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I'll 25th (or so) the motion to get at least two goats, and not to get a goat from the auction on account of diseases, parasites, and the fact that a goodly portion of salebarn goats are there because they've become a problem for someone else.
Beyond that, a goat's primary 'feed' is browse, graze, and hay. My advice would be to consider bagged feed as supplemental feed. If your hay's good -- legumes like alfalfa, lespedeza, or clover, or a good grass/legume mix -- and/or you have enough browse and graze, they probably won't need much supplementation.
To determine when supplementation is necessary, learn to judge body condition...I shoot for a BCS somewhere around 3. Below that, I up their supplementation. Above that, I cut their supplementation. Every goat is different, too...just because two goats are on the same hay and same amount of supplemental feed doesn't by any means ensure that you won't end up with one declining in BCS while they other turns into a tubbo. You may very well have to bump one up while you cut the other back. That's why BCS is important...you kinda have to judge each goat individually.
While always important, nutritional issues are probably at their highest points of importance during late pregnancy -- like, the last 6 weeks -- and during lactation. Pregnancy toxemia, post-kidding ketosis, and milk fever come into play during those times, but with the volumes which could be -- and indeed have been -- written on each of those subjects, they're well beyond the scope of this post. To answer your question, though, a good dairy goat blend is best. If you can't find that, my 2nd choice would be a good "Mare & Foal" blend horse feed.
Avoid "Sheep" and "Sheep & Goat" feed of any and all kinds.
Providing high-quality mineral is also extremely important. It's difficult-to-impossible to distinguish deficiency in one mineral from another, so prevention is the key. Many goats need supplemental copper and selenium even beyond what's offered in a high quality goat-labeled mineral, but it depends on what's in your soil. Check with vets and other goat people in your area...if they're using Bo-Se (selenium + vitamin e) and/or supplemental copper for goats, you probably should too.
Free choice loose mineral that's offered in small quantities and refreshed often will almost certainly serve you best.
Bone up on goat parasites, too. Learn to understand FAMACHA at the very least; being able to run your own fecal egg counts is an even better skill to have. Understand that, for some reason, goats are the perfect host for building anthelmintic-resistant parasites. Wormers that work will eventually stop working if you use them over and over and over again...anthelmintic rotation is important to avoiding anthelmintic resistant parasites.
When you get your goats home, I'd recommend having -- at a bare minimum -- the following supplies on hand:
- 18, 20, and 22ga needles in 3/4" to 1" lengths.
- 3ml and 6ml syringes
- An actual drench syringe (used to dose orally...think pepto, etc)
- A 'clear' dewormer like injectable Ivomec, Cydectin, Dectomax, etc.. (generally dosed orally -- reeeally do your homework on goat parasites!)
- PenG (Penicillin Procaine G; decent broad spectrum antibiotic; good for kids; dose 1ml/15lbs using an 18ga needle, 2x/day for 10-14 days)
- Bio-Mycin 200 ('no-sting' oxytetracycline 200mg; another decent broad spectrum; I dose at about 1ml/30lbs, 1x/day for about 5 days)
- Scour-Halt (oral spectinomycin; usually stops bacterial scours fast; 3-5ml orally for adults, every 12hrs as necessary; usually accompanied by injectable antibiotics; kid dosage would be about 2ml every 12hrs, as needed)
- DiMethox (Sulfadimethoxine; primarily used for coccidia, though it's also an antibiotic)
- Electrolyte packets (very important to keep goat hydrated if scours develop)
- Pepto Bismol and/or Kaopectate
- Probios (good gut bacteria)
- C/D-T vaccine (protects against clostridium perfringens types C & D, as well as tetanus)
- Tetanus Antitoxin (provides about 10 days worth of protection against tetanus; use when unvaccinated goats are physically injured)
- Furazone ('neosporin for livestock', basically; topical antibacterial dressing)
- Iodine (good for flushing wounds)
These are the meds -- just right off the top of my head -- that I'd want if I had to start over with new goats and no supplies.
