Chat
11-20-2016, 05:23 PM
I'm not sure how much you would have to feed if you were feeding 100% pellets. You'll probably have to experiment. One problem with pelleted feed is that they snarf it all down at once and then don't have anything to browse on throughout the day. Since goats are browsers by nature their rumens like to have something to work on throughout the day and hay takes longer to munch through than pellets.
One thing I've found with goats is that they are very picky about hay quality. Ever since I started feeding 3rd or 4th cutting alfalfa and high quality grass I've had very little waste. Also, I'm careful not to feed too much. It's easy to do. If I'm sure my hay is good quality and they're still leaving leftovers, I start feeding less. I decrease the amount until they're cleaning up the scraps, then I give just a little more than that from there on out. A little hunger goes a long way. They won't starve from having not-quite-enough-hay for a couple of days while you figure out exactly how much they actually need (which is very different from how much they say they want!). If the hay they tossed on the ground still looks clean and dry, I'll rake it up and put it back in the feeder. They don't get more until those leftovers are gone. If the hay quality is somewhat dubious I don't make them clean up every scrap. I rake up the waste and use it for bedding.
One thing I've found with goats is that they are very picky about hay quality. Ever since I started feeding 3rd or 4th cutting alfalfa and high quality grass I've had very little waste. Also, I'm careful not to feed too much. It's easy to do. If I'm sure my hay is good quality and they're still leaving leftovers, I start feeding less. I decrease the amount until they're cleaning up the scraps, then I give just a little more than that from there on out. A little hunger goes a long way. They won't starve from having not-quite-enough-hay for a couple of days while you figure out exactly how much they actually need (which is very different from how much they say they want!). If the hay they tossed on the ground still looks clean and dry, I'll rake it up and put it back in the feeder. They don't get more until those leftovers are gone. If the hay quality is somewhat dubious I don't make them clean up every scrap. I rake up the waste and use it for bedding.