FEEDING - IN MY OPINION

First and foremost, I am NOT a nutritionist, I’m an engineer! That being said, I have educated myself on feeding and nutrition. What works for me and my goats, may not work for you and your goats. I created this page because I like helping people. I’ve been asked enough times that I am now sick of typing a novel, this page is my answer, as I can just direct people interested in MY OPINION here.

feeding Boys

To prevent fatal urinary calculi in male goats, you want (at least) 2:1 calcium to phosphorus from ALL FEED SOURCES (including hay & treats, if you feed treats daily). This means 2 times as much calcium as phosphorus. So if phosphorus is 0.8.% (on tag), you want the minimum (not the maximum) calcium number to be at least 1.6% (See image at bottom of page for an example).

As for common grains, the approximate calcium to phosphorus ratios below are the best I could find:

Oats - 0.1% calcium : 0.35% phosphorus (1 to 3.5)

Barley - 0.08% calcium : 0.42% phosphorus (1 to 5)

Corn - 0.02% calcium : 0.31% phosphorus (1 to 15)

Soybean meal - 0.32% calcium : 0.67% phosphorus (1 to 2)

Black Oil Sunflower - x% calcium : y% phosphorus (x to y) (can’t find good data, but generally a lot higher in phosphorus)

Alfalfa Pellets - 1.43% calcium : 0.29% phosphorus (4.7 to 1) 👍🏽

You want 2 to 1 calcium to phosphorus so many whole grains are obviously not appropriate unless the calcium of the entire ration is raised. Alfalfa pellets (or alfalfa hay) are a way to do this, but make sure you know what your doing or your boys will pay the price with their life

Most pelleted feeds contain ammonium chloride (AC) in an attempt to acidify urine. This is one area that, in my opinion backed with research, the industry has it wrong. Research indicates that continual feeding of ammonium chloride negates the acidifying effect - click here for the paper. Pulse dosing is recommended. I find it far easier to just feed a diet that doesn’t require AC. If I was a millionaire (or had less goats) I’d feed my goats horse feed, which does not contain ammonium chloride. (Compare the tags, they pretty darn similar). There may be feeds without ammonium chloride, but my feed stores don’t carry them.

forage first!

Hay/forage and/or pasture should be the basis of ALL diets! Good quality, free choice, hay that is kept free from urine/feces, rain & rot. This applies to goats, sheep, cattle, horses, any grazing/browsing animal. I feed as good of quality hay as I can get my hands on. I prefer an alfalfa mix. I love finding bales from new alfalfa fields that often contain weeds not suitable for horses. The goats LOVE ‘weedy’ alfalfa!

Pellets

I am not a nutritionist, the people who make pellets ARE nutritionists, they study this stuff. I’m an engineer, I know what I know, they know what they know. Because of this, goat specific pellets at the recommended amount are the base for all my rations. Goats under a year get medicated pellets.

Beet pulp

I feed a lot of dry beet pulp shreds, especially in cold weather. It keeps them warm, promotes healthy gut bacteria, and doesn’t have a bunch of sugar. Sugars feeds ‘bad’ gut bacteria and tend to acidify rumen, which promotes ulcers and poor digestion. I have a free choice bucket of beet pulp shreds in front of my milkers and kids under 4 months of age. In abnormal cold snaps, everyone gets LOTS of beet pulp! Beet pulp is great fiber but has little nutritional value. Being fiber, it feeds their gut bacteria, which is a good thing.

whole Grains

Whole grains (sweet feed, corn, oats) are generally bad for gut bacteria. They are high in sugar (bad for goats... and people ) which promotes bad gut bacteria, which tend to acidify rumen, which promotes ulcers and poor digestion. That being said, I feed sweet feed, but am careful to only feed to those who benefit from it and in careful amounts, knowing what I know about how whole grains are metabolized. As details above, whole grains are also not appropriate for boys due to being generally higher in phosphorus than calcium.

loose mineral & protein lick tubs

I feed a goat specific loose mineral, doesn’t matter which one, it’s just there to round out what feed misses. I have protein lick tubs available to all my goats. (The 200lbs tubs, I have a lot of goats). The lick tubs are there as another attempt to round out anything that is missing. There are goat specific tubs on the market but tend to be dual purpose for sheep so don’t have copper. Most cattle tubs are a good choice, but some contain urea to boost protein content. While goats are ruminants and can metabolize urea in the same way as cattle, I prefer natural plant proteins. Horse lick tubs are a great option but more expensive.

Additives - boss, calf manna, Alfalfa pellets, etc

I think black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) make the milk smell like creamed corn. I don’t like that so I don’t feed them. They aren’t really appropriate for boys due to calcium to phosphorus ratio and I never noticed any difference when feeding them, other than the milk smell, so I save the boss for my birds.

Calf manna and the various other additive pellets are helpful in certain situations. They tend to be 1:1 calcium to phosphorus so must be fed with care

Alfalfa pellets are handy in boosting the calcium in a ration that contains whole grains. Added calcium will help control rumen pH and improve the calcium to phosphorus ratio for boys. My goats don’t really care for them.

fermented alfalfa products

Alfahay, chaffhaye, baleage, however you can get it, goats love it. The beneficial bacteria is great for their rumen. Introduce slowly as to not cause upset.