Hey all. Well, that's a great no-waste goat-feeder article in the Nov/Dec issue... however, I've got Angora goats with quite the wingspan on their heads! Does anyone have any hay manger ideas for them? Right now I'm feeding hay in plastic barrels cut lengthwise. I was thinking about somehow fastening a couple of pieces of wood across the top so they wouldn't take out so much, but am afraid of them getting their horns caught. Any suggestions? Thanks. debra in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), October 12, 2000

Answers

Well Debra, maybe drive T-posts in the ground (in front of the half barrel) spaced so their necks will fit between the posts. Then adjust the post height to where they have to reach up to lower their heads through the gaps. Kind of like a keyhole feeder but without the hole or top rail. Would want to make sure there aren't any sharp corners on the top of the posts...

My pygmy girls have horns too, and I'm just using a pallet with spacing of 2-1/2", and they have to reach up and pull on the hay to eat it. Some still falls, but I'm not wasting as much as otherwise.

On the subject of horns, I know it is a no-no to mix horned and hornless goats, even though my girls are generally sweet-tempered. I've been wanting a Nigerian Dwarf doe, but all of the ones I've found in Texas have been disbudded. Short of "ordering" a doeling and asking them to leave her horns, what other options are there? My barnyard is too small to keep the goats separate.

-- txcountry girl (nancyk@icsi.net), October 12, 2000.

I'm a spinner, and I thought about the angoras I saw in the magazine last night. Do you HAVE to let angoras grow their horns, or can you disbud them like dairy goats? Showing my ignorance, I guess!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), October 12, 2000.

Yes, angoras can be disbudded just like dairy goats. They are generally raised in very large herds out on the range, and so it is customary not to, but I have seen disbudded angora does. Did you know that it takes more out of a buck to grow a full set of horns than it does out of a doe to produce for her entire lactation? Just think about how much harder the does would have to work milking and growing their horns, especially if they're young does that are still growing! Something to think about.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), October 12, 2000.

I have goats with horns and goats with no horns all together and they seem to do fine. I have one that is kinda pushy, but the others just push her with their head. I havn't had any hurt by horns. With the Saanens, some are hornless and some are not. Out of my dozen babies, only 3 had horns this year and I just left them. I don't have a disbudder. The horns really do make good handles, but they can be a problem with the feeders. I just make the mangers where they have to pull out the hay, can't stick their heads in. Works for grass hay but will not work for alfalfa of course. Boxes or barrels would work for alfalfa. My babies sleep in any box they can, so I must come up with something better this winter. Maybe long boxes at chest high for the goats. But you know, they will jump up there and eat!! Mine do. Sometimes I put their hay out in the warm sun on a cooler winter day. It's so much warmer in the sun in the mornings. I know it so hard with these goats. If you put a flake on the ground, one of them will pee right on it!!

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), October 13, 2000.

I looked at the article in the mag. and had the same thought. This is how I kinda solved the problem with hay wasting with my Angora's. One of the things that I did, kinda by accident: I used the fence panels to divide pens in part of my barn. One day I stacked round bales to close to the panel and the girls had a hayday picking the hay out through the squares. I built a narrow, tall hay bin sort of thing with solid bottom, back and sides and hooked it to the panel. The goats climb up and eat out of the top and the smaller ones, who get cheated out of hay, eat on the bottom. I've only had the yearlings stick their head all the way through and get stuck, but they seem to do that everywhere, just like teenagers they have to explore everything. This works pretty good too if you're not going to be home. Just put in extra and it will last all day. I push it down hard so it's kinda packed in the feeder and they have to work a little harder to get it out. The base of my hay shoot is about 6-8" wide. I also use round bale feeders designed for goats/sheep. Works pretty good but again you have lots of waste.

I also discovered that if I cut one horizontal wire out of the panel at about the right height I could feed grain in a trough outside of the pen. Keeps feet out of grain and less pushing, they each have their head out through a hole and can't push the next goat out. I had a couple girls who would go right down the feed trough and push everyone out and then hog all the grain. This seemed to help that a lot, have to pull their head out of hole in panel and quit eating.

A 16' panel around here costs about $13.00 on sale and if you have scrap wood shouldn't cost to much. Good luck.

-- Betsy (betsyk@pathwaynet.com), October 13, 2000.

I also have horned goats mixed with hornless ones, and have not had any problems. To minimize hay waste, I have taken scraps of fence and wrapped or otherwise attached it to the feeders, so that the holes are smaller and the hay doesn't just fall out when they tug on it. Works fairly well. Why do the manufacturers make the gaps in hay feeders so big, anyway?

-- Shannon (Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary) (gratacres@aol.com), October 13, 2000.

Well, so far, we're all on the same track! Rebekah, I was actually thinking of making some kind of hanging hay manger out of those welded wire panels... in fact, I've got to do a little corral 'remodeling' soon and will have a section to play with. I've also contacted the breeder I got my buck from and she's sending me some plans that work for her. I'll pass them along on the Forum if they look good.

I have horned & de-horned goats together & so far, so good. At first I separated them, but there doesn't seem to be a need now. I think that if you introduce a new goat, there should be a few days of 'across the fence' greetings, then watch them that first day you turn them all out together. Yes, two of my colored Angoras are disbudded and they look like little alpacas! I call them the Two Fat Ladies (2FL's)... they must have some pygmy in their background because they have that permanent 'tent-shape' to them! None of my other goats are that fat.

Looking forward to more input on this question. Thanks, dh in nm.

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), October 13, 2000.

I made a hay feeder out of the display unit for spring bulbs. I slanted a panel on the top to hold the hay and put another panel in the front for their heads. The top has a corrogated panel to keep hay dry. Any hay that drops, falls into the bottom square (which is deep) and can be replace on the top until all the good stuff is picked out. Then the rest goes to the rabbits for their boxes. I am actually surprised at how well it works. I guess you could keep the front panel off for your horns. Again, I think I save so much because it has a deeper catcher.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 13, 2000.

I have Angora rabbits and I'm looking to get Angora goats. I have to keep air circulating in the rabbit barn and icey bottles in with them in the hot north Alabama summer. Would Angora goats do o.k. here if there is plent of shade (in the edgeof the woods but not where they would get gunk in their hair)?

Also any of you with hints on getting started on spinning, please e-mail them to me!!!!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), October 14, 2000.

A friend of mine told me that chain link makes a good manger for goats. I have a big roll of 4 foot, which was free, but it still would not work for alfalfa unless there was a tray under it. Good ideas here, I have to build several in my new little barn, and I have lots of wall space. Last winter I hung pallets like a manger over the old long feeding trays in the old barn but the babies couldn't reach. And some did make it up in there, how I don't know.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), October 14, 2000.