The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: egglady on July 27, 2011, 10:43:47 am
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lots of people have told me goat feed is really expensive and just to feed sheep mix or dairy nuts (cows).
hubby just been to feed merchant and rather than asking for dairy nuts (typically got it wrong!), he's asked about specific goat feed - seems to come in about £13 for a 20kg bag.
i'm just wondering, as we only have 2 goats, and only one of them is a milker, should we just get the goat feed? i have no idea about the prices for the cow dairy nuts so i cant draw any kind of comparison.
at the moment they get sheep feed, which the farmer makes up himself and contains things like, rolled oats, beans, sugar beet and i think mollasses - not sure what else is in it but the girls do seem to like it lots!
or do i mix sheep and goat together to give them the best of everything?
they do have a red mineral lick as well
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oh and i forgot to ask - can goats eat ivy safely? I'm trying to take out some ivy and think i read somewhere that goats like it...but dont really want to poison them if i can help it!!! :o
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regarding Ivy... there is a saying, if a goat won't eat ivy it is either dead or dying !!!! Seriously, Ivy is good for goats.
Cow dairy nuts work out around £7 per 25kg bag. Dairy nuts are far far better for goats because it contains the minerals essential for a milking animal. Sheep mix DOES NOT contain copper (poisonous to them) but ESSENTIAL for goats.
I never feed anything else both from the cost point of view & the well being of the goats.
All my kids are put on calf coarse mix to start with and then changed over to weaner pellets appropriately.
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It really comes down to price I think. Mine get dairy nuts and oats (because its cheaper and they are milking), it's higher protein than normal goat mix. But for example my GG's do not like the dairy nuts as much (love the oats), because they were fed on A&P all round goat mix at their first home. I still buy a couple of bags every three weeks or so to keep them happy, and once they are dry they will go back onto it completely (at maintenance quantities as well = only a handful a day). But GG's do better at a lower protein level than other breeds.
I would also say that with a lick available the sheep mix is ok too, especially if they like it, have been used to it at their previous place, and if you are only feeding two it may just be unecnomical to have loads of different types of food around. and you are probably getting a better price per Kg if buying from a local farmer, A&P is about 13 quid for 20kg, C&B dairy nuts is around 7.50 here for 25kgs.
However sugarbeet shreds are good (I feed them to my sheep in the winter too, only the girls though), and they can have them dry (if they like them). Good to feed soaked in HOT water in winter as a mid-day warmer.
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Dairy every time . once they have to produce specific feeds for specific animals the costs rocket. there are millions of cows. Printing a few bags with the word ''goat ''suddenly puts the price up , and to produce a bag that says ''horse '' ...licence to print money.
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Dairy nuts are far far better for goats because it contains the minerals essential for a milking animal. Sheep mix DOES NOT contain copper (poisonous to them) but ESSENTIAL for goats.
i know sheep cannot have copper but how does 'badminton country mix' work then as it is an all round feed for sheep,goats and cattle..'ideal for smallholder'????? i feed to my lambs and goats aswell as hay.
are the goats not getting what they need even though badminton sell for this purpose..i'd like to know as i'd hate to be feeding them wrong.. ???
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Dairy nuts are far far better for goats because it contains the minerals essential for a milking animal. Sheep mix DOES NOT contain copper (poisonous to them) but ESSENTIAL for goats.
i know sheep cannot have copper but how does 'badminton country mix' work then as it is an all round feed for sheep,goats and cattle..'ideal for smallholder'????? i feed to my lambs and goats aswell as hay.
are the goats not getting what they need even though badminton sell for this purpose..i'd like to know as i'd hate to be feeding them wrong.. ???
If they like it and milk ok - you should be fine. Look what it says on the label, but I wouldn't start changing feeds if the goats are doing ok. As long as lick is availble - they will take it if they need it.
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I feed my sheep sheep/ewe nuts 16% when in lamb and just after. Goats when milking I feed dairy nuts and rolled barley. If heavy milker 5kg plus I mix my own to goats specific requirements but that takes a bit of time to get to grips with! So I would say stick to dairy nuts and a copper rich lick just in case the dairy nuts are low copper as can be used for milk sheep.
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My girls won't touch nuts so they have calf crunch and love it.
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I give the milker goat mix and a little maize (cos she loves it!)
and the billy get mixed flakes & whatever goat mix is left behind when Geraldine has had enough...
they have a red lick, which they love too
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Dairy nuts are far far better for goats because it contains the minerals essential for a milking animal. Sheep mix DOES NOT contain copper (poisonous to them) but ESSENTIAL for goats.
i know sheep cannot have copper but how does 'badminton country mix' work then as it is an all round feed for sheep,goats and cattle..'ideal for smallholder'????? i feed to my lambs and goats aswell as hay.
are the goats not getting what they need even though badminton sell for this purpose..i'd like to know as i'd hate to be feeding them wrong.. ???
Yes in answer o your question Allstockfeed tends to err on the safe side thats why I won't use it anymore :)
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Thanks for the very useful info on goats and copper. I'll look into a copper-rich lick for them, as they seem to really like the sheep crunch they've been being fed.
Is copper ok with pigs? I'm sure they boys will give it a try if they have access to it.
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Our local supplier - well, a good few miles away, but the only option we have - now only stocks Farmgate feeds - All stock mix and all stock pellets. which does for cattle sheep and goats. I also use a good quality chaff. and add soaked sugar beet from Autumn onwards - plus a handful of cooked mixed flakes as well. We would either have to travel miles for dairy mix, or have it bought in in bulk tanks.
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similar to Roxy we can only get Heygate Dairy nuts (There are no dairy farms anywhere near) and my Milker wont touch them, but we have to fight the kid off lol,
We can get fancy feed molasses goat mix for under £10 for 20kg and stock nuts for £7 we have been feeding a mix of both with hay and a red lick
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We've never found our goats are entirely happy with "just" cattle dairy nuts. So we feed a sheep mix and the dairy nuts as well, which gives them a good mix for the minerals factor.
Beth
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Im really sorry, I know Ive asked this question before but I cant find the reply. My little pygmy boys are about 8 months old now so I feel it will be time for them to progress onto the next type of food. At the moment they have a mixture of pellets for sheep and calves, basically because I bought the wrong one (the sheep one) but couldnt afford to throw it away. So what should I get them now. Can they have one for older calves? Ive seen dairy nuts referred to on here, but are they just for milking goats? All advice much needed!!!!!!!
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Im really sorry, I know Ive asked this question before but I cant find the reply. My little pygmy boys are about 8 months old now so I feel it will be time for them to progress onto the next type of food. At the moment they have a mixture of pellets for sheep and calves, basically because I bought the wrong one (the sheep one) but couldnt afford to throw it away. So what should I get them now. Can they have one for older calves? Ive seen dairy nuts referred to on here, but are they just for milking goats? All advice much needed!!!!!!!
I don't have much experience of pygmy goats but I would expect that 8 months old they will have done most of their growing and really just need a maintenance feed, by that I mean one that is designed for them to live without having to do anything else. If you feed anything that is intended for production animals then it will be more expensive (protein usually costs the most) and your little boys will get rather fat. Dairy nuts are designed to be used for maintenance plus production, so they have higher energy and protein levels. Beef nuts are designed to be used for maintenance plus growth and have lower protein levels than dairy nuts, so would be a better choice but aren't ideal. There is certainly one brand of food on the market that is designed for pygmy goats so this would probably be your best solution, but failing that then lots of good quality hay (which they need whatever you feed) and a really small amount of goat mix or possibly beef nuts would probably be sufficient. Hope that helps. :wave: