Well I have looked high and low, and no "local" (ie, within a 60 mile radius) feed store has a dairy goat ration. Or any goat ration for that matter.

Someone told me that you could feed your milk goats a 14% horse mix, is that true?

The other idea I had was to feed the corn/oats/barley/molasses mix and throw in a handful of calf manna?

Any thought/ideas?

tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), January 19, 2002

Answers

I think sometimes your best bet is to use the good quality 16% protein horse grain, especially when it has good things like biotin, selenium, copper, yeast culture and the like, now some ole horse and mule, pass on it. Then because you know the horse ration is for a single stomached animal, and really horse feeds are jam full of mollassas to make it more appealing to the owner, you want to cut the feed with Black oil sunflower seeds, will up your fat and fiber also, and since the horse grains already are full of oats, and you don't want your oats more than 25% of your total ration for the goats, also add barley, a good 12% protein and carbos. You growing kids and lactating or nursing does could use the protein from the small amount of calfmanna, if you are feeding just a grass hay, but if you spend the money on good quality grains with a good quality mineral supplement in it already, you don't need the extra costs of calf manna. And especially for your bucks! To much protein in grown bucks just grows hooves and cause urinary problems, and increase urine scald when they peee on themselves, which they are always going to do. If you have urine scald during rut, increase the amount of ammonium chloride in the mix, or top dress it at 1 teaspoon per head per day, and cut his protein, it all but disappears! Of course not the yellow nasties! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 20, 2002.

When substituting rations for different species of animals, please keep in mind the attemp being made by the USDA to prevent a virus such as 'mad cow' from getting a toe hold in the U.S. There are legal restrictions on which animal proteins may be used to increase the protein content in feeds produced for ruminants. These restrictions do not apply to feed for non ruminants such as horses and dogs. If you feed horse feed or dog food to ruminants you are bypassing these protective restrictions.

-- Dianne Wood (woodgoat@pacifier.com), January 20, 2002.

Thank you Diane, and I should have said, to never feed any product that has animal byproducts, animal fat or animal protein in it period! Thought perhaps everyone was sick of me saying that :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 20, 2002.

I would think that it would be easy enough to look at the tag and see if there was animal protein being used? That said, I just looked at my horse feed, and there is none. I can't imagine a good, quality name horse feed would, but it would pay to check.

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), January 20, 2002.

Tracy, you would think so wouldn't you! Just up until last year, Purina Goat chow had ruminent animal by products in it, and also had fish and feather meal as protein. Same with Acco. Manna Pro's Calf Manna also has right now, in your barn, animal protein in it. Now the protein in it is coming from whey, because it is first and foremost a milkfed pellet for calves. But until BSE info hit, most feed mills were using meat and bone meal in their feeds. Look at all the feeds that now contain the words, "no ruminent byproduts"! That's just new this year! Pilgrims (a huge Texas chicken producer) has a large feed mill, and stores all over Texas, what you want to bet their protein is feather meal? You are right, read the tags! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 20, 2002.