Providing proper nutrition is crucial for the health, well-being, and productivity of goats. Whether you're raising market goat kids, dairy goats, or companion animals, understanding their dietary needs is essential. This article offers a comprehensive guide to goat nutrition, covering everything from basic dietary requirements to specific feeding strategies.
Understanding Goat Nutritional Needs
Goats are ruminants, meaning they have a four-chambered stomach designed to digest fibrous plant matter. Their digestive system relies on a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in the rumen, the largest stomach compartment. These bacteria ferment food, breaking down tough plant fibers and producing volatile fatty acids, which provide over 70% of the goat's energy. It's essential to maintain a healthy rumen environment to ensure efficient digestion and overall health.
Key Dietary Components
A balanced goat diet should include the following key components:
- Forage: This is the foundation of a goat's diet, providing essential fiber for rumen function.
- Concentrates: These provide additional energy and nutrients, particularly for growing, lactating, or underweight goats.
- Water: Clean, fresh water is vital for all goats and should be available at all times.
- Minerals and Vitamins: These support various bodily functions and prevent deficiencies.
Forage: The Foundation of a Goat's Diet
Long, fibrous food, such as high-quality hay and long grass, is essential for goats. They need this so their rumen (one of their four stomach chambers) can digest food efficiently. Goats are naturally browsers, preferring to eat brush, shrubs, and trees rather than grass. They have narrow, deep mouths that allow them to selectively harvest soft, leafy tissues and strip leaves from woody plants.
Types of Forage
- Browse: This includes twigs, leaves, and bark from woody plants, vines, brambles, shrubs, and trees. Goats prefer browse over grass, making it an important part of their diet.
- Pasture: Grasses, legumes, and forbs can supplement a goat's diet, but should not be the primary food source. Introduce lush pasture gradually to avoid digestive upset.
- Hay: When fresh forage is limited, grass hay such as timothy or orchard grass provides essential fiber.
Feeding Strategies for Forage
- Free-Choice Feeding: Offer forage at all times, allowing goats to consume as much as they need.
- Hay Feeders: Use hay feeders to keep hay clean, dry, and off the ground, reducing waste and parasite exposure.
- Pasture Rotation: Divide pastures into sections and rotate goats to allow vegetation to regenerate and reduce parasite exposure.
Hay Quality
- Avoid Moldy Hay: Never feed moldy hay to goats, as it can cause serious health problems.
- Check for Browning: Excessively brown hay may be low in nutrition due to sun bleaching or rain damage.
- Remove Baling Material: Always remove twine or wire from hay bales to prevent injury or ingestion.
Concentrates: Supplementing the Diet
Concentrates, also known as grains, provide additional energy and nutrients for goats with higher requirements, such as growing kids, pregnant does, or lactating does. Commercial goat mixes typically contain 14-18% protein and added vitamins and minerals.
Read also: Feeding Boer Goats
Types of Concentrates
- Commercial Goat Feed: Formulated specifically for goats, these mixes often contain coccidiostats to prevent coccidiosis and ammonium chloride to prevent urinary calculi in male goats.
- Sweet Feed: A mix of whole grains or pelleted food with molasses, sweet feed is palatable to goats and can be used as a training tool.
- Custom Grain Mixes: These can be tailored to specific needs but may require mineral supplementation.
Feeding Strategies for Concentrates
- Introduce Gradually: Start with small amounts of grain (¼ - ½ lb. per feeding twice a day) and gradually increase over a week to ten days until the goat consumes all the grain in 10-15 minutes.
- Monitor Body Condition: Adjust the amount of concentrate based on the goat's weight, age, and stage of production.
- Provide Roughage: Always provide hay or other roughage alongside concentrates to maintain rumen function.
Potential Issues with Concentrates
- Urinary Calculi: Sweet feed and grain can contribute to urinary calculi, particularly in wethers. Ensure the feed contains ammonium chloride and provide salt on a free-choice basis.
- Bloat: Overconsumption of grain can lead to bloat. Feed high-quality hay before allowing goats to graze on lush pasture.
- Acidosis: Rapid changes in the amount or type of grain can disrupt rumen bacteria and cause acidosis.
Water: Essential for Life
Goats need a constant supply of clean, fresh drinking water. Daily consumption ranges from one quart to one and a half gallons per head per day.
Providing Water
- Clean Waterers Regularly: Scrub and refill water bowls or drinkers regularly to prevent contamination.
- Remove Ice: In winter, remove ice from water sources and provide slightly warmed water.
Importance of Water
- Aids Digestion: Water is essential for rumen function and nutrient absorption.
- Prevents Dehydration: Adequate water intake prevents dehydration and related health problems.
- Encourages Feed Intake: Poor-quality water or insufficient water can reduce feed intake.
