Nutrition: The do’s and don’ts of feeding goats
One of the most commonly asked questions we get revolves around the unknowns of what to feed goats. Most people have a misconception that goats can eat just about anything and be fine, however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. While goats can digest fibrous material and weeds that other ruminants can’t like poison ivy, that doesn’t mean they can just eat anything.
Goats, by nature, are browsers. This means they won’t eat off the ground if they don’t have to. If they’re in the woods foraging, they’ll only eat the top few inches of plants and won’t eat down to the dirt like horses, cows, and sheep will. Goats are highly susceptible to some pretty nasty parasites, so you must make sure when you feed their hay it is in an elevated feeder.
Goats are also very messy eaters. Our heard of 12 go through about 50lbs of hay every 18 hours. A decent chunk of that ends up on the ground and they use it for bedding. You can build hay catching tables, but honestly they’ll just end up sleeping in those too. An elevated feeder, in an enclosed, dry area, is your best bet long term. This is a link to the feeders we use, but anything similar is good. Please note that if your goats have horns, get a feeder that they can’t get their heads stuck in. There’s no perfect solution, especially if you have young goats, but try to be as cognizant as possible for the possibility of horns getting stuck in smaller holes.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tarter-dura-tough-mini-feeder-dtsaf-1382874?store=1762&cid=Google-Shopping-Sustain&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_content=Sustain&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADnTm2237LntRhl6fn_JIWqvk_aiz&gclid=Cj0KCQiA19e8BhCVARIsALpFMgGuoaViT-EdbjN7AFvNaiz3LH4fdJ6N-z0SMOkhdhT8RuoVsORHuK4aAmSTEALw_wcB
Now, the topic of feeding grain. This is a doozy because a lot of people have very strong opinions on it. We’ve discussed this with our vets many times. The only good time (in our opinion) to feed grain consistently is for young babies using a medicated feed to help prevent coccidia (extremely common parasite issue), quarantined goats you plan to introduce to your mixed herd (again, stress will cause a coccidia bloom in many goats and sheep. It’s a natural part of their gut but when out of balance can make them extremely sick), or sick or older goats who need help gaining or maintaining weight (you would want a sweet feed for this). If you choose to feed grain, please make sure it has ammonium chloride in it. Bucks and wethers have different urinary needs than does. Male goats are highly prone to calcium stones in their ureters, which is a life threatening and extremely painful condition. When fed too much grain, one of the major risks is these stones. Another major risk is a goat eating so much grain that their natural bacteria cannot break it down and they begin to bloat. Bloat is tremendously painful and dangerous. There are treatments, especially if you have a vet who can see you right away, but it’s always better to just avoid the problem if you can.
When it comes to letting your goats forage or graze on pasture, rotational grazing is highly important. Our goats have four separate grazing areas. They have their main enclosure, a swapped out area with the horses (one on species on it at a time), their secondary larger pasture for just them, and then our backyard for extra entertainment and fun treat plants. A large topic with goats will be parasite control. By allowing for rotational grazing, you’ll limit the amount of exposure to common parasites. One of the nice things with goats is that their parasites can’t hurt horses or chickens, and vice versa.
This is a short list of natural vegetation that goats enjoy eating. Please make sure to check your region for any poisonous plants and learn how to identify them. One of the most toxic where we are is poke weed. If you know me you know I go to battle with this plant for about half the year trying to eradicate it from our property. The goats can eat a tiny amount of this plant, far more than other animals, but it is still very toxic. Nightshades are also toxic, make sure not to let your goats have any access to nightshade plants (tomatoes, potatoes, etc)
Wild plants that goats love to eat!
Plantain
Chickweed
Dandelion
Clover
Wild Violents
Milk Thistle
Pine Needles
Nettle
Yarrow
Wild Garlic
Bramble
Goldenrod
Creeping Charlie
Poison Ivy
As always, make sure your goats have constant access to clean, fresh water. Keep their hay covered and dry, and use high quality horse hay for their forage. Ours prefer 2nd cut hay but they enjoy a good 1st cut from time to time.
Our next post will be focusing on enclosures and enrichment for your goats!
