chain ones from Caprine Supply because they will break if the goat gets caught on something)
leash
dog scale or weight tape (to correctly dose medications)
dog house or calf hutch or other shelter
proper fencing (no climb wire or welded panels or electric goat fence are good choices)

Medical, Grooming & Nutritional supplies

probiotic paste
banamine (for fever, pain & inflammation)
antibiotics: Nuflor for respiratory issues
Vetricyn Pink Eye Spray
Coppertox (for hoof rot)
Cut N Heal
alcohol wipes (for cleaning injection sites & the thermometer)
syringes & needles 1, 3 & 6 ml. syringes. 18, 20 & 22 gauge needles 3/4 to 1” long
large (12, 15 or 30 ml) syringes for medications or a reusable drenching gun
Goat Nutri Drench
Red Cell (to treat anemia)
Fortified B Complex - injectable or paste (to prevent goat polio if the goat is sick and goes off feed)
Selenium & E gel
Replamin Plus Gel
Horse shampoo
triple antibiotic ointment
Super 7 Naval Dip (if breeding, for umbilical cords)
Tetanus Antitoxin (in case of injury)
CD&T antitoxin (in case of overeating, to prevent enterotoxemia)
dewormer (Ivomec injectible or other)
rubber exam gloves
blood stop powder (for hoof trimming)
activated charcoal
electrolytes
milk of magnesia
pepto bismol
vegetable oil
Toltrazuril (for coccidiosis)
BoSe (prescription injection for Selenium deficiency. May or may not be necessary. Discuss with your vet.)
copper bolus (For copper deficiency. May or may not be needed, depending on your area and your loose mineral. Discuss with your vet.)
epinephrine
Vet RX

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Feeding our Miniature Dairy Goat Herd

1/12/2020

4 Comments

We prefer to feed all of our animals as healthfully and naturally as possible. We avoid most commercial feeds because they are usually full of soy, GMO's, by-products, chemicals and other questionable ingredients. We drink the milk from our goats and eat the eggs from our chickens so we don't want this stuff passed on to us. Furthermore we want our animals to live a long and healthy life and we feel that avoiding certain feed stuffs will help them do so.

All of our goats get:

Free choice dairy test alfalfa hay. We buy all of our hay once or twice a year from Marty Martinez Hay Co. We go through about 30-40 tons a year. Marty has the best quality hay in the area and buying in bulk ensures we get the best quality hay at the best prices. We never buy less than a squeeze (4-5 tons) at a time!
We also feed a little Orchard Grass or forage hay for variety. Forage hay is a mixture of oats, barley and beardless wheat. It’s economical to buy, the goats like it and it’s good for them but they waste a lot. Orchard Grass is great hay but very expensive in our area, so we mostly feed it to our fat ponies and feed the goats alfalfa, which they much prefer, anyway!
Free choice loose minerals (NOT blocks - goats can’t lick/chew them well). We use and recommend Crafts-MIN from Grass Farmer Supply. It’s all organic, really high in Copper and Selenium, which are very deficient where we live, and also contains Icelandic Kelp and a lot of other great ingredients. If you can’t get CraftsMin then Sweetlix Magnum Milk or Meat Maker is our second choice and available at most feed stores. We do NOT recommend the Manna Pro mineral from TS. It's not well balanced and our goats wouldn’t even touch it!
Trimmings from our non-poisonous trees and pasture forage whenever available

Filling the hay barn once or twice a year is a big, multi-day job!

The mainstays of a healthy goat diet: high quality, green, leafy hay, high quality loose minerals and forage.

Good hay should be leafy & green

Goats love trees!

Additional food:

Grain:
We don't feed much grain since goats are ruminants and get most of what they need from high our quality alfalfa (and grass or forage) hay and free choice loose Crafts-Min minerals. Roughage (hay, trees, etc), not grain, is what makes milk and keeps goats healthy, so that's the foundation of their diet, while the minerals balance everything out. We do give some grain to does on the milk stand. Our bucks don’t get any grain. Grain is not good for male goats as most grains are high in phosphorus and can cause urinary calculi! Please, don’t feed your male goats grain, especially pet wethers. It can lead to a very sad end. (Alfalfa is ok for bucks and wethers as it actually helps prevent UC. Just don’t overfeed it or they can get too fat!) We have not found a need to feed our bucks grain even during breeding season because they get everything they need from alfalfa hay and CraftsMin loose minerals.

We don't like to use commercial feeds because of all the GMO's, soy, etc. We also refuse to use any commercial feed that doesn’t use a fixed formula. Therefore we feed either whole oats or rolled barley (or both) to does on the milk stand, nursing does and kids and as an occasional treat to dry does. Sometimes we add a little BOSS (Black oil sunflower seed) for variety.

Electrolytes:
When it’s really hot out we give electrolytes to keep the goats hydrated, especially does in milk and young kids. Our brand of choice is Sheep and Goat BlueLite, which we get at Premier 1 Supply.

Treats:
We use large alfalfa/grass hay pellets or Manna Pro Saddle Snacks horse treats from Tractor Supply as a treat and the goats and horses love them. If you see the goats or horses mugging my pockets they are looking for these treats! 😆 Some of our goats also enjoy things like animal crackers, raisins, apples, mandarin oranges and such. And a few will knock you down for a banana. We feed all our overripe bananas to them, peels and all. ☺️

Hay pellets

Horse treats

That’s the basis of a healthy goat diet: sweet and simple, and relatively inexpensive, when you’re only feeding a few goats, at least! 😆 And in exchange for these food we get plenty of sweet, delicious milk, adorable babies and goat kisses! 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