Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Sheep or Cattle Feed?  (Read 5396 times)

McRennet

  • Joined Mar 2011
Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« on: May 20, 2011, 11:15:17 am »
Hello!

I have been feeding my girls of the D&H Goat mix but am starting to think that it is becoming ridiculously expensive and would rather switch them onto a pelleted feed to limit their pickiness!

I was recommended Dairy cattle feed, 18% but then a animal nutritionist who I had contacted ages ago got back to me and informed me that Goats need a level of copper that sits in between sheep and cattle. Feeding sheep feed will result in too low a level but cattle feed could be too high, resulting in Copper poisoning.

What are peoples advice on this as I really don't want to poison them! I will state now that I don't have the time nor space to make my own feed up so I am looking for a compound feed, ready made, so to speak.

McR



Hermit

  • Joined Feb 2010
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2011, 11:25:24 am »
Mine get sheep food,good grass and hay ad lib, my supplier is only small compared to some down south and only stocks things like goat food to order, as there are not many goats up here. They do well though and are not ailing anything. and should really have a mineral lick as well but they dont touch them.

Old Shep

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2011, 11:58:07 am »
can I ask what sheep food you feed? (sorry if this is hi-jacking the post) - Is it ewe nuts, ration or lamb pellets?
Helen - (used to be just Shep).  Gordon Setters, Border Collies and chief lambing assistant to BigBennyShep.

Hopewell

  • Joined Apr 2011
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #3 on: May 20, 2011, 12:04:34 pm »
Our Boer goats get beef nuts. We also feed this to the dairy goatlings as well, although I plan to feed them dairy nuts when they kid. We used to feed sheep nuts but I think we had problems with insufficient copper in it, but I also think our land is marginally copper deficient anyway. Sheep nuts also made the milk taste awful, so any that we were milking couldn't be fed it anyway.

jinglejoys

  • Joined Jul 2009
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2011, 12:53:42 pm »
If they are coloured they will be better on the cattle feed,and remember what Miss Mostyn used to say and she bred one of the best herds of dairy goats mostly Saanan "And don't forget copper,it does them the world of good!"

Hermit

  • Joined Feb 2010
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2011, 12:58:04 pm »
I feed ewe nuts or blend ,they used to have a lick for the minerals but never used it, tried treat licks etc but wont touch them. Dont know what make it is , it comes in a plain sack , probably farmgate as that is his usual brand of sale. Never seen dairy nuts there but we dont get a lot of dairy cattle ::) Oh to go to a merchants and just wander round at all the choice of feed like I used to. Cant complain our local merchant is excellent and gives us a lot of bargains of broken bags, almost out of date , loads of firewood etc. but he knows we only go to him! Must say though the goats do look good on it , they do only get a scoop when being milked mainly eat grass and hay. The milk is very good and cannot tell the difference between goat and cow when fresh.

wytsend

  • Joined Oct 2010
  • Okehampton
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2011, 01:18:38 pm »
Goats don't get copper poisoning like sheep !!!!!!    UNLIKE sheep they can get rid of the surplus.

Always, always feed cattle dairy nuts to dairy goats.... proportionately they require the same amount of copper as a cow.  Nutritionists do their best but they really do not know how to treat goats and then err on the safe side.

My goats have had standard dairy nuts for the last 30 years, still standing and I get good results.  Too little copper and you will get fertility problems in both male & female.

McRennet

  • Joined Mar 2011
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2011, 01:27:10 pm »
This is great, I shall carry on with the Dairy nuts (Cattle) that I had already started feeding before the (silly) nutritionist scared me.

What quantity do you feed? And do you wean straight off onto this or do you use a creep in the interim??

thanks for all the great info folks!

McRx

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2011, 01:40:45 pm »
My milkers have just been switched onto C&B 18% dairy nuts, mixed with some soaked sugarbeet and hay/haylage plus grass/branches. The A&P goat mix is just getting too expensive, although my GG's still have some in their mix, otherwise they will not eat the dairy nuts (don't ask these ladies have exquisite/expensive taste...). However this is only for my milkers in milk - the dry goatlings (although they have a small udder) get a small handful of soaked shreds if any is left over, otherwise NOTHING now until 6 weeks before kidding (They will get however fruit/veggie stuff and more branches than the others). My kids are weaned onto lamb creep and A&P mix (because I have got it), then once milk is completely finished will go to dairy nuts too until the end of the winter, when they go onto the goatling regime.

I have had both my GG'S going down with pregnancy toxaemia to varying degrees this winter, so I am going to try and make sure they are slim at the beginning of the pregnancy next time round.

wytsend

  • Joined Oct 2010
  • Okehampton
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #9 on: May 20, 2011, 02:50:26 pm »
I feed around 1kg each to all the milkers from about 6 weeks prior to kidding.    Kids/goatlings get around 500g each.
All goats get adlib hay/haylage.

tizaala

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • Dolau, Llandrindod Wells,Powys
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2011, 05:12:57 pm »
Our baby goats and their mother are getting calf rearer mixed with whole soaked outs and some flaked barley to bulk it out and ad lib hay. The rest not growing, not in kid and not in milk just hay. Obviously they all have access to grazing, etc. How does this sound?

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Sheep or Cattle Feed?
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2011, 09:50:11 pm »
Sounds fine. If you condition score the non-producers and they are not too scrawny, probbaly better for them. If the hay is good, mine is not that great anymore (and nearly finished!)

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS