Can chickens eat Goat Chow?

[MontanaDolphin]

Quick background:
I have 9 chickens. Three 19 week Barred Rocks (1 roo, 2 pullets) and six 14 week Commercial Black pullets (from Mt. Healthy hatchery...they are BR crossed with who knows what). So a total of 9 chickens.

I have 2 baby Boer cross doelings that are 8 weeks old.

I have a full bag...with maybe a cup missing from it...of Goat Chow by Purina. My goats will NOT eat it, and quite a few people told me to try a different brand.

So, the question is, what do I do with all this goat chow? Can I just feed it to my chickens? It's got grain but I don't know what kind...except I can tell it's got cracked corn in it. I can also see it's coated in something, which I believe is molasses because it smells like the molasses coated corn I put out for the deer in the winter for my antler traps.

I know it's not the BEST idea to give anything other than chicken feed, BUT...I hate the idea of wasting an entire bag (50 pounds) of this goat feed...here's a list of the ingredients (I got from the internet...cant find the ingredient list on the bag, but I really didn't look hard):

Grain products, Processed grain by-products, Plant protein products, Molasses products, Calcium carbonate, Roughage products, Salt, Forage products, Dicalcium phosphate, Soybean oil, Phosphoric acid (a preservative), Vitamin E supplement, Tetrasodium pyrophosphate, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, Calcium iodate, Sodium molybdate, Cobalt carbonate, Manganese sulfate, Ferrous sulfate, Ferrous carbonate, Copper sulfate, Zinc oxide, Zinc sulfate, Magnesium oxide, Manganous oxide

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude protein Min
16.00%

Crude fat Min
2.50%

Crude fiber Max
9.00%

Calcium (Ca) Min
0.80%

Calcium (Ca) Max
1.30%

Phosphorus (P) Min
0.60%

Salt (NaCl) Min
0.75%

Salt (NaCl) Max
1.25%

Copper (Cu) Min
39.00ppm

Copper (Cu) Max
42.00ppm

Selenium (Se) Min
0.60ppm

Vitamin A Min
4,000.00 IU/lb
​

 

[cookfamilyfarm]

The molasses doesn't scare me just because some folks feed " sweet feed " to their chickens. But the quantity of the other ingredients may be above healthy levels. Copper is a concern as others. I know its not what you want to hear but you can always compost or advertise it as a partial bag on an animal site . (facebook) J.D.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Well, crap. What about as a treat? Kinda like the scratch I give them...I throw a handful on the ground every morning for them. Can it be given not as a primary diet, but as a treat?

 

[Araucana16]

I don't know about the chicken thing, but at 8 weeks, it's possible the goats aren't old enough for the feed? Maybe keep it around and once they are older, maybe by a month or so, try again.

 

[Araucana16]

I did a few google searches, and you should start weaning at 8-10 weeks. So you should still be feeding them some milk... I think. Sorry if I'm totally clueless!

 

[cookfamilyfarm]

Small amounts ,once a week is where I would start. Just see how they react over the first 24 hours.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

I did a few google searches, and you should start weaning at 8-10 weeks. So you should still be feeding them some milk... I think. Sorry if I'm totally clueless!

Lol it's ok...I was too when I got them. They came to me almost dead...and I rushed to find as much information as I could to save them...which I did, thanks to the wonderful folks over at another forum for goats. Because their growth has been stunted due to malnutrition, my babies need to stay on milk for at least two more months. They are also supposed to start eating grain now, in small quantities so their rumen builds correctly. They are already eating browse and some hay. Unfortunately I cannot get them to eat the grain, or even TRY it. It was suggested I try another brand, since I guess there are a lot of goats who turn their noses up at the purina brand LOL

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Small amounts ,once a week is where I would start. Just see how they react over the first 24 hours.

What kind of reactions should I be watching for??

 

[Araucana16]

Have you tried mixing the grain with milk and warming it up? That might make them try it.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Have you tried mixing the grain with milk and warming it up? That might make them try it.

Yep I sure did. I thought for sure they'd eat it cuz it smelled like their milk...but nope. Took a sniff and turned their noses up. I even tried putting some in their mouths, hoping once they got the taste they'd be like, "Ooo, this is yummy!". Pfft. Nope.