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Hello, this is my first post I will try and keep it short. I have 14 goats, mostly rescues. I dont feed much grain because our state university said I should not beed any because I have some wethers however my Vet says I should feed it in the winter. Any ideas how you get Goats to mind their manners and not kill me and each other when I try and feed them grain. I actually had one goat get a concusion (sp) last year and die because he got butted just right. I dont think I ever cried so hard in my live except maybe 2 years ago when one of the wethers had UC and eventually died even with surgery. I use the Goat Chow and the Goat Mins and add something into the mins for the UC (sorry can remember the name). Any ideas would be appreciated.
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Not to state the obvious but have you considered getting a feeder for your goats? 14 is not that many, but as you mention if you are just slinging grain on the ground then it will be a feeding frenzy that could end up in injury, or in your case, death.
I would get a long feeder. I don't know goats but I know sheep and they get 20" per head along the feeder, but they have full fleece too. You could get by with 18 inches probably. So 18" by 14 goats, you are looking at buying (2) 10 foot long feeders. That is about 250 bucks for two...but heck you don't even need to buy them. With a little carpentry skills, some boards, nails and screws, you can make a pretty good feeder. That is what I did for my sheep.
Not only will you save some wasted grain, some fighting for the grain, but you will probably save on hay consumption as well. Its worth the investment.
Eat lamb...because 50,000 coyotes CAN'T be wrong!
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| i was under the impression that you shouldnt feed grain except maybe to a milking doe i read that its alot like giving your children candy to much of a good thing can be bad as far as the feeder ive seen six or eight inch pvc pipe cut length ways if you bought one ten footer you would have two
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Starting Member
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| id just give them the goat chow and hay and the minerals just curious if that vet has alot of experience with goats i read that alot of them dont
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| Goats need good quality hay and fresh water. Unless they are heavily lactating, being flushed before breeding, or in the last few weeks of pregnancy, they do not need grain. My milking does get grain. My Boers and my Nigerian Dwarfs do not get grain while nursing unless they are really losing body condition (I have one Boer doe that milks off her back). The bucks and wethers never get grain. Even my horses don't get grain and there isn't a skinny one in the bunch.
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I have never seen a livestock animal not do well on grain, but the truth is its everything in moderation. As Caper says, if you have plenty of good, high protein feed then they shouldn't need grain. In the summer months with sunshine giving the grass plenty of vitamin A and D, then no you shouldn't have to give grain.
But if you are feeding hay, then you probably should. Hay loses the vitamin within it in a few months time so adding a bit of grain helps get those vitamins in your goats.
I don't have goats, but I have sheep and give mine grain in the winter, but no grain in the summer. I do give them a mineral mix however year around...loose because the blocks will break a sheeps teeth off, causing them to process grass less efficiently and leading to an early death.
Eat lamb...because 50,000 coyotes CAN'T be wrong!
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| I had to laugh when I first read this as I am having the same problems this year. You would think my critters are starving!! We have just had some killing frosts in the last couple weeks so they are probably ready for hay and I am giving them some. I also just started giving them my own special "feed" mix of cracked corn, oats and a generic animal feed which is 12% protein. Everything seems to love it (goats, pigs, geese, chickens and my dog) but I'm not giving them much and they are really fighting over it. After my near death experience tonight, we will need to figure out how to feed over the fence and not in with them. Problem is the feeders have to be low enough for the pigs (who are lactating and probably need it the most). But we'll figure it out. Mary Ann
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Well thank you for all the good advice. I have had these goats for 5 years and I started out feeding some Purina Goat Chow but just a handful. Then I lost one goat to UC and the university Vet school here in Missouri told me that goats do not need grain. So I didnt feed any more. My vet has goats so I believe he knows, I think he thought this one goats was too thin. So wanting to take care of my guys the very best I can I decided to feed some goat chow in the winter but I am just not convinced its a good thing. I will say this it is a great way to start the morning running from goats. Who needs to go to a gym. Thanks again to you all.  Terri
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| For feeding ideas: The best way to feed without getting run over, is to feed from the outside of the fence. I feed on the outside of a cattle panel. If you have horned goats, you can use a pipe gate so that no one gets their head stuck. Use a large PVC pipe, glue ends on it, then use a jig saw to cut it lengthwise. Drill holes in each side at regular intervals so you can wire or tie it to the fence. Tie this to the outside of your panel or gate and the goats stick their heads through to eat. You never get trampled because you never carry feed in with the herd. Of course make the feeders plenty long for the amount of goats you have. Make more than one feeder if you need more than ten foot. There are many variations of the fenceline feeder, this is the one I use. 
If you are not breeding your goats, they really don't need grain or feed. Working bucks, lactating or bred does and growing kids are the only goats that must have grain. Just a good quality hay and a good quality mineral will work for the average non-working goat. Especially if you have wethers, you shouldn't feed concentrates. Much higher liklihood of them getting UC. Grain doesn't keep them warm in winter either, their rumens working on digesting long-stemmed fiber(hay) is what generates body heat. So always keep a quality hay in front of your goats. The mineral does not need to be a goat mineral, in fact many goat minerals are not worth the money. They need high copper, so many cattle minerals are better for goats than "goat" minerals. I feed a quality beef cattle mineral and they do so much better than on any of the "goat" minerals I tried in the past. The mineral must be kept fresh and dry. Here are the mineral feeders I use. 
Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Dairy and Meat Goats
http://www.freewebs.com/ozarkjewels/
Also Morningland Dairy Raw Milk Cheeses. www.morninglanddairy.com
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| Hi, that is awsome but some of mine have horns? Bye the bye those goats a beautiful what breed are they? Terri
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