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Hi All,
I am wondering how much grain a day i should give my big saanen and lamancha dairy goats. At the moment they are each getting a pound,but i've heard i should give them near 4lbs!
Als how much grain do you guys think growing 4 month old baby sannens and lamanchas should get?
Thanks in advance!!
Sydney
My two boys get one cup a day each. 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup at night. Plus all the free choice grass hay they want. Clyde is 5 months and Clyde is 4 months.
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(07-13-2014, 01:50 PM)Teckelhut Wrote: My two boys get one cup a day each. 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup at night. Plus all the free choice grass hay they want. Clyde is 5 months and Clyde is 4 months.
Ok,ive heard that I should give the babies a pound a day,or 2 cups. Thanks!!
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none of our get grain cept the ones milking or feeding babies. When they come in to get milked they get 2 scoops each. No idea on the weight but if I had to guess, 2 lbs.
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Paradise Ranch Packgoats full feeds All of its kids a 16% custom pellet at 2/3rds to 1/3rd 17% alfalfa pellet in free choice creep feeders until the age of approximately 8 months. Yes, that's all they want, anytime they want it. We have had over a thousand wethers and have "NEVER" seen Urinary Calculi ever. But we have seen 300 lb Packgoats over 41inches at the withers. Genetics is also a "HUGE" factor in the equation too. Junk in, junk out. Remember to keep his hooves trimmed so his pasterns don't break down making him worthless as a Packgoat !
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My milking does are the only ones that get grain. Lilly and Nubbin get about 1 lb. (2 cups) of sweet feed per day. They get 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening. With this they also get a handful of sunflower seeds and about 1 cup of alfalfa pellets. Petunia gets twice as much sweet feed (2 lbs./day), the same amount of sunflower seeds, and about half as much alfalfa pellets (she doesn't care for them much and leaves them in the feeder if I give her too many). I don't feed much grain because my goats get fat (even the milkers). They have unlimited fresh browse all day with a variety of grasses, legumes, weeds, and brush to choose from. They get free choice alfalfa at night.
I let the babies eat grain with their mamas if they want it, but my kids last year weren't interested till they were several months old. Of course, their mothers didn't wean them till they were 5 months, so that probably held them off from wanting grain. Since mine are dam-raised I don't see the need to creep feed them. They have unlimited access to milk instead. Works for me. I don't see how I could keep Cuzco and Lilly from squeezing into and/or destroying any creep feeder I could build, and I'd never keep the dog out of it either.
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I'm having problems keeping weight on my best doe. Triplets are a little much for her. She gets about 2 lbs. grain a day but she only eats half. I'm pulling the kids off of her for 10 to 12 hours a day just so she gets a break. The kids are 6 weeks old and in great shape. They munch alfalfa and grass hay during the day and get a combination of goat chow, boss, and alfalfa pellets once a day, about a half to three quarters cup grain each. Mom isn't gaining weight yet but I'm hoping she doesn't lose any more until the kids go on just twice a day feedings. Two weeks to go.
[i]
Charlene in Central Oregon[/i]
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Thats pretty typical for a doe feeding 3 babies. Might try to give her a different kind of grain or a mix. An extra flake of alfalfa (ya like the other goats will let that happen). But once the babies are done she will start to get her pre kidding figure back
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Have you ever tried beet pulp pellets? I have read that helps with weight gain but I have no experience with it. I separated her from the others this morning with the trio and put out extra food, alfalfa and grass hay, plus free choice grain for all to nibble all day. I have some weeding, aka browse pulling, to do and she gets all of that. Anything to keep food going in!
[i]
Charlene in Central Oregon[/i]
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Ive never tried it.
I dont need them to fatten up,just to produce more.
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