Minerals and Vitamins: Supporting Health
Commercial feeds are formulated to meet the vitamin and mineral requirements of animals when fed as directed. Therefore, you do not need to provide additional vitamins and minerals if you are feeding according to the label. However, some custom grain mixes do not include minerals.
Essential Minerals
- Calcium and Phosphorus: Maintain a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 2:1 to prevent urinary calculi.
- Copper: Goats need copper, so avoid feeds or minerals intended for sheep, which should not have copper.
- Salt: Provide salt on a free-choice basis to encourage water intake and prevent mineral deficiencies.
Providing Minerals
- Loose Mineral Supplements: Offer loose mineral supplements rather than blocks, as they are easier for goats to consume.
- Commercial Formulations: Choose a commercial mineralized salt formulation specifically designed for goats.
Poisonous Plants: A Serious Threat
Goats love eating wild plants and hedgerow cuttings. Unfortunately, many plants - including common garden plants - are poisonous to them and could even kill them. The golden rule is ‘when in doubt, don’t feed’. Check any pasture to make sure the plants aren’t growing there.
Common Poisonous Plants
- Alder
- Yew
- Rhododendron
- Laurel
- Privet
- Laburnum
- Honeysuckle
- Walnut
- Evergreen shrubs
- Green stuff from flowers including delphiniums, hellebores or any bulbous plants such as tulips and daffodils
- Hemlock
- Buttercup
- Bryony
- ‘Dog’s mercury’
- Ragwort
- Mayweed
- Foxglove
- Celandine
- The nightshade plants
- ‘Old man’s beard’
Feeding Different Types of Goats
Goats nutrient requires vary based on their weight, stages of pregnancy and lactation. Consequently, balancing their rations to meet their nutrient requirements can be a cost saving to producers. Over-feeding is wasteful, and under-feeding can affect the health of the animals. Nutrient deficiencies lead to reduced growth, low reproductive performance and poor animal health. One of the ways of balancing rations is by the use of the Pearson Square method. Ration can also be balanced by the use of a computer. The use of Pearson square is most effective when only two feeds are being used. In addition, the animal requirement (the number in the center of the square) must fall between the nutrient concentrations in both feeds. A ration can be balanced for Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN), crude protein (CP) and fat (EE) etc. When balancing goat rations for these nutrients, the method requires their nutritive values which can be found in forage/feed analysis reports or can be taken from book values.
Market Goat Kids
Providing proper nutrition to your goat kid is important for that kid to reach its full potential at the market goat show. Making sure that the goat receives appropriate protein, energy, and minerals allows the goat to not only grow to reach market weight, but also ensures that the goat develops muscle and reaches an appropriate fat cover for show day.
Read also: Feeding Pygmy Goats
Dairy Goats
If you want milk, you must feed your goat accordingly. per cent of their body weight daily as milk. body weight per day. you feed, the doe will get thin. into milk production. than to make babies!
Bottle-Fed Kids
need to have Colostrum within an hour of birth. (or frozen) goat's milk (not canned). can add 3 Tbs. can add 3 Tbs. of corn syrup per gallon of cow milk if you wish). FEED POWDERED MILK REPLACER/FORMULA. milk replacer , which can cause diarrhea and floppy kid syndrome. nipples is too small and will need to be made bigger. by cutting an X in the top with scissors. human baby bottles and nipples. making it easier to drink from. you must cut an "X" in the end of the nipple. than you think it needs to be. not want to nurse, you must work with them. Sometime is it extremely (and I mean extremely) hard to get a kid to take a bottle. Be patient. Get him in your lap, pry open his mouth and shove in the nipple. may struggle and not want the nipple. but into the kid. Have paper towels on hand. Put yourself in his place. He has no idea what the bottle is and what you are doing. "real" mommy. Keep working with him. you are trying to get him to do helps (sometimes). torture device. if they have nursed from a real teat. the mother, who had refused the kid, so that he could nurse). with the kid. is soft and warm. "mommy". is not functioning yet. slightly extended as he drinks. that I use. one- 6 oz. two- 8 oz. three- 10 oz. four- 10-12 oz. the next week- 10-12 oz. the next 2 months- 10-12 oz. the next 1 month- 10-12 oz. (per feeding) 2 times a day. oz.
Additional Feeding Tips
- Establish a Routine: Goats like a regular and predictable feeding routine.
- Avoid Ground Feeding: Goats prefer not to eat anything that's been on the floor. Use hayracks with a lid, positioned at a height where the goats can’t foul the hay.
- Supplement Kitchen Scraps: Offer goat-safe kitchen scraps such as banana peels, tomato ends, broccoli peelings, orange peels, garlic skins, and egg shells as a nutritional supplement.
- Avoid Unsafe Foods: Do not feed goats dog food or cat food, as they have different dietary requirements.
- Natural Wormers: There are a lot safer natural wormers available.
Common Health Problems Related to Diet
Proper feeding of goats is the best defense against diseases. The question that always arises is how much grain and hay to feed. As mentioned above, it depends on the sex of the animal, the body weight and whether the goats are pregnant, lactating or dry. Hay and grain offered to goats should be consumed in about 20 minutes. If the animals are taking longer than 20 minutes to consume the feed provided, then they are probably being overfed. It is necessary to provide fresh and clean water at all times. The lack of water can reduce intake. Daily consumption of water ranges from one quart to one and half gallon per head per day. Periodically scrub and sanitize watering bowls to keep them free from contamination, microbes, parasites and algae. On average, and adult animal should be fed five lbs. of high quality feed and hay per day. Milking does should be fed an additional pound of grain/day for every quart of milk produced. Goats may reduce their feed intake if the grains are moldy. It is essential to buy good quality grains. Remember prevention is better than cure. A sick goat in the whole herd can could about 10-20 times more when you have to treat as opposed to the cost of prevention.
Bloat
Gas is a natural by-product of digestive fermentation in the rumen, and it is expelled continuously as the goat belches. Bloat occurs when gas is trapped in the rumen. It is a life-threatening condition. Frothy bloat is usually caused by grazing lush pasture or legume pastures. Foam forms in the rumen with tiny bubbles that are impossible for a goat to belch up. The rumen expands with foam and the goat could die quickly from respiratory or circulatory failure due to excessive pressure on the diaphragm. Dry bloat is usually caused by indigestion from eating too much grain. In this type of bloat, gas forms in pockets and is trapped in the upper portions of the rumen. To prevent bloat, feed high quality hay before allowing them to eat new, green moist grass. Grain ration should not be fed alone. Fiber (e.g. hay or silage) is important in the diet because it stimulates the goat to chew, thereby producing alkaline saliva which serves to control the level of acidity in the rumen.
Laminitis
Laminitis is the term used to describe the initial outbreak of the disease when the laminae become inflamed and break down, releasing its hold on the bones in the hoof. Over-feeding a high-energy diet or feeding a concentrated grain diet with low-to-no-roughage sets the stage for this illness. The signs are lameness, reluctance to move, fever and all 4 feet are hot to the touch. It can be partially cause by complication of other diseases.
Read also: Metabolic health and goat milk
Urinary Calculi
The urethra is a tube that empties urine from the bladder. The male's urethra is much longer and narrower than that of the doe. It is less of a problem in does because of the straightness and shortness of their urethra. Stones are mainly formed in the bladder and become a problem when they are lodged in the urethra. Symptoms of this condition include straining or frequent non-productive urination, abdominal discomfort, stretching, kicking, looking at their sides, and rapid tail switching. To avoiding this problem it is advisable to feed a ration of high quality, free choice, mixed legume/grass hay with salt and trace minerals with calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1. Add grain as required. Freedom to browse is an added plus. Have fresh water available at all times encourages urine flow. If possible defer castration until 3 to 5 months of age.
Milk Fever
Milk fever usually occurs around kidding time. The noticeable symptom of this disease is dragging of the hind foot. Certain feed rich in calcium, most notably and peanut (legume) hay are believed to be the cause. These feeds contain calcium in excess of what the doe needs at kidding time. This excess calcium sets off a "chain reaction" causing calcium to be deposited into her bones when her body needs to be releasing it for use in milk production. The best way to prevent milk fever is to lower calcium intake during the last 30 days of pregnancy. In most herds, this can be done by eliminating legume hays from the doe's diet.
Overeating Disease
This condition is called over eating disease on pulpy kidney disease. Many sheep and goats carry a strain of the bacteria Clostridium perfringens Type D. This microorganism is part of the normal microflora of the intestine. Excessive consumption of grain or young succulent forage causes the bacteria to multiply and produces a toxin that leads to sudden death of the animal. Control of this disease is vaccination of the breeding female as well as the kid.
Balancing Rations Using the Pearson Square Method
All animals including goats have specific nutrient requirements. During winter when the availability of forage is limited, it becomes necessary to provide adequate levels of hay and grain to goats to meet their nutrient requirements. The general recommendation is to feed approximately 5 pounds of hay and grains in total per adult goat.
One of the ways of balancing rations is by the use of the Pearson Square method. Ration can also be balanced by the use of a computer. The use of Pearson square is most effective when only two feeds are being used. In addition, the animal requirement (the number in the center of the square) must fall between the nutrient concentrations in both feeds. A ration can be balanced for Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN), crude protein (CP) and fat (EE) etc. When balancing goat rations for these nutrients, the method requires their nutritive values which can be found in forage/feed analysis reports or can be taken from book values.