Category: Management

We’re always being asked, “What do you feed your goats?”

So, here you go!

Water – Of course fresh water is #1 on the list. Always make sure your goats have access to clean fresh water!

We were told a story that really hit home with us when we first got goats. A local feed rep told us how he learned about clean water for his animals when he was growing up. One day, his dad asked if he gave his animals water. “Yeah, sure, Dad,” he replied as they sat down at the dinner table. His dad walked out to the barn, scooped a glass of water from the animals water trough and returned to the dinner table, setting the glass of water in front of his son’s plate. “Here’s your water,” said his dad, as bits of soiled bedding and dirt swirled in the cloudy brown tinted water. “I can’t drink that,” said the son. His dad simply replied, “If you can’t drink that, neither can your animals.” From that moment, the son always remembered when filling the animals’ water, would I drink that?

So, if you think it’s gross, it probably is. Change the water as often as it needs to be! We change water at least 2x’s per day, in the morning and in the evening. On really hot days, we check water mid-day and change or top up if needed. Any time an animal accidentally poops in the water buckets, they get pulled out and scrubbed. All waterers, buckets or automatic, do need to be cleaned on a regular basis with a brush and either dish washing soap (Dawn is our preference) and/or bleach to remove any build up. This can be weekly or more often if needed. Just make sure the water is clean enough for you to drink it.

In the winter, we use heated buckets. They are expensive but buy one and change it often. They are so worth it! Animals don’t like to drink freezing cold water or worse, can’t drink water if their buckets are frozen solid.

Hay – Hay is essential for goats. They are ruminants and need some type of grass hay/forage.

We feed 2nd Cutting Orchard Grass. Why? Because here in PA, it’s good quality and easy to get. We do offer our does in milk Alfalfa hay in some form – regular baled hay (if we can get it), pellets, or Chaffhaye. A great way to put weight on an goat is feeding Alfalfa. We give our goats hay 24/7. They ALWAYS have access to hay.

If you’re in our local area and need to find hay, we will be happy to share our hay contacts with you. Just send us a message.

Grain – We feed a grain mix based on age, lactation, and body condition.

Blue Seal is our preferred brand and we buy it locally. Our goats are fed grain by weight at a rate of .5% up to 3.5%. So if a goat weighs 50 lbs the range would be .25 lbs to 1.75 lbs of grain per day, split into 1 or 2 feedings. We use a small postage scale to weigh out feed and then mark on our scoop/container the amounts. Find what works easiest for you.
Calculation: 50 lbs x .005 (.5%) = .25 lbs OR 50 lbs x .035 = 1.75 lbs

We have two main grain mixes that we use – Kids and Does. See each of the groups below as to which goats get which mix. Parts are just as many of the same amount as you choose. So if you use a scoop or a small cup, just make sure you use the same measurement for each of the ingredients for that many ‘parts’.

Kids – our kids are offered grain the first week of their lives (and minerals, too!). They start to nibble and won’t eat much but they love eating with their mom and acting like a big goat. It’s ok to let them nibble on the doe’s grain at this point. By the time they are about 2 weeks old, they get the hang of it and are offered our kid grain mix with the other kids. They won’t eat much at first but as they grow, we up their feed amount based on body weight and condition. We start with a small handful per goat until they start consuming all of it. We add more as they need it. Once they reach weaning age at 8-12 weeks, they are around the 20 lb range (give or take a few pounds) and are somewhere around the 1% of body weight, so about .25 lb of grain per day. Our routine is that the kids get fed grain only 1x per day, in the morning. You can split it into 2x’s based on your needs. Our kids get their minerals in the afternoon with the rest of the herd. Kids are fed grain until they are 1 year old and then weaned off grain if they are either wethered or remaining as a dry doe.

Wethers – any wethers on our farm only get the kids grain mix until they reach 1 year of age. After that, our wethers are not feed any grain. They have enough body condition with minerals and hay only. If a goat would need additional body condition, we would feed a small amount of grain with ammonium chloride in it to prevent urinary calculi.

Bucks – bucks are fed grain all of their lives, which includes ammonium chloride in it to prevent urinary calculi. Bucks get the kids grain mix as it’s a bit lower in overall protein but the does grain mix won’t hurt them, just pack on weight a little faster. We vary the amount based strictly on body condition. If a buck is too conditioned (aka fat), he may only get a small amount. When in rut and breeding, our bucks need more calories to keep condition so they are feed a higher amount of grain to offset their calorie needs.

Dry Does – dry does may need a small amount to keep body condition but if not, they are weaned off grain and only fed minerals, just like our wethers.

Pregnant Does – once we breed our does and have confirmed pregnancies, the does will begin to get a small amount of grain during their pregnancy. We keep the amount low, .05% through most of their pregnancy, again, all based on body condition. During the later stages in pregnancy, we slowly up the amount, being careful not to over do the amount of grain as to not overgrow the kids inside of the dam. Once a doe kids, she’s given a much larger amount of grain, increased slowly over the first week and monitored on body condition and stool consistency. Too much grain all at once can upset their rumen and stool.

Does in Milk – Does in milk are the most complicated for grain amounts. Some does see grain and get fat, despite making milk. Other does need all the grain they can get just to keep body condition. We base the amount a doe gets based on how much milk she’s making and how she looks with condition. The rule of thumb is always the more grain, the more milk. We don’t necessarily go by that. We want our does to be healthy first and if excess weight gain is happening, we’d rather back down her grain and keep a better body condition than push for milk production.

So that’s the basics on what we feed. Keep in mind that different areas, like other states or even just one mountain over, can have different soil types, forages, hay availability, etc and it will be up to you to work out what works best for your goats. The goal is always healthy goats.

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Post updated: 9/22/22