Any Goat owners? feed?

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posie_honey

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Daisy - my goat - came to me skin and bones and riddled with worms/fluke - you name it!

she also had no appitite so to temp her i bought an expensive sheep mix and she's been on it ever since - a handful am and pm.

thing is the price has shot up again - so could i put her on cheap fibre nuts?
or even a cheap chaff? or would the mollasses be a no-no?
i dont knwo much about goat husbandry - i was just told she was being shot as owner didnt want her - and mouth said i'll have her before brain said no LOL

pretty sure she'll eat anything now and she's fine weight wise (if not a little tubby!)

here's a pic of her from a few months back - anyone know her breed?
shes an ex-milker - was already retired when i first knew her 6 yeasr ago so no idea how old she'll be! she can easily jump out of the field but has learnt to stay in ;)

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Does she actually need any hard feed? If she does than can you get a commercial goat mix instead of sheep feed - they are quite different (sheep are intolerant of copper but goats need it). If it is really only a handful then something like hi fibre cubes would be fine, but most mature non-milkers just need their hay/grazing. A little amount of chaff would be unlikely to do any damage - sugar is more of a problem with male goats than the girlies.

Think she's a saanen. Unusual to see an ex dairy one still with horns :)
 
she probably doesnt now - but she mugs the horses for theirs if i dont feed her as she's in her routine now :rolleyes: so its really just a token feed to keep her happy :o

local farm store only sells sheep feed - unless i ordered in some allan and page/small holder goat feed - but that'll be even more expensive! the sheep mix is commercial sheep mix - but because i buy by the small bag its about £9/bag whereas fibre nuts are £5.50/bag ;)

her companion goat also had horns - she got shot first but as they were called thunder and lightening back then - and its started to thunder and lightening when he shot her - he got paranoid and wouldnt shoot the other one LOL

i dont think they were commercial level milkers - just a small holders if that makes sense? she's very easy to handle - never goes to butt you although tries to kill the dogs on a regular basis - and chickens are all protected - no fox will go anywhere near her :D
 
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I'd go for the high fibre cubes then :) The mixes are all designed to be fairly high energy - for milkers - and so not great for pets. Just thinking back that one of the mixes was fairly highly mollassed too :rolleyes:

Are you going to get her a friend? I'd love to have goats again, used to have anglo nubians and drive them!
 
My goats came to me in a very similiar condition and like your girl are now elderly. Coming from people who have advised me, a goat is fine on sheep mix but you can't give sheep, goat mix :) However, my goats don't like sheep mix or goat mix (I think they find the sheep mix too sweet) I may get knocked down for this but they eat a basic horse mix, Baileys high fibre mix along with plenty hay, grazing with a mix of plants, some vegetables and always access to a mineral lick. The hay, ability to browse and the mineral lick are more important than cereal. She looks like she is a Saanen from what I can see, you do get Saanen with longer coats or she could be a Saanen cross, I'm no goat breed expert though!
 
Rhino - there is no way you can say that and not post a picture :eek: :mad:

Not going to get her a friend - didn't even want a goat - just felt sorry for her as she looked so lonely after her companion was shot and she only had chicken for company that I took pity as I didn't want her last few months of life to be so miserable - she seems happy enough bossing the horses about - shares their hay too! She knew my mare before I took her as they had grazed together before.

Thanks for info tormenta - think she'll be fine on fibre nuts then - if she doesn't like them I'll swap back and HRH can eat them! Can I ask what mineral lick do you have for your? Thanks :)
 
Tormenta - mine used to eat my basic horse mix too (all low energy). They are now on a sheep nut (heygates I think), but seem to do equally well on each!
 
posie_honey said:
Rhino - there is no way you can say that and not post a picture :eek: :mad:

Thanks for info tormenta - think she'll be fine on fibre nuts then - if she doesn't like them I'll swap back and HRH can eat them! Can I ask what mineral lick do you have for your? Thanks :)
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I used to do the rockies mineral one without the copper, as the goats shared grazing with horses, donks, sheep and alpacas :D

