Grazing Goats On Pasture and Browse 

Grazing Management Goals

·      to ensure adequate nutrition

·      to maximize goat health by reducing disease and controlling parasites

·      to maintain the integrity of the pasture or browse area.

 Adaptive advantages that enable goats to graze successfully

·      An innate ability to select the most nutritional plants, and the most nutritional parts of those plants

·      An ability to grasp and tear, enabling them to eat a multitude of plants other animals cannot eat.

·      A tolerance for bitter taste enabling them to eat plants other animals will not eat.  (For example, tannin-producing plants which have natural deworming properties.)

·      A preference for eating forage higher than their knee level.  (above parasite level)

·      The ability to store liquid in the rumen, which allows them to survive without water for up to 4 days.

·      Fat storage in the abdomen which allows them to survive without food for up to 4 days. (Smith)

Benefits of grazing

·      Grazing offers higher nutritional value than that achieved by haying off the same field.  This is due to the goat’s ability to select the highest nutritional quality among the forage offered.

·      Being outdoors prevents diseases that thrive in damp, dark barns

·      Grazing reduces feed waste.

·      Goats carefully walk and nibble their way through fields, with minimal damage to stands of grass and legumes, and they deposit manure and urine that fertilize the pasture.

·      Goats dislike fines and prefer whole grains.  You can eliminate the expensive loss of feedstuffs from fines produced in confinement feeding systems.

·      Grazing saves the farmer time in the barn, as there is no forage to haul to the barn to feed, or to clean up after the goats are done eating.

·      Grazing minimizes the need for large, expensive machinery and reduces trucking costs to bring in purchased hay.

·      Goats can clean up a neglected pasture to prepare a place for other animals to graze.  When clearing pasture of weeds and brush, rotate the goats through the weedy areas more frequently than you would a regular rotation, so they repeatedly eat off the growth buds.  That way the weeds can’t renew their root resources and they die out, leaving only good pasture behind.  (See before and after pictures of this type of “weeding” at: http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/meatgoat/companion%20pastures.htm )

·      Minerals  are more available from forages in pasture than those in grains or in rock form.  

·      Grazing increases the flavor in milk products.  At Langston University Goat Research Center, they found that the soft Egyptian Domiati goat cheese had the best flavor when mid-lactation goats were pastured in June and July, and had little or no grain supplementation.  Adding high levels of grain to grazing goats, decreased the cheese flavor and increased the somatic cell count.  (Langston) 

Challenges of grazing

·      Goats will initially resist change, just like people.  When you don’t give them the hay they’re used to, and put them out to graze, they will holler their heads off for about 4 days.   After that they will settle down and start grazing.  The key is stick to your guns.  Do not give in and feed hay when they go in to be milked. (Hart and Min)

·      Goats don’t like rain and wind.  You must provide a moveable shelter. 

·      Grazing must be managed, and this takes some producer time. 

·      You must set up temporary fences ahead of where you are currently grazing, so you can move the goats when they need to be moved.  This is easy with spool type reels that hook over the perimeter fence, and pigtail posts that quickly and easily push into the ground.  You can set up several at once when you have time. So you only have to do this occasionally.

·      You must move the shade/shelter when you change paddocks. (once or twice a week)

·      You have to go out and bring the goats in for milking and treatments.  Other options that have been used:  

·      have a mobile milking parlor and take it to the goats

·      design your parlor in the center of the field so that all paddocks lead to the parlor (New Zealand model)  

·      You must pay attention to the pasture itself so you don’t damage it.

·      Exterior fencing and interior, moveable fencing costs money.

·      Grazing is seasonal in the northern part of the United States, requiring that you cut and store pasture forages (hay or wrapped hay for baleage), or buy forages for winter feeding.

·      Milk production decreases slightly on pasture, but that loss in income is more than made up for in reduced production costs, reduced vet and medicine bills and reduced labor time in cleaning the barn and carrying feed.

If you decide you don't want to graze, an alternative is "green feeding"" where you green chop the pasture and bring the feed to the goats. (Called zero grazing) They have the benefit of fresh grass and legumes, without the parasites.  (Considine, Dairy Goats For Pleasure and Profit, page 65)   Note: you must cut higher than 5 " from the ground to avoid parasites.

 

Pasture watering system: black plastic hose with Plasson Couplers that allow quick hook up of watering tanks.

Portable water barrel with Hudson valve, and hose with Plasson coupler on the end to attach to black water hose system in pasture.  For more information on this barrel see the Producer Tips page.

