2005: We feed Alfalfa hay, and also Alfalfa pellets ( because there has been a drought in our area for about the last 5 years and our hay quality reflects that)
We feed 2.5 % of their body weight in Alfalfa.
(ex. 200 lb goat gets 5 lbs of Alfalfa. So in the morning & evening we would feed 1 lb Alfalfa pellets and 1 1/2 lbs Alfalfa Hay.)

***Currently do to our longstanding drought we have found that the Alfalfa pellets give a more consistent nutrition, so we are feeding Pellets, as well as a Caprine Feed. We look forward to going back to Alfalfa hay when the quality improves. We have left the information about hay for those in areas who still have access to good hay.

ABOUT THE QUALITY OF HAY:
We feed grade #1 HORSE hay, if goats eat moldy hay they will die, so we do not feed "cow hay". Cow Dairies wouldn’t touch "cow hay" with a 10 foot pole, they wouldn’t even consider it. Cow hay is used for beef cattle that the ranchers can afford to lose a few to bloat, because the cost saving make up for the loss. When you have Dairy animals you are putting a lot of time and money into, I hope you want good production, meaning 2-4 live kids, that are healthy and thriving at birth, and lots of creamy fresh milk in your pail… Well, in order to do that you must provide good quality feeds. The extra expense will be paid back in healthy animals with healthy kids, that provide wonderful milk for your table. So do not cut them or yourself short by feeding cow hay. One more point: if 1/4 or more of the cow hay is bad, you probably wouldn’t feed it anyway, so in our area cow hay costs $4/bale and if you throw away even 1/4 (which most of the time it will be 1/3 or more) it will bring your cow hay’s price up to at least $5 for feed used. Then if you consider cow hay is poor quality, so they must eat at least one and a half times the amount, compared to good quality hay, that brings your price up to $7.50 ($5/bale x 1.5). So if you think about it in our area you can buy #1 horse hay for $6.50- $7, so you will save money by buying quality hay. This is just for the original price alone, it does not include the cost, time, and heartache of: treating bloat, having a doe that kids sickly kids or aborts them, your doe freshening and not producing enough milk for even her own kids, or even losing your goats.. Bloat can happen in minutes, and kills!
So my rule is: Don’t buy trouble! ~ Feed Quality hay ~ and get Quality returns.
If you want to save money on hay, get pallets and tarps, or make hay storage, and borrow a pickup or trailer and get your hay out of the field (find out which cutting is best, in our area I like 2nd or 3rd cut to put away) you can save $1-3 a bale by putting it up at harvest time.
Other types of Hay ~ many areas feed other types of hay, talk to people in your area and search out what is best for your goats, in our area, grass hay will throw off the calcium to phosphorous ratio and cause Toxemia. So I cannot feed grass, but each area is different because the soil is different, so check around.

Sodium Bicarbonate, Minerals, Kelp:
We leave these out free choice all the time. We check the feeders daily to make sure they are clean and dry to assure that our picky herd eats them.

We can and do feed oat hay when we can get it to give them extra roughage, this is especially important to us when we are using newly cut, or very green hay. Usually at these times we feed the oat first and then after they have eaten that (about 10 minutes) we feed the fresh/green alfalfa.

Grain: 1 lb of morning and night, extra if the doe needs it, but usually our does are borderline fat, not thin!

Calf manna: 1/4—1/2 cup at each milking or to goat we think need extra conditioning.

Sunflower Seeds: 1-2 handfuls at milking, aid the rumen to function properly, the oil keeps the coat shiny!

Beet Pulp: We use pelleted and soak it in warm water. The goats love it and it makes the milk so creamy! Plus it has lots of nutrition. We feed about 1 cup for each goat (1 cup dry, then soaked)

Kelp: We use this because it is naturally one of the best supplements you can give to your animals. It is naturally full of minerals, salts, iodine and some vitamins. Helps to promote shiny hair & fur, strong teeth and stimulates glandular activity. This means your animal could produce more offspring, eggs, and milk. 100% Thorvin Kelp, green, meal.

Diatomaceous Earth; DE is a kills parasites by mechanical means. It is not a poison. It cuts and kills the animals externally as well as internally, so you can use it for ants,. fleas, etc. We include it in their feed.

Baking soda: A goat's rumen contains micro-organisms that thrive within a narrow acidity range. Feeds that ferment rapidly in the rumen increase its acidity. When acidity gets too high too fast, the micro-organisms multiply faster than usual, the rumen's balance becomes upset, and the goat gets sick. A goat's health therefore depends upon proper acidity. An alkaline substance such as sodium bicarbonate, or common baking soda, keeps acidity in check. A goat eats soda to keep the acidity within the proper range. Goats know when they need soda, and how much they need. All you have to do is make sure that they can get it when they need it. Somedays they will empty their container daily and sometimes it will sit for days. Provide baking soda (found in any feed or grocery store) free choice just as you would trace mineral salt. Inexpensive plastic feeders can be purchased to dispense both soda and mineral salt. In a pinch you can use an old butter tub. Clean and refill the feeder often. Salt attracts moisture which will cause it to crust over. Also both salt and soda will get lumpy from water dripping from the chin of a goat that has just drank water. The feeder can also collect goat feeces. Because goats are finicky eaters, any of the above will cause them to reduce consumption of these two very important substances, thus increasing the risk of other problems.

Herbs: Read our herb page to learn more about these!

We currently use Purina’s goat mineral.
Goats need a minimum of two gallons of clean water daily when milking, pregnant, & during hot weather this increases. So make sure your goats have fresh clean water!

Well that’s all I can think of! Contact me if you have any questions!