This is my darling Fredster, who I lost this year :(

Freddy2.jpg


Well done for saving her, goats make brilliant pets :)
 
I have two but they dont get much attention now so trying to find them a new home but they are just roaming the yard at night so even though they are tame I think they are a theft deterent. Mine just eat anything growing like brambles ,they have a good straw bed which they pick through and eat they haylage the horses drop over their door. They have a handful of pasture mix to put them away in their pen in the morning and are a bit fat. They would rather just eat plastic if they got the chance.lol
 
Sheep mix isn't any good it has no copper and GOATS NEED COPPER get her dairy nuts,worm her (NOT as the directions for sheep because again they are not sheep and need more wormer)have you got any Red Cell?try that to boost her vits
She's a British Sanaan by the way the type I'd kill for!They are usually all legs,bones and no coat like a dairy cow nowadays...are you in Ireland?
 
She was wormed when I got her (sheep wormer but under advise from vet due to high burdens of everything!) that delt with all internals inc the fluke.

Then spot-on'ed for all the external wrigglies (she was
crawling!!!)

She lost all her coat over summer (bar her belly, along spine and goatee) coat was matted/scabby/disgusting and skin really unhealthy looking - and a month later grew it all back with healthy skin etc :D

She's picture of health now - no wrigglies inside or out :D

Vet said after initial dose (which was pretty hardcore stuff) to just continue worming her with same stuff I do horses with (pramox) at suitable levels spring and autumn - did her this autumn (had her since spring) and she seemed fine with it. No wrigglies seen :)

She has an amazing coat - really long - I'll get more recent pics up soon ;) she was all bones but is now healthily covered.

She also used to be scared of humans but is now very sociable with me - loves a brush and face rub. She's very sweeet

I'm in scotland ;)
 
I feed my Golden Guernseys sugar beet nuts/ rolled oats/ sheep nuts/general purpose cereal mix in varying amounts throughout the year with ad lib hay- when it comes to a 'cheap and cheerful fibre feed' you cannot go far wrong with the sugar beet nuts-they are reasonably priced, filling and the goats love them!!!
 
posie_honey said:
Do you think daisy would be too old to train to harness now???
Rhino - fancy a trip north to teach me?? :D
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Depends how handleable she is - I had the one in my photo from a couple of days old - but then nubians are the 'nutty arabs' of the goat world and a bit highly strung for comfort (or safety). Saanens seem to be a bit more laid back about life :D
 
I'm sure my old yard owner fed the yard goat on Alfa A - he's gone from a scrawny think the size of a medium dog to standing about 7ft on his back legs so it seems to work - that and all the horses feed buckets that he raids.
 
Age doesn't matter but the best ones are the herd leaders.My first Harness Goat Deidre was due to be sent for slaughter due to her "agression" (Learnt behavior) She took to it like a duck to water and took part in out musicle drive displays.After a long winter gap we met for a rehersal and some couldn't remember the pattern...Deidre remembered every move and woa betide any goat that got it wrong :)

DeidreLongreigning.jpg
 
ooh so i could just start with equivelent of long reining?
is that a special goat roller?!
and just a leather headcollar and reins on side rings?!
Daisy beats up the 15.2 traditional cob in the field - rears up and head butts LOL - so i suspect she tries to be a herd leader LOL - shes a real madam - but very gentle with me :) runs and hies from other humans still though

ETA - funnily enough she doesnt try it on with HRH LOL
 
quick update - Daisy loves her cheapie fibre nuts - but kept mugging trhe old horse in the field for her feed - so now has a small handful of hi-fi thrown in with the nuts to keep her happy (yes spoilt brat goat!) she also sahres the horses ad lib hay.

i've also finally finished the field shelter so she has got a hymilayan mineral lick that she shares with again the horses (i tried them outside before field shelter was ready but they just kept disolving!)

she seems to be doing very well and has a huge fluffy coat that is keeping her nice and warm even in the recent -9 recorded here!
 
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