In an ideal world, I would have acres and acres for them to forage on. In this world, I can't afford that much fencing and don't have the time to play shepherd. Thanks for watching!
Im lucky enough to live in the middle of nowhere with no close neighbors and no close roads. My goat's get to roam free range with no fences and they circle the field around my house and clear up the foliage in the woods. Love it!!! I keep multiple types of minerals available plus baking soda, I feed hay only and nothing more. I know the is extremely rare and that I and my goat's are blessed! Its amazing! My nubien produced almost a gallon a day this summer only n forage and looked great, nobody is lean in this herd.
I guess im randomly asking but does anyone know a method to log back into an instagram account? I was stupid forgot the account password. I love any assistance you can offer me!
Thanks so much for this Kristin! I just wish I could get pellets for $13 a bag! Or a reliable supply of good hay of varying types. This year, I have not been able to buy a single bale of perfect hay. Even though we had a drought over summer, all the hay smells musty or is just plain mouldy. That peanut hay looks great, but of course doesn't grow down in Tasmania where I live. I've never been able to work out just how much my does are capable of producing. The more they eat, the more they milk, and they never do seem to gain weight. It all goes straight into the udder and out again. I want to grow row crops of beetroot, fodder beet and other veg which have a high sugar content. This is a great way of using a small block of land to produce high calorie forage. And of course I must build those hay feeders I've been promsing myself, to save the huge amount of waste that goats love to create.
Our hay was so bad last year I have been struggling to get my goats in condition and my butterfat up. We had a very rainy season topped off with a hurricane. The hay has been very poor quality. They certainly are wasteful creatures. Mine have to eat with their heads through cattle panels so they don't waste quite so much.
Another very interesting video. I was just checking online yesterday ways to fatten my goats up a little. We have different feeds here in Australia so i try to get the closest natural grains. Thank you.
Hi there. I am a new subscriber. Thanks for sharing your feeding routine. We, too, have dairy goats in SW Utah, on the desert. Fortunately, we have a lot of alfalfa being grown here. The bad news is most grow for export or large California dairies. It all goes in big squares. We fed Chaffhaye, but our animals look better on our local alfalfa. Look forward to your milking setup.
Hello there. I just found your channel. My missus and i enjoy the content. Fantastic job 🙂 new sub here. One day we plan to be on our own small homestead. 👍
Chaffhaye is basically fermented grass (silage) in an anaerobic environment which is mixed with different products like protein sources, molasses, and probiotics. Have you ever considered making it yourself? In my country, we make it all the times
On the farm I used to work on for the withers and breeding bucks would give them horse chow, because the vet said it would reduce kidney stones in the goats. Have you ever heard of that, anyone?
Do you withdraw alfalfa before your girls kid? I’ve heard mixed opinions, and mine are going to be first fresheners in the spring. Just trying to prepare :-)
Very informative thank you for the input of information best regards from Jamaica. You have motivate me to make video as well If you like you can check my channel I am also talking mainly about goat,sheep and rabbit. Thanks
yeah this is not sustainable or self sufficient in any way. The genetics of modern goats are just like the genetics of modern cows. bred and built for industrial use. maximize production at the cost of high inputs of everything, feed , medicine etc. would be nice if someone took some of the heritage goats(while they are still around) that are resistant to disease and parasites and come up with a breed that would be better for the small pasture ways of doing things. sort of like the south poll meat cattle. all this is doing is the same industrial agricuture n a smaller scale that makes it make even less sense. Kind of depressing. one would think raising goats would be one of the easiest animals to raise buut as far as i have researched any other animal would be better than goats
When you mentioned that the caprine minerals made a huge difference over the minerals from box stores, I wondered what the difference could be and decided to try it. HUGE difference! I will never go back! Some things I noticed: better appetites, thicker and glossier coats, higher milk production and sweeter milk, the goats have more energy and are more playful, their tail fur thickened up and fish tail disappeared, etc. I would never have imagined such a huge difference. Thank you for sharing this info! It’s made a huge difference in the health of my goats!
You can while they arnt in milk. They still need minerals but they do fine if given a lot of pasture and some grown up areas clover ect. Yeah just grass isn't really good enough. obviously in winter there might not be enough growing for them.
so feed will effect production. we've recently gotten a milk goat and a Kid so she had company, we grain her twice a day 16%, we found the best hay we could for this time of year, up here in Michigan, we have an order in for second cut alfalfa so it will get better, I guess what I wanted to know is I made farm cheese for the first time and we did not really get the curds like you or anyone else does when making cheese, is feed the issue ? I used a gallon of milk and maybe only got a fist size chunk of cheese, before i get into making more cheese I just wanted to know if its something we might be doing wrong also.
After watching this video I began adding black oil sunflower seeds and rice bran pellets to our feed for the added fat and protein to boost winter nutrition. The goats love the taste and milk volumes are on the rise as well as higher energy, and improved rumen health. Thank you!
I just bought 4 goats from a family friend. This “friend” is supposed to be the goat guru and knows all things goats, but these poor goats are in terrible shape. One has signs of early bloat, one has crusty eye, all have overgrown hooves, they are itching themselves silly, and they just don’t look great. I know now that he only fed them hay…one type of hay. No sunflower seeds, no minerals, no supplemental goat feed. I have been studying RU-vid videos like yours to learn and I clearly already know way more than this hustler. Thank you for your instructional videos. It help new owners like me to recognize when things aren’t right and even what to do to start remedying these issues. I’ve been giving my new beauties as much nutrition as I can now that they are in my care, so now that I have that going, it’s time to treat the ailments. Poor babies.
I love to see that you feed grain & appreciate your thorough explanation of everything. I have seen that many people online don't & advise others not too. I have never met a goat farmer in person that does not include some sort of grain. It just seems that they need the extra calories, especially during winter and kidding season.
On our Rocky Mtn Homestead, we feed our Goats alfalfa cubes for cattle during the winter...They get looking skinny like your goats...During the non-snowy weather, they get supplemented with alfalfa cubes but they mostly forage in the forest and get big and buff...big strong muscles. We use no grain,/hay at all, since that would not be their natural diet. We have found that foraging works the best for our goats and will continue to use this method with them... I truly don't see how you can afford to feed your goats all of what you do... I know we couldn't keep up that program, but I am happy that some people can... Foraging is the method we can afford and they are healthiest on this diet... BTW - Baking Soda is highly alkalizing... it will make it so whatever consumes it will not have enough stomach acid to digest their food properly...It also causes diarrhea...If you put some baking soda in some water and drink it, and then test your urine's PH, you will see that it makes it highly alkaline...My late husband was a paramedic as well as a Fire Chief, and he said it is a lot easier to bring a person out of acidosis than too much alkalinity in the body...be careful with baking soda.
So true, you really can tell the animals health from their general appearance. We only have a small land area and supply all the goats needs variations in hay, minerals and amendments like baking soda, seaweed and trimmings from the garden. Great vlog appriciate your time.🙏
We do copper bolus 4g at the end of spring. That also helps protect against barber pole worms. If any of the girls have a "fish tail" or a dull coat, I will give her another in the fall.
wow, you really watch what you feed your goats. Impressive. I will eventually include milking goats on our small farm so will be watching your channel closely. Thank you for all your helpful information.
Very informative thank you so much I want Lamar to goats in the future but I'm learning about them now. I have almost 6 and 1/2 acres of land in Oklahoma and I would love to do this one day soon.
Quite impressed with how well you maintain your herd and have learned much from listening to your video and decided to incorporate my feed to better maintain my herd! I am glad for sharing your time and experience!!
I'm still puzzled with feeding my goats. They don't like hay or alfalfa pellets but love the sweet feed and scratch grain plus they forage between feedings. But I'm worry about too much grain in their diet - how to know what is enough and what will be too much and could cause problems?
