Goat Grain

For an animal that folk lore says eat tin cans, goats seem to require quite a special diet.  Sometimes I feel like Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen.  What can I make that they will like, is the best possible quality for the lowest possible price.  (We are trying to make money, right?)

 

I must admit, this has been the longest and steepest learning curve for me.   What I would like to cover in this section is the concentrates – or grain.   No matter how controversial this subject is, I would think that all goat keepers would agree that hay alone is not enough; especially for kids (I will cover creep feed in another section). 

 

The decision to feed grain must be based on whether you can adequately provide the nutrients necessary just on what is growing in your pasture (or forage). The amount of nutrients necessary is based on what you have the goats for; supplements can allow the meat or dairy goat to reach their full production potential.  Also it can make a healthier animal.

 

Let's just talk about grain.  There are two types: carbonaceous and proteinaceous – what the heck is the difference?

 

	Carbonaceous	Proteinaceous
Also known as	"energy feeds"	"protein supplements" -amino acids content
What is in them?	-cereal grains: corn, barley, wheat, oats, milo, rye	-soybean meal, cottonseed meal, fish meal
Be aware	-high in phosphorus -low in calcium -this can cause: Males – urinary calculi Females – milk fever	-quantity is more important that quality -goats don't store excess protein and it is eliminated (as nitrogen) by their kidneys
Other	-does not need to be processed	- amino acids for optimum muscle growth

 

 

Complete Goat Feeds

Positive	Negative
-pelleted (better for fussy eaters as they can't pick out what they like) or textured -balanced -can contain additives to prevent and control such diseases as coccidiosis -easy	-expensive -very difficult to have a complete ration

 

Making my own Goat Feed

 

How much grain do I feed and what the heck is a Pearson Square?

 

Ok... so once I understood that hay can't supply all of the nutrients my goats need, then how do I supplement them affordably.  AFFORDABLY is the operative word.  Yes there are complete feeds, and yes my goats love them, but they are very expense.  Is there another way of doing it?  And what would that be?  

 

Here are the steps:

1)      Determine the hay you are going to use.

This was huge for us!  We don't grow our own, so we had to go out to the local farming community and find hay.  The decision on type, price and size of bales we wanted to handle had to be made.  

 

2)    Have the hay analyzed by your local feed store.

The feed store might have a core sampler that you can borrow.  There are a few designs, but basically you put a plastic bag over one end and shove the sharp barrel of it deep into your hay bale.  Do at least a dozen cores.  Take it to your feed store and they will send it off to be analyzed at a cost of about $25.  If you have more than one type of hay, you will have to have analysis done of them all.

 

3)    Have the Ruminant nutritionist at your selected feed company design a custom feed for you. (Lake Country, Purina, Shur-Gain)

Use all of the resources you can.  If you are offering a free choice mineral, then it is possible you don't need them to add as much of these supplements to your custom mix as would be in the pre-mixed, off the shelf variety.  This will save money.  Do a cost analysis and compare. 

 

The draw back to this is that you will have to order probably at least 1 tonne.  They will put it in bags for you, or you could have them deliver it and put it in a grain bin.

 

4)    OR Design one your self

If you are lucky and have the property to grow your own grains, you can design your own feed.   For example, if you grow barley, you can mix it with a pre-mix mineral to come up with a complete feed for your animals.

 

Even if you don't have your own feed, you can buy corn or barley by the tonne (about $180-200).  If you don't mind hand-mixing, you can add your minerals to it in batches and store in cool, dry containers. 

 

OK,  getting back to the Pearson Square.

 

This is an interesting little tool designed to help you determine what percentage of protein you need in your ration based on your protein source.   For example; Let us say you want a 16% protein ration.  Put the number 16 on the middle of this box, like this:

 

 

Now on in the first column on the left, but the protein content of your barley and your protein supplement you will be buying from the store.  For this example barley protein is 11% and the protein supplement I am buying has 37.5% protein in it.

 

 

Now this is where it gets interesting and you have to do some math.   Pretend that there are diagonal arrow going from the 11 down through the 16 and ending up in box b, and a diagonal arrow going from 37.5 through 16 and ending up in box a.  The square would look like this:

 

 

SUBTRACT 16 -11 and but the answer is 'b' square. (Answer is 5)   SUBSTRACT  37.5-16 and but the answer is 'a' square (answer is 21.5)

 

 

 

 

ADD the amounts in the 'a' square + 'b; square = 'c', the total quantity.  (21.5 + 5 = 26.5)

 

This next part is cool!  (Math geek alert!)

 

Now, what you want to do is figure out the how much barley (as a percentage) will be in your ration and how of your protein supplement (as a percentage) will be in your ration.    For barley, put  a/c and protein supplement put b/c here is your answer:

21.5/26.5 = 81% barley 

5.26.5 = 19% supplement.

 

To get a 16% ration mix you will need to make up a mixture that contains 81% barley and 19% protein supplement.  Cool!

 

 

When should I feed grain?

 

1. During the off season, when they are on hay

-while on hay during the off-forage season, grain is necessary to meet the animals nutrient requirements

2. Breeding Season

-"FLUSHING" – This is a term that describes giving extra protein to your does just before and during the breeding season

-can translate into higher fertility and ovulation rates.

-done by moving them into lush pasture OR ½-1 lb of grain or protein supplement per day

3. Late Gestation

-poor nutrition prior to delivery can cause pregnancy toxemia (ketosis), low birth weight kids, poor milk production

4. Lactation

-greatest nutritional demand on does (especially young moms and moms of triplets)

5. Kids

          -"CREEP FEED" – provided to nursing kids to enable faster growth

         - can be started as early as 10 days

         -needs to be fresh and highly palatable with about 20% crude protein

      6.  Drought, Poor Quality Forage

          - advisable to feed a supplement

-if hay costs are high, more economical to supplement with corn, barley and/or protein supplements

 

 

Guidelines for feeding Grain

1. DO not feed large amounts at once and feed hay first
2. DO not feed finely ground grains – feed grains whole as cracked or finely ground grain can increase the risk of acidosis
3. NEVER change rations abruptly – when selling a goat send home a bag of what you are using with the new owners
4. LOTS of feeder space --  goats get quite excited at graining time and can hurt each other getting to the food