Farm version: http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/nutritionmodule1.htm

Professional version: http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/nutreqgoats.html 

Some parts of the calculators may be confusing at first.  Goat Dairy Library is putting together instructions which should help producers work through the system.  Langston included some instruction for the calculators, with problems to work through, in their Meat Goat Certification and Training Module at: http://www2.luresext.edu/goats/training/nutr.  Those instructions are currently being revised.  (March 2007).

If you are interested in grazing your goats, see the Grazing section.  If you are interested in confinement housing and feeding, read below.

The goat’s diet (ration) in confinement operations consists of forage (hay, roughage, fiber), supplement (grain, concentrate), macro and micro minerals, vitamins buffer and water.   

Forages are the foundation of the diet, with grain merely supplementing the hay to provide a complete ration for animals with extra nutritional needs.  To help us remember the proper role of grain in the goat diet, it is helpful to call the grain portion of the diet “supplement.” Too often, well-meaning farmers focus too heavily on supplement in an effort to make more milk, and they hurt the rumen and sometimes even kill the goat in the process.  Much of the illness in goat herds results from overfeeding supplements.

Always test your forage so you know exactly how much supplement you need to add to the goat’s diet to meet its nutritional needs  It is cost effective to feed only what the goat needs. 

Formulating a diet depends on nutrient requirements, which are based on the breed, sex and age of the animal, how far they travel to find food, and whether the animal is pregnant or lactating.  Creating a ration to meet those needs is dependent on the feedstuffs available in the area, the price of those feedstuffs, and what the goats will eat.  

Types of hay

(1) grass 

(2) legume

(3) grass/legume combination

Options for storage:

Plastic wrapped round bales (baleage), stored outdoors OR unwrapped round bales (hay), stored indoors 

These bales work great spring, summer and fall, but round bales that are stored outdoors, freeze in winter, making it very difficult to peel off layers by hand, if you are transporting hay into the barn with a wheelbarrow or wagon.  They work ok if you're moving the whole bale into the barn with a skidsteer or tractor mounted with bale spears.

Check the wrapped bales often for mouse holes and tears and seal them with bale wrap tape to prevent mold.  Cover open bales with tarps, weighted down with bricks on the edges, to prevent wind and rain damage. 

Plastic wrapped square bales (baleage), stored outdoors OR unwrapped square bales, stored indoors

These bales flake off by hand fairly well in winter.

 

Check the wrapped bales often for mouse holes and seal them to prevent mold.  Keep open bales tarped to prevent rain and wind damage.  (Interview with Marisa Flores, Red River Farm 2005)

Plastic tubes or silos filled with chopped hay (haylage) 

Most authorities caution against feeding haylage or silage to goats:

1) The short fiber length doesn't make as good a rumen mat, and that mat is necessary for processing grain.

2) There is almost always mold in silos.  (Van Saun, Feeding For Two....)

3)  If a hay tube or bag gets even a small hole in it, the moisture can run the entire length of tube, causing spoilage and mold growth throughout, especially on the bottom and outside edges of the pack. This problem is even worse if the bag is located on sloped ground, as the water travels further into the pack before it is absorbed, causing larger areas of spoilage. Goats can get listeriosis easily from eating moldy feed.