Hi, I just discover you and I am pleased about I saw. Congratulations! You're an inspiration to me and I'm thinking of buying 3-4 goats from the French alpine breed, for starters. I love your videos!
hello ... new subscriber .... love your videos ... straight forward and easy to follow .... i have a few milk goats myself ,,, and will try many of your cheese making videos .... Greetings of South Africa ... and stay safe ...
Wonderful video, and so informative! I think a lot of people don't realize how many extra calories a dairy animal needs compared to others. Many wethers and unbred does could do fine on forage alone, but dairy animals have been selected to put all their energy into producing milk, even at the expense of their own body condition. They just won't thrive on the same forage that a wether would do wonderfully on. They need more calories because they're burning more calories making milk!
They've worked well for us! I give a 4g copper bolus at the end of spring. I'll do another in the fall for any doe that looks like she has a fish tail or a duller coat. That also helps them with barber pole worms over the summer. I give BoSe for Selenium in the fall around breeding time. When I stopped giving the Se, I was having some kids born with legs that took a few days to straighten out. The Boss seemed to resolve that.
Love your videos! We have a small dairy farm in Brazil and struggle so much with this notion people here have of free range goat...learning a lot from your videos - thank you!!!
Have you ever considered trying to control they're grazing access with portable net fencing? They'll eat everything to the ground if they have access, but if you rotate them you can grow more quality pasture then you might think. With long rest periods you will grow plenty of weeds and woody perennials which they absolutely love because they're higher in trace minerals then typical sweet hay or alfalfa. you might even get some plants and weeds setting seed which is a nice dose of free high fat feed.
I have tried that. It worked okay with my first two does. Then I got a third who just plowed the netting down. Couple that with my ground being too hard to get the fencing and ground rod in and it just didn’t work.
New subscriber here-your channel is a treasure trove of good dairy goat info! We raised Nubians and Saanens, but have been looking at LaManchas when we move to new acreage. Looking forward to bingeing on more videos!
During the year we often feed our two bucks a scoop of food (split between them) once a day and make sure they have ample grass hay that they enjoy. During rut season we will feed them twice a day to counteract the weight they lose. We will also occasionally feed them a flake of our higher quality hay but we only do that if we feel it is necessary for the most part. So far this has worked for us and we haven't had any issues with stones though these results could vary in your experience and with your animals.
I don’t have pasture for my 2 Nigerian Dwarf does. One is due soon and both will be milk goats in time. We have only had them 6 weeks. I give them a mix in the morning of alfalfa pellets, organic goat feed those two are half the feed they get then I add in BOS, kelp, field peas (not their favorite), whole oats and barley. In the afternoon about 2-3 I give them a varied mix of leaves (cabbage or beet greens or lettuce) usually half a carrot, half an apple, maybe pumpkin and or celery with dried raspberry leaves, some chaste berries and a couple cloves of chopped garlic. I sprinkle on some dried nettles. Sometimes a half banana w/skin. Soaked beet shreds.The same quantity each day. They have free access to baking soda and a mineral buffet, orchard grass and alfalfa hay. They just didn’t like the Coastal Bermuda. I bought some chaff hay but haven’t given it to them. I read it was good for kids. Anyway some say I shouldn’t be feeding the fruit and veggies, it will upset their rumen balance. They look and act super healthy and their coats are super shiny. Poop is normal. Honey the non pregnant doe has finally filled out a bit. She lost weight when we first bought her. She looks good now. She is a small ND anyway and last weight was 49 but bet she is about 53 now. I don’t want to kill them with kindness and they don’t seem to overeat. When full they stop. What do you think?
Wow!! And I thought my goats were spoiled! Good for you! We can't get a lot of that stuff in Hawaii. Mine get alfalfa hay alfalfa pellets 16% protine grain and minerals and have lots of browse in their pasture. Thanks for the informative video! I'm now going to try and grow them some perennial peanut! Thanks beautiful sweet soul for sharing all this info🙏
They get free choice on hay and bale of legume hay to share each day. My cup is about a 32oz cup. Probably about 4c of dairy goat feed morning and night. I'll try to remember to bring the scale out and weigh it. For the other feeds, I give it to them as needed. I have a fat girl who doesn't get anything special. My skinny girl gets about a cup each of beet pulp and rice bran and a handful of BOSS.