Effect of grazing on milk production and components

A 2005 study at Langston University, found that "high levels of milk production could be obtained on pasture alone, and that response to concentrate supplementation is dependent on pasture quality."  They said that milk production would be lower if goats were grazed without supplementation, but that it might be cost effective not to supplement.  (Lower feed costs can quickly offset milk production losses.)  They found that dairy goats grazing fresh forages without supplementation can produce 3.8 kg/day (8.36 lb.)   Higher production than that would require supplementation.  They supplemented at two levels, and found that 0.33 kg supplement /kg of milk produced over 1.5 kg (0.76 lb. of supplement /lb of milk over 3.3 lb.)  was adequate to increase production.  There was no advantage to feeding the higher level of 0.66 kg/kg of milk produced over 1.5 kg, (1.45 lb/lb milk produced over 3.3 lb) since higher supplementation did not increase milk yield or milk protein.  They said that diets with low levels of supplementation are more cost effective and that the response to supplementation is highest when forage quality is low.  If forage is adequate, then supplementation had a less profound effect.    

 

Their pasture contained wheat, berseem clover, wheat/ryegrass, sudangrass and crabgrass.  They used a 7 day rotation to provide 2-4 kg (4.4 - 8.8 lb.) of dry matter per day. Their does kidded March to April.  A Panacur drench was given before they started grazing and was given again if Fecal Egg Counts exceeded 800 eggs / gram of feces during the lactation period.  Fecal egg counts were done once a month using a modified McMaster Technique.  The goats were milked twice a day at 7am and 4 pm.   (Min)

 

Feeding Behavior of Goats on Pasture 

·       Diet choice and feeding behaviors are influenced by previous behavior.  Goats raised in confinement since birth, will be slow to adjust to grazing.  But once over the initial resistance to change, goats will eat pastures containing forage grasses such as orchard grass and rye grass.  They will eat chicory, and legumes such as red clover and alfalfa.  In one southern study, testing food preferences, the goats preferred chicory, red clover and orchard grass when allowed to select their own feed.  Their preferences were not related to the quality of the forage, only to type.  When offered two patterns of eating, one where types of grasses were planted in separate areas, and one where they were all mixed together, goats preferred the areas where they could eat just what they wanted to, rather than getting a mixture in one bite.  The researchers decided that combining the “preferred” forage species with familiar forage species is the best option for planting, or the goats would only graze their favorites and not get enough variety in their diet..  Goats that previously had a predominance of corn in their diet or who were relocated before grazing and thus were already upset, did not graze as well as those familiar with grazing. (Burgess)

 ·       Goats graze from the top down.  They do not like to graze close to the ground.  They  have been observed to 

1) select grass over clover 

2) prefer browse over herbaceous plants 

3) graze along fence lines before grazing the center of a pasture 

4) refuse to graze forage that has been trampled and soiled.  

It is better to put them into a small section of the pasture and to move the fence as needed, rather than to let them roam freely.  (Yoder)

 ·      Age matters. Young goats will graze better than their parents, who have been raised in confinement.  (Brewer)

 Method of grazing /stocking rate / time between grazing of paddocks

Managed, intensive (rotational) grazing, with moveable interior fencing. 

This method allows you to control what the goats are eating, and avoids letting them eat too low on the plants.

Managed grazing does not mean feeding hay in the barn and then letting the goats wander through a field.  In this scenario, the goat will have little incentive to eat from the pasture.  

Managed grazing means that the majority of the goat’s nutritional needs are met on pasture.  No hay is fed in the barn, except during the winter or in bad weather. Grain is fed at milking, and only to supplement the forage.

 The more you offer supplements in the parlor, the less the does will be driven to graze. http://www.uvm.edu/sustainableagriculture/SRDPspring05.PDF

Stocking rate:  

Stocking rates differ from author to author:

5 goats per acre on pasture (Greene, Understanding Pasture Stocking Rate and Carrying Capacity)

6 goats per acre on improved or native pasture. 10 goats per acre on browse.  (Brown-Crowder)  

Time between grazings

 Start grazing at 8-10 inches. Animals can eat more at that height, with the least effort    

How often you move the goats depends on the carrying capacity of the land, that is , the amount and quality of the available grass. (Greene)

Generally, do not regraze land for at least 30 days, especially where there is a lot of alfalfa because you will reduce the stand.  Also to avoid parasite reinfection. (Greene, Maintaining..)  

 Maintaining integrity of the pasture

·      Control stocking rate and stocking density for each paddock at rates appropriate for stand density.

