Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
A doe with a high milk yield needs extra energy in the first three months after she gives birth
to a kid. If she does not receive adequate nutrition, her body tries to compensate by breaking
down its own reserves, already depleted by pregnancy.
Planning a feeding program
Calculating your individual goat's nutritional needs and formulating your own feed mixtures
is a science. Langston University offers a free goat ration calculator (
www.luresext.edu/
goats/research/rationbalancer.htm
)
that allows you to enter information about your goats
and recommends optimum ration mixtures. Unless you grow your own grain, want to feed
your goats only organic feed, or have a large herd, it is easier to use commercially prepared
goat feed.
When starting out, you can avoid mistakes by buying goat feed from your local feed store and
closely following the directions on the package. You also can consult a local farmer who
raises goats successfully and follow his or her feeding program. Your program will vary ac-
cording to the amount and type of land you have, the number of goats, and your geographical
location, which will determine seasonal availability of plants for browsing. Your feeding pro-
gram will change with the seasons as different growth appears and disappears in your pas-
tures, new hay is harvested, and your goats are subjected to different weather conditions.
Roughage composed of live plants and hay will make up the major part of your goat's diet be-
cause it is an important element for keeping the rumen working and healthy. Too little or too
much roughage can be detrimental to goat digestion: Too little roughage decreases muscle
tone in the rumen, which causes it to work less efficiently, and too much roughage can disturb
the balance of organisms in the rumen that work to break down fiber. In a young, milk-fed
kid, the rumen and reticulum take up only 30 percent of its stomach space. In a mature doe,
the rumen takes up 80 percent of the stomach space, and the reticulum takes up another 5 per-
cent. The rumen of a young goat will not increase in size without proper stretching and devel-
opment. Your kids must begin eating roughage even before they are weaned from their moth-
ers' milk so their rumens develop well.
Water
Your goats' water needs to be fresh and clean. Milk production relies on water consumption,
and milk quality relies upon the water's cleanliness. Bacteria living in unclean water are in-
gested by the goats and eventually end up in their milk, where they affect its taste and quality.
