Goats won't eat hay, ever!

[enola]

All she needs to do is quit taking them for their daily walk in the pasture.....

Cut WAY back on the pellets and oats. . . .

They will not go hungry voluntarily, when they get hungry, they will munch on what ever is available.

Start enticing them to eat hay by removing the hay that is in the manger and replacing it with fresh hay. Heck, if it was me, I would do away with the hay in the manger and throw the fresh hay into the stall with them..... I have seen goats that were afraid to eat out of a manger, UNTIL they got it figured out !!

 

[agnes_day]

they were on horse sweet feed before i got them...i really didnt do much. i gave them a scoop of purina goat chow to share twice a day and their hay rack is in their pen so i guess they finally decided that since they were in there all night, they might as well eat it. they also eat grass and leaves too..our poor yard is bare in some patches! i always heard how they wont eat off the ground, well mine sure do! they eat just about anything haha

 

[Granolamom]

Quote:
Well, can't do away with the daily walks, because that's part of the fun we're having with them (my kids love to take them down there, and race with the goat kids). I will, however remove the hay that's been in there for a week now, untouched, and go for a fresh batch, maybe even on the stall floor (they never had a hay rack before, so maybe that's it, too).
Nope, Enola, no vaccines yet. I'm kind of making this up as I go. So far we've had the hooves trimmed (first time, for all three of them), we've de-wormed them, and we've gotten them to somewhat trust us enough to let us pet them. We're taking it a day at a time with them, and so far, so good.

 

[Skyesrocket]

Pasture and eating browse should be good for them. I imagine by now that you have grass and weeds growing down there. Lucky you!
My goats cut way back on their hay intake in the spring and summer because they are out eating the grasses and weeds and brush.

 

[Goattalker]

If a goat does not eat hay, or enough forage, the villi in the stomach become smooth, instead of like little bumps in the rumen. When that happens, their digestive system is not as effective as it is when they eat the proper food. As stated before, stop the grain, and they will start to eat the hay, you may have to get some really nice alfalfa to make them turn the corner, but do what you have to do, they are hurting themselves by not eating hay.

 

[cutiepieacres]

What about hay pellets? You can get them almost small enough like the grain pellet but they are hay. I can get them in straight alfalfa or grass or a mix and my girls love them.

 

[enola]

A goat's system NEEDS roughage, the MORE the better. Hay pellets are nutritious, but the roughage from them is just not as good as a quality hay.

I didn't mean quit taking them for walks for forever. Just so that there is some peace of mind about what is wrong that they don't eat hay, take away everything but the hay, and they WILL eat it.

Make sure the hay is fresh, they will eat it when they start getting the munchies.

Vaccinating goats is extremely important, so when you can fit this into the future, you will thank yourself later.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Something that I have not seen mentioned here yet is the possibility of LICE. They will draw a goat down fast and can even cause death. Some of your descriptions of the little one sound similar to a goat with lice. Check her coat carefully, up between the shoulders is one of the best and easiest places. Open her mouth and take a look at the gums, are they nice and pink or are they pale to white? You can powder for lice and I would do the whole herd. I personally don't agree with putting the hay on the floor /ground. This is just asking for a reinfestation of worms. I would give them a little alfalfa and some local hay but no more than they will clean up daily. You may also want to try putting some FIR boughs or salal brush in the feeder to intice them. Goats are BROWSERS not grazers and most I know really like the fir.

A couple of parting notes.
Goats getting lice doesn't mean they are not well cared for. It happens to all of us.
I have always been told that people can't get the kind of lice that goats carry. Just to put at ease about that.
Good luck Rob

 

[Granolamom]

Thanks to all of you for your input! I know how important the roughage part is, and that's why I cut brush for them every day, and let them graze and browse along the edge of the pasture.
They love brush and grass, but just don't care for the hay. I also tried the Alfalfa pellets, which I thought would be like candy to them, but they turned their noses up at them, too. Darn goats!

I checked the girl for lice, but did not see anything. Her gums are pink, and she plays a lot with her brother (she's actually the feistier of the two), but she always gets pushed aside while eating, and ends up with much less than mom and brother. I will feed her seperately for a while, and see if this helps..

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Sounds like you have the right idea of feeding the little one seperate. Keep in mind that contrary to common belief goats are kind of picky eaters. Mine would rather have some local hay with swamp grass and briers than high quality horse hay.