Baby goat feeding

[dutch007]

They get a trace mineral with selenium. No,they are not getting any ammonium chloride. I have read that some folks put it in with the loose minerals or put it in their water or mix it with a treat and give it to them every day. How much of the alfalfa and beet pulp pellets do I give each kid? What is the best way to give the AC?

"hot" refers to the % of protein. Pellets have just 16%. Thats the low end and very safe. I have feed dairy quality alfalfa (20%+) for many years with no issue.

What kind of loose mineral are you feeding and are you giving them ammonium chloride yet?

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I only give them a few pellets of the manna when we are out on walks and they come when I call them I bought a bag of goat chow so I have been mixing it with my manna 25%chow 75%manna, but like I said,they only get a nibble when they do good.This is all a bit confusing I was told to use grass pellets instead of loose hay because there is less waste,then I'm told to scrap the grass pellets and use alfalfa pellets. Do I have to use Ammonium Chloride if I don't feed them alfalfa?Most of what I read about UC is that it can be prevented by a grass and browse diet with a loose mineral. I'm not really certain of how much of the beet pulp and grass/alfalfa pellets I should be giving them each,each day,as well as how much and when to give them ammonium chloride. I feel that I'm wasting money on things I don't really need,and that is dumb! Whichever route I go, I can always return the un-open bags We have been having some warm temps lately and the boys are only going through a gallon of water per day,at most. Is that enough?

Your goats are beautiful. The all brown one almost looks like a deer.

I feed alfalfa pellets to my old goat, but no one else gets them except as a little treat from time to time. I've never fed calf manna, so no experience there... sorry. I give grain to my girls but largely avoid it with the boys unless they start to get thin during a growth spurt. I don't have a ton of experience, but don't think an all-natural diet is detrimental to their growth. They may not grow quite as fast up front, but they always seem to catch up. My old Cuzco never got anything but pasture browse in summer and grass hay in winter and he's thirteen years old and going strong. He grew 38" tall and weighs 200 lbs., so I don't think he's stunted. I'm raising all my current boys on just pasture and they are all in good weight with sleek coats, strong hooves, and bright eyes. They'll get alfalfa and grass hay come winter, but nothing but pasture till then. One thing you don't want to do is accidentally make your boys too fat. Too fat is as dangerous to their health as too thin. You should be able to feel ribs but not see them. Don't push the calories unless they look like they actually need them.

[Nanno]

The main thing is DON'T PANIC!

It seems like there are a lot of conflicting views on how to feed wethers. Try not to sweat it too much. There are many, many people out there doing things many different ways with good results. A lot of nutritional stuff changes depending on your circumstances and the area you live in. A person whose goats live on dry lot need different feed from ones living on pasture, and pasture goats may need different feed from goats living on more browsy or wooded land. If your goats are sleek and bright-eyed and energetic, you're probably doing it right.

If they're not drinking a lot of water it probably just means they're not thirsty. I was always amazed at how little water my goat, Cuzco, always drank, even in the summer. He's 13 years old now and hasn't ever had a problem with UC even though he was banded early, never drank much, spent the first decade of his life on a pure grass hay diet, and never had ammonium chloride (I didn't even know what it was until two years ago!). Not that I recommend doing everything "wrong" like I did, but it's a good reminder not to panic. Things usually work out ok.

Don't throw out the bags of stuff that are opened. It won't kill your goats to go through a bag of hay pellets before switching to alfalfa. Or you can buy the alfalfa pellets and mix half-and-half with the timothy. I've done that several times before when feeding Cuzco during the winter (he has no teeth, so he's my one goat that gets pelleted feed), and I've used both grass and alfalfa pellets and mixes of the two at different times and I've never had a problem with any of it.

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

In all reality, most wethers will never get UC regardless of what they eat. Thats a true but dangerous statement cause it can lead people to think they dont need to worry about it. But if you ever have to deal with UC, you will have wished you did everything in your power to help prevent it. Without getting into the technical facts of UC, I will just tell you this, ammonium chloride is a cheap and easy treatment/preventative. Grains are bad but we are talking in abundance. A hand full for a treat here and there will not hurt them. Makes a good training aid actually. I used grain to administer a bi weekly ammonium chloride treatment Id dampen the grain so the AC would stick to it. So yes keep and use your bags. Grass hays are safer then alfalfa in that the balance is more correct but grass hays do have nearly the level of protein, vitamins and minerals that alfalfa does. Growing, working or milking goats IMO should all be on at least a little alfalfa.

There is no one correct way to raise goats. There is only what works for you. And what works for you, may not work for the next person. The biggest thing to husbandry is to gather information and to use that information in the way that works best for you.

[dutch007]

I'm still unclear as to how much pellets I'm supposed to give each kid per day?

In all reality, most wethers will never get UC regardless of what they eat. Thats a true but dangerous statement cause it can lead people to think they dont need to worry about it. But if you ever have to deal with UC, you will have wished you did everything in your power to help prevent it. Without getting into the technical facts of UC, I will just tell you this, ammonium chloride is a cheap and easy treatment/preventative. Grains are bad but we are talking in abundance. A hand full for a treat here and there will not hurt them. Makes a good training aid actually. I used grain to administer a bi weekly ammonium chloride treatment Id dampen the grain so the AC would stick to it. So yes keep and use your bags. Grass hays are safer then alfalfa in that the balance is more correct but grass hays do have nearly the level of protein, vitamins and minerals that alfalfa does. Growing, working or milking goats IMO should all be on at least a little alfalfa.

There is no one correct way to raise goats. There is only what works for you. And what works for you, may not work for the next person. The biggest thing to husbandry is to gather information and to use that information in the way that works best for you.

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Alfalfa pellets, as much as you want. Maybe a pound to start? If you're talking about grass pellets (which I have never seen nor knew they even bothered to make pellets outta grass) get a link or picture of the analysis please and post it.