| Many
people have asked, 'What do you feed?'
Well to answer this, we included the following
article:
|
FEEDING |
Goat owners are
always looking for the best thing to feed
their animals. We feed Tennessee Co-Op Goat
Starter (#93448). We also feed Tennessee
Co-Op Goat Grower
(#93461). We only feed medicated Tennessee
Co-Op feed. The rest of this articles is how
we got to this point... |
|
A couple of years ago, we attend the monthly
meeting of the Middle Tennessee Goat Producers
Association and heard the nutritionist from
the Tennessee CO-OP speak. He spoke for 30
minutes before he started talking about anything
we were interested in. As a result of his
talk and an after-the-meeting conversation,
we have changed what we feed.
|
Prior to that meeting we had fed TN
CO-OP 16% Goat Grower medicated with
monensin for about a year. To each 50 lb.
bag of the Goat Grower, we added 2 scoops
whole corn and 2 scoops black oil sunflower
seeds. The sunflower seed shells are an excellent
source of fiber while the meat of the sunflower
seeds contain protein and act as a lubricant.
The corn contains vitamin C and is an excellent
source of glucose. The nutritionist suggested
we take them off all medicated food for a
while each year. When we reintroduce the medicated
feed, it will be more effective against coccidiosis.
|
The Tennessee CO-OP has a goat formula that
is not medicated, 16% Pelleted
Goat Ration # 93842. It is the goat decoquinate
medicated feed with the medication removed.
We started feeding the non-medicated formula
in November 2004 to return to the Goat Grower
with monensin as the kidding season begins.
|
During the Q and A part of the presentation,
a question about N-Timidator
was asked. The nutritionist was very familiar
with the Land-O-Lakes goat feed. After laughingly
denying the N-Timidator contained steroids,
he stated the CO-OP Goat Grower with monensin
(CO-OP 93461) is almost identical to the N-Timidator.
|
He then told about full ration and
part ration food, saying that the Goat Grower
was a full ration, and their other feed is
part ration, meaning the feed needs to be
supplemented with hay or browse. Goat Grower
was developed for a goat producer who wanted
something for his Boer show goats. As a complete
ration, no additional ingredients are needed.
No hay, no browse, no whole corn, and no sunflower
seed.
|
Regarding sunflower seed, the oil
of the sunflower seed does help the coats
of goats, but he suggested we might consider
pouring corn oil over the ration for our show
goats to improve their coats. Corn does provide
quick heat and is often recommended to feed
during extremely cold spells; but it brings
down the percent of crude protein in the diet
because whole corn is only about 8 % crude
protein. Part corn and part Goat Grower will
reduce the intake of crude protein by the
amount of whole corn consumed. So if you are
feeding Goat Grower at 5 parts to 1 part of
whole corn, then you have reduced the 16%
crude protein by 10 percent. Since it is a
full ration food, the crude protein in Goat
Grower with monesin is reduced by anything
else a goat eats - hay, forage, or browse,
whereas a 16% crude protein feed that is not
a full ration needs the supplementation of
hay, forage, and/or browse to complete the
nourishment of the diet. |
For the last thirty days of pregnancy we added
two scoops of alfalfa pellets and 1 scoop
of 48% soybean meal, raising the overall protein
level of the above mix. We fed one scoop per
goat per day the month before the goats are
bred and during periods of lactation. Our
yearling does and breeding buck are fed one
scoop per goat twice a day. We fed alfalfa
hay the month prior to kidding and through
the lactation period. We feed grass hay year
'round. The goats also have available to them
browse and a hay pasture. |
Then we learned the Tennessee Farmer's CO-OP
has yet another goat feed. This one is Goat
Starter (#93448) with Rumensin. It is
18%
protein and designed to give new kids a jump-start
in growth. The label recommendation is to
feed it the first six weeks; but, according
to Mr. Niver, Nutritionist for the Tennessee
Farmer's CO-OP, it can also be fed as a sole
ration. We are currently feeding the Goat
Starter to the entire herd, except the bucklings.
Part of the herd is on full feed and part
are getting feed as a supplement. |
When we obtained our buck, Rimfire, we started
a dry lot operation at the top of the hill.
Rimfire and his harem are on free-feed CO-OP
Goat Starter. They have fresh water and Goat
Starter in their creeper. We keep the does
with Rimfire until we get a positive untrasound
indicating they are bred. We found that the
free feed did not put excess fat on the animals.
The first couple of days in the dry lot, they
pig out; but with feed available all the time,
they tend not to eat as much and do not become
over conditioned.
|
|
After does have weaned their kids, they go
into a different lot. There they only get
hay and water for a month. This allows them
to dry off and to recovery from the pregnancy.
Following their drying off, they are either
put with a buck or returned to the paddock
which had access to graze and browse. Depending
on the show schedule, we select them for breeding
and either AI them or expose them to one of
our bucks. Our does who produce "meat"
kids are put with the buck (or AIed) to coincide
with the demand for goat meat.
|
Our nursing does and kids are free-feed Goat
Starter from creep feeders. We make sure we
have the Goat Starter available to the kids
from the time they are a couple days old.
They don't start actually eating the feed
until they are about 10 days old, but they
do nibble at it and get accustomed to the
taste. Our weaned bucklings are fed Goat Grower.
Mr Niver advised that the phosphorus and calcium
ratio was changed in Goat Starter to make
it more palatable, at weaning we put them
Goat Grower.
|
Our non working bucks get CO-OP Goat Starter
to supplement to their browse.
|
|
WARNING: If you
have horses, DO NOT FEED any feed with monensin.
Over a period of time the monensin will kill
a horse!
|
MONENSIN VS. DECOQUINATE: We were feeding
CO-OP 16% protein goat feed medicated with
decoquinate. We switched when we learned decoquinate
mimics thiamin, thus potentially causing goat
polio (polioencephalitis) and realized the
decoquinate was no longer offering protection
against coccidiosis for our goats. Decoquinate
kills coccidia in some stages; monensin kills
coccidia in all stages.
|
HINT: Do not feed
too much whole corn. The goats are attracted
to the corn like children to candy; there
is little nutritional value, but it does encourage
eating. Whole corn has an estimated crude
protein level of around 8 percent. Crushed
corn vs Whole corn: part of the nutrition
is lost when the corn is crushed, bringing
the crude protein down below 8 percent.
|
NOTE: The label
states not to feed Goat Starter (or Goat Grower)
to lactating does. This warning is on the
label because rumensin has not yet been approved
for human consumption. If you are milking
your goats for human consumption, then don't
use the rumensin-medicated Goat Grower or
Goat Starter. But if you have kids nursing,
then feeding the rumensin-medicated feed provides
protection against coccidiosis since the medication
is passed on to the kids through the milk.
|
| |
