Bad Goats

I Got Goats: What Do I Feed Them?

feeding nigerian dwarf goats

I got goats, so what should I feed them? When I first started out as a novice goat owner, I didn’t know what in the world I should feed my goats. There are so many options! Just the numerous types of hay out there was enough to make my head spin. I also was under the impression that I didn’t need to feed grain, that goats could get all they need from a quality hay. That might be true for your goats, but my does need grain.

This is a quick guide to what I feed my goats as well as the many options out there for feeding.

Grain

I feed my does grain. I do not feed my bucks grain. Bucks, especially Nigerian dwarf or mini breeds, tend to develop urinary calculi which can cause a blockage in their urinary tract. A blockage can be deadly, so to be safe, I don’t include grain in their regular diet. I do, on occasion, give them treats—grain, alfalfa pellets, what-have-you—but on the reg, I don’t.

My does get different types of grain depending on their needs. I feed them regular Purina Goat Feed, typically, unless my husband does the food shopping and he gets whatever is on sale. Toward the end of pregnancy, I might switch to a grower feed when they start producing milk. I will feed them grower while they are nursing kids as well. If they look like they are losing weight, I will also switch to a grower feed.

In times of stress or coccidia infection, I will feed a medicated goat feed, but I typically do not.

Hay

Goats need hay in order to have a properly functioning rumen. Goats will swallow hay into the reticulum which is one part of their four-part stomach. It will undergo microbial breakdown and pass into the rumen where it will digest further. Food will pass between these two chambers. Food that is not small enough to pass along the digestive tract will be brought through their bi-directional esophagus for further chewing later. Once it’s fully small enough to pass along into the other chambers of the stomach, it goes to the omasum where water is absorbed and into the abomasum, which is the true stomach.

Check out this post if you want to understand more about goat digestion:

That might be more than you wanted to know, but I found it very interesting to break down the goat stomach, so to speak, so there you go! Wild goats eat on the run—well, walk—and have to down a lot of food to get the nutrients they need. Our pet goats have all the time in the world to eat, but nature does what nature do.

Alfalfa hay has more protein, vitamins and minerals than regular grass hay. In my area, however, alfalfa is hard to find. Timothy, Bermuda and orchard grass are a great alternative and are easy to find in my area. Fescue is also available in my area, but I only buy it if I can’t find anything better.

Browse

Goats eat up. That means they aren’t going to mow your grass, but they will clear your brush. Vines, weeds, small trees, shrubs, flowers, you name it, they’ll eat it. Or at least nibble it to see if it is to their taste. My goats go nuts over sweet gum which, in the Carolinas, is not in short supply! They will eat poison ivy and sumac, regular ivy, anything that strikes their fancy as long as it isn’t on the ground.

If you’re trimming branches, throw some in the goat pen and watch them devour it. Cedar is a great natural dewormer. If you take down a Christmas tree, throw it in your goat pen. Just make sure all the ornaments are off of it!

Familiarize yourself with foods and leaves that are poisonous to your goats. Boxwood, azaleas, camellias, nightshades, etc. are some of the things that are not good for goats. Here is a list of things that you want to avoid.

Minerals

A lot of people feed loose minerals to goats to keep up with what might be lacking in their diet. Having copper pipes, our goats get some extra copper in their water. Additionally, we use a solid mineral block. Loose minerals, free choice is supposed to be better for goats, but honestly, I haven’t felt like messing with them. Our goats have thrived despite this. Baking soda is also good for goats to have free choice to help fight bloat.

There you have it! This is my recommendations for feeding your goats. Recognize that all goats are different and their feeding requirements will also differ. What works for my goats may not work for yours, but this is just a quick guide to goat feeding requirements.

Check out my post about what you need to bring home your first goats!

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