As a "Mom" of a small family of LaManchas (milk goats for those who are unfamiliar with them.) They have very small outer ears, looking somewhat like "camels" from the side, and almost refuse to eat Burmuda grass hay. They will eat a little of the "fresh grown" Burmuda in the yard, but one cannot count on them to be anything like "lawn mowers"! They, goats in general, prefer broad leaf grasses. We are in the "south" - Texas, so have Burmuda as a predominant hay for all grass eaters. Alfalfa is their favorite hay, but because of its high level of nutrition, needs to be fed sparingly to bucks. Recently, we have been able to get semi-chopped, compressed bales of Alfalfa and Orchard Grass which both does and and "guys" (bucks & wethers) like them and can eat both. They also like Sudan hay a lot. I am impressed in your studied consideration regarding the feed you are giving them. Sadly, most people I see or speak with are content to accept those so called "good" goat feeds that are made from questionable plant, etc. products and end up looking like some kind of mustard looking "mess" that has been mixed and extruded. Of course, hungry goats are not so "picky", but I can't abide people who are so ignorant about what is in the "product" they are selling or using! I have been blessed to find an excellent feed made in Texas called Hi-Pro. They have two formulations for dairy and meat goats. The pellets are similar to the one you showed in your video. Small specks of different colored, textured plant, etc. in each pellet! I do not have to tell you my goats love it! Even the elderly grandmother of her daughter's three babies eats it without teeth!
Some of our goats absolutely love the stuff. My goat Evelyn likes it a lot but others may give it a sniff and that will be all. Thanks for watch our videos -Chase
Great informative video. Where are you located? (Approx?) I am trying to research and determine if dairy goats do well in a humid, tropical climate if they are fed properly.
Hi! Nice menu information. What I am missing that I was hoping you would address is HOW you feed as well as what you feed your goats. I'm guessing you don't get huge stock tanks and put everything into it. You mentioned feeding the pellets when on the stand milking. Does that mean the bucks and the does not in milk don't get pellets? Do you have separate mineral feeders for the loose mineral supplements and the baking soda? What other feeders do you have in each pen, etc?
Thank you for your video. I have 9 females and 5 bucks, two of them mature for breeding. Can you tell me how many pounds of pelleted grain do you feed your girls? Thank you so very much!!
@@HammockHavenFarm Yep, they do prefer weedy alfalfa but it's not worth the price difference to me. We pay $14.50 a 100lb bail for #1 premium alfalfa or $14 for weedy alfalfa. They'll eat both but you get more pounds of high quality forage out of the #1 vs crappy weedy alfalfa.
I been watching your channel would you be able to share a link where you got the electric milker with the in line filter I been looking for the one you have but can’t find it
You just top dress with the kelp right like a 1/4 cup or less? If a 50 lb bag goes a year how many goats do you feed it to ? Also if loose minerals are what you give mineral salt block should be removed correct ? Do you have the minerals like the baking soda free choice ? Been thinking about moving mine to loose minerals . Thanks and goat on 🐐 👍
I put the kelp out with the minerals about once a week. It just gives some more micronutrients. I feed the loose minerals in place of a mineral block. I have read that goats won't lick on a block long enough to get the minerals they need. Some of mine are also so picky that they won't eat what another goat has slobbered on. The loose mineral solves that issue. I just put a fresh supply out every couple of days.
This might be a silly question, but how do you muck a goat pen? I'm used to mucking a horse pen, but horse poo is much larger than goat poo and the special horse fork wouldn't work I don't think.
We have to scoop a layer off the ground using a pitch fork to remove everything above it. After it rains most of the hay and waste is stuck together in a layer than can be removed.
You are so knowledgeable we have some friends who have goats that keep dying they keep them in fenced area eating grass I told them that goats dont just eat grass do you have any advice