I'll 25th (or so) the motion to get at least two goats, and not to get a goat from the auction on account of diseases, parasites, and the fact that a goodly portion of salebarn goats are there because they've become a problem for someone else.
Beyond that, a goat's primary 'feed' is browse, graze, and hay. My advice would be to consider bagged feed as supplemental feed. If your hay's good -- legumes like alfalfa, lespedeza, or clover, or a good grass/legume mix -- and/or you have enough browse and graze, they probably won't need much supplementation.
To determine when supplementation is necessary, learn to judge body condition...I shoot for a BCS somewhere around 3. Below that, I up their supplementation. Above that, I cut their supplementation. Every goat is different, too...just because two goats are on the same hay and same amount of supplemental feed doesn't by any means ensure that you won't end up with one declining in BCS while they other turns into a tubbo. You may very well have to bump one up while you cut the other back. That's why BCS is important...you kinda have to judge each goat individually.
While always important, nutritional issues are probably at their highest points of importance during late pregnancy -- like, the last 6 weeks -- and during lactation. Pregnancy toxemia, post-kidding ketosis, and milk fever come into play during those times, but with the volumes which could be -- and indeed have been -- written on each of those subjects, they're well beyond the scope of this post. To answer your question, though, a good dairy goat blend is best. If you can't find that, my 2nd choice would be a good "Mare & Foal" blend horse feed.
Avoid "Sheep" and "Sheep & Goat" feed of any and all kinds.
Providing high-quality mineral is also extremely important. It's difficult-to-impossible to distinguish deficiency in one mineral from another, so prevention is the key. Many goats need supplemental copper and selenium even beyond what's offered in a high quality goat-labeled mineral, but it depends on what's in your soil. Check with vets and other goat people in your area...if they're using Bo-Se (selenium + vitamin e) and/or supplemental copper for goats, you probably should too.
Free choice loose mineral that's offered in small quantities and refreshed often will almost certainly serve you best.
Bone up on goat parasites, too. Learn to understand FAMACHA at the very least; being able to run your own fecal egg counts is an even better skill to have. Understand that, for some reason, goats are the perfect host for building anthelmintic-resistant parasites. Wormers that work will eventually stop working if you use them over and over and over again...anthelmintic rotation is important to avoiding anthelmintic resistant parasites.
When you get your goats home, I'd recommend having -- at a bare minimum -- the following supplies on hand:
- 18, 20, and 22ga needles in 3/4" to 1" lengths.
- 3ml and 6ml syringes
- An actual drench syringe (used to dose orally...think pepto, etc)
- A 'clear' dewormer like injectable Ivomec, Cydectin, Dectomax, etc.. (generally dosed orally -- reeeally do your homework on goat parasites!)
- PenG (Penicillin Procaine G; decent broad spectrum antibiotic; good for kids; dose 1ml/15lbs using an 18ga needle, 2x/day for 10-14 days)
- Bio-Mycin 200 ('no-sting' oxytetracycline 200mg; another decent broad spectrum; I dose at about 1ml/30lbs, 1x/day for about 5 days)
- Scour-Halt (oral spectinomycin; usually stops bacterial scours fast; 3-5ml orally for adults, every 12hrs as necessary; usually accompanied by injectable antibiotics; kid dosage would be about 2ml every 12hrs, as needed)
- DiMethox (Sulfadimethoxine; primarily used for coccidia, though it's also an antibiotic)
- Electrolyte packets (very important to keep goat hydrated if scours develop)
- Pepto Bismol and/or Kaopectate
- Probios (good gut bacteria)
- C/D-T vaccine (protects against clostridium perfringens types C & D, as well as tetanus)
- Tetanus Antitoxin (provides about 10 days worth of protection against tetanus; use when unvaccinated goats are physically injured)
- Furazone ('neosporin for livestock', basically; topical antibacterial dressing)
- Iodine (good for flushing wounds)
These are the meds -- just right off the top of my head -- that I'd want if I had to start over with new goats and no supplies.
