The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: benkt on September 28, 2012, 12:16:39 am
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As per usual, at this time of the year we're inundated with apples. Everyone brings windfalls up to the farm for our pigs and we have a fair few from our own orchard. I've been giving each goat an apple (cut up, hand fed) after their evening feed and they absolutely love it. Just wondering if I can/should give them more than one a day and if so how many? Given we seem to have an unlimited supply it would be a shame to waste them all on the pigs!
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If we have a bulk of apples I have quite often given them a couple each in each feed so they have had 4 apples each goat a day
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When we chop apples in the winter for the goats, it's 4 per milker that we allow as well. I would think you can give them more than that- probably even 4-5 morning and night. If they are particularly green windfall apples I might restrict it to only 4 a day though.
Beth
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Brilliant, I'm sure our goats will thank you for that news!
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I've fed mine with windfalls, about ten between two goats. You do have to be careful though because it can taint the milk. I once went to a wedding party at the home of the newly weds. My daughter asked for milk to drink and said it tasted funny. Our hostess said that she had had onions in that particular beaker so maybe the plastic was holding the taste and fetched a fresh one but the milk still tasted wrong. Her dad tried it as well and it tasted off but it was from that morning's milking. Later in the afternoon, the bride asked all the children if they wanted to help feed the goats and gave them two big buckets to go and fill with windfall apples. The goats were having a bucketful each twice a day. No wonder the milk tasted off.
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milk taint usually comes from feeding at the wrong time ie just prior to milking