·      Graze the paddock uniformly by adjusting goat numbers or by adjusting paddock size

·      Move the goats when they have defoliated the area to a desired stubble height ( Note: 5” for parasite control) and before they start re-grazing the new growth.

·      Rotate back to the first paddock before it has become too mature to meet the goats nutritional requirements. (Brown-Crowder)  

Meeting nutritional needs on pasture

·      The goat’s basic nutritional requirements can be met entirely with good quality pasture. (See table below for definitions of pasture quality.) Supplementation is only required to meet increased nutritional needs due to growth, pregnancy and lactation. (see Nutrition section for supplementation levels for those stages.)

·      Test pasture forages so that you know how much supplement is needed.

·      Supplement with grain by moving the animals to a separate grain field 2 hours a day, or by feeding grain at milking time, but ;limit it to just what is needed, or you suppress the need to graze..

·       Minerals: Use 0.75-1 oz. or 24-30 grams per day for mature goats on pasture.  Note: Consumption of mineral may be excessive immediately after introduction to the mineral, but it will generally level off after 10-14 days.  Copper should be 25-30 parts per million (ppm). (This section summarized from Machen, Minerals)  

 Methods of seeding / reseeding pasture

·      Select late maturing varieties that are palatable, adapted to grazing and persist well in your area.

·      Soil test pastures and bring them up to recommended nutrient and pH levels.

·      If you don’t have machinery to seed the pasture, you can:

o       add some forage seed to the mineral mix (5 lb. of see to 50 lb. mineral mix), then put the animals on pasture.  They will "deposit" the seed, walk it into the ground, fertilize it and water it for you!

o       allow a pasture of established legumes to go to seed, graze that field and then move the animals to the pasture you wanted reseeded, letting them deposit the seen for you..

o         add the seed to the manure in your manure spreader and spread it with the manure. (Daigle)

Parasite control on pasture

You can use dewormers and/or sustainable methods of control.   (Remember that parasites are becoming increasingly resistant to dewormers, so eventually we will all have to learn to control parasites without them.)  You will need to use a combination of techniques.  

Sustainable methods:

·        parasite peak period avoidance: shifting goats from permanent pasture to annual pasture or browse areas, and remaining off permanent pasture until parasite load decreases. (PPPP=permanent pasture promotes parasites)

·        haying off the permanent pasture (exposing parasites to sunlight)

·        cultivating the permanent pasture to destroy parasite load

·        not allowing goats to graze below 5” on the stem. (larva is found on the lower 4” of forage stems)

·        selectively breeding goats who do not get high parasite loads (natural resistance) and culling those who do.

·          planting tannin-producing plants that have natural anthelmintic properties. (Langston University, Texas A&M and Purdue are all studying this right now.)

 Deworming procedure with drugs:

·        Treat the goats on dry lot prior to moving the goats out to pasture. (If you use Safeguard Block you will need to start sooner that if you give paste form  It takes a while to lick enough of the block to be effective. See Medical section, Dr. Bliss method for instructions on using block dewormers.)

·        Check worm levels with a FAMACHA chart, and body score.  Record on the BCS, Weight and Parasite Scoring chart from the Forms section. 

·        Withhold grain for 24 hours before deworming so they will eat the dewormer. 

·        Use dewormers by mouth.  Do not use pour-ons, as goats do not usually have sufficient body fat to prevent nerve damage to the spine from pour on dewormers).

·        Use twice the cow dosage for all dewormers except Levamisole.  Use Levamisole at 1 ½ times the cow dose. Most people would assume that because a goat is smaller than a cow, it should get a smaller dosage of drugs, but that is not true.  You also have to take into account the ability of the animal to process the drugs in it's body.  Drugs move through a goat's digestive system much faster than through a cow's system, so not as much of the drug gets absorbed..  You have to give a higher dose, as much of it gets washed out of the system.  The reason a goat's body processes things faster is because they have small bodies and don't have room to store as much food.  Thus they eat more often and process the food quickly in order to get nutrients.  A cow on the other hand, has a lot of body room for food storage, so drugs stay in a cow's system longer and there is more time to absorb the drug.

 

·        Keep them in the dry lot for at least 24 hours after giving the dewormer, to allow them to release the parasite eggs on the dry lot. Then move them to pasture, and disinfect the dry lot with Virkon, or use a separate place in the pasture to keep them after deworming and never use it for anything else but deworming.

·        Check FAMACHA levels a week later to make sure the drug is working.  You should see a 95% reduction in worm load.  If you don’t, then your herd is resistant to the drug you are giving.  Switch to a different class of dewormer and repeat treatment. (See Medical section under “Parasites” for dewormer classifications.

·        Repeat application of dewormer every 21 days, three times during grazing season to control parasite load. 

(see Medical section for more information on parasite treatments.)  

Pasture mix recommended for goat pastures in Wisconsin

6 lbs. of trefoil, 2¼ lbs. timothy, 4-5 lbs. meadow fescue

(Larry Brummond, Grazing Land Specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA))

Pasture planting recommendations for Wisconsin by soil type 

      (Undersander et.al.)

 Pasture Forages for the Southern U.S.

* legumes thrive on a soil pH above 6.7 

(Adapted from Mauchen, What About Hay? and Greene, Maintaining Permanent Pastures for Livestock)  

Pasture Forages For The Tropics

The best resource for grazing goats in the tropics is Christie Peacock's book,  Improving Goat Production in the Tropics: A Manual For Development Workers.  Published by Oxfam/FARM-Africa. 1996.  You can buy it at www.Amazon.com.

You can also find information on grazing goats and finding food resources by searching the FAO database, http://www4.fao.org/faobib/

Planning birthing to make best use of pasture forage

 If you want to kid on pasture*, in order to make best use of pasture forage, kidding should be planned for a time when pasture is rapidly growing:

·        Plan a late spring birthing for warm season forages such as Bermuda grass, native range, browse and forbes.

·          Plan a fall or early spring birthing  for cool season grasses such as rye grass, wheat, Orchard grass and fescue.  Cool season grasses produce less per acre, but it is higher quality energy and protein.  Rapidly growing pasture is high in protein and energy. (Langston, Training, Nutrition section p. 26)  

(* kidding on pasture should be used only for dairy goats that have been tested and are CAE free on at least two consecutive tests, so the babies can safely suckle.  Otherwise, teats must be taped shut to prevent suckling, and the colostrum has to be milked out for bottle feeding.  It may be difficult to move new mothers to the barn from the pasture, necessitating hand milking, or using an Udderly Easy Milker. (See the Equipment supplier list in the reference section.) Mothers that have already given birth will have to be kept separately from those who have not, to avoid having the babies suckle on milking mothers.)

Selecting plants for grazing in Wisconsin

This information is based on Wisconsin plants, and temperatures in the winter that may extend below -20 degrees F., and in the summer,  above 100 degrees F.  People in the Southern U.S. may find the links under the Value Added-Meat goat section to be helpful, as much of the research on grazing goats in the south is contained in those articles.  For people in the tropics, Christie Peacock's book Improving Goat Production in the Tropics: A Manual For Development Workers is a very useful resource.

Cool season grasses:

·      Kentucky bluegrass-easily survives on infertile, overgrazed pastures but produces good yields only if heavily fertilized.

·      Orchardgrass-has a higher yield than timothy and smooth Bromegrass and recovers more rapidly after grazing but is extremely competitive.  Grow a competitive legume such as red clover with it to control it.

·      Reed canary grass-will grow in flood areas.  It is difficult to establish, but is extremely persistent.  Plant the new alkaloid-free varieties.  It has the potential to invade and displace native plant communities, especially where there are heavy silt deposits or other soil disturbances.

·      Smooth bromegrass-recommended pasture forage for southern Wisconsin because of it’s high yield potential, high quality and good legume compatibility.  It should be grown with other forages, since it doesn’t produce a lot of re-growth when grown alone. 

·      Tall fescue-not recommended for pastures because of reduced palatability and persistence.  However, it works well where you have heavy traffic.  Will withstand a lot of trampling, and it’s fall growth is superior.  It is commonly used in grass waterways since it establishes rapidly.  Use fungus-free see if you intend to graze it.

·      Timothy-recommended pasture forage for northern Wisconsin because of it’s high yield potential, high quality and good legume compatibility.  It should be grown with other forages, since it doesn’t produce a lot of re-growth when grown alone.  It has a poor tolerance for heat and drought.

Warm season grasses:

·      Big bluestem-native warm-season grass, which complements cool season grass.  Slow to establish.  Doesn’t compete well with weeds, but once established it is vigorous and persistent. 

·      Switchgrass-native warm-season grass, which complements cool season grass.  Slow to establish.  Poor competitors with weeds, but once established is vigorous and persistent.  Lower in quality than Big Bluestem, but easier to establish and lower cost.