last questions before picking up the kids next weekend.

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

Quote:
Know the feeling. I have done the same thing...Read everything I could get my hands on about sheep and I think I learned less. I was probably better off before digging into everybook. Sometimes to much info on a subject is where the confussion comes from.
Wish I had an answer for you. We give free choice hay. And then put grain out 1-2 times a day (depends on weather-in the -30 below we did put grain out twice).

Best of luck

 

[agnes_day]

yes, thats exactly how i feel! now i feel like im going to give them the wrong thing and wake up to them dead in the back yard or something!
ive read that they are easy to feed and tough..then i read that they are very delicate.

 

[cutiepieacres]

since they are pygmies I would offer the grain by hand as a treat so that they associate you with "the good stuff." Just a small handful at a time, wouldnt exceed a 1/2 cup a day each, no need to really feed them a bunch. The wether doesnt need it and the doe since she is so little(not "working") really wont benefit a ton either. Pygmies grow well and get plenty fat off free choice hay anyways, lol!

 

[agnes_day]

really? so the hay isnt just to help them digest their food or whatever?
interesting!

 

[cutiepieacres]

Here is what we do, everyone has their own way of feeding you will find what works for you and adjust as you go.

My pygmies are free fed alfalfa pellets, since they waste the sticks in bales of hay I have found this an easy way to avoid that. They also get grass hay to chew on since they are eating the pellets they like a little something to munch. I give the goat chow once a day, the bucks get enough to help them stay bulky the girls just get a little because they love it. Everyone stays in beautiful healthy show condition on this diet, we changed their diet quite a few times in the first years to figure out what worked for us to keep them healthy. We do not feed any supplements.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote:
The hay is their main source of food, and they should have it free choice. Unless youre breeding or milking, they can do fine without any grain at all.

They also need "goat" minerals free choice

Will they be in a pasture? You mentioned your "yard".

 

[agnes_day]

oh no, no pasture here. just my "yard"

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote:
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm

Youre going to have to fence off anything you dont want them to eat, and some common "yard" plants are toxic.

 

[helmstead]

Here is my recommendation, which differs from many others...

Medicated, pelleted goat chow - 1/2 cup 2x/day to 6 mos, then 1 cup 2x/day after 6 mos.

Alfalfa pellets, free choice until done growing.

Hay...2 wee goats won't go through much...but you don't want to offer a lot at a time because they'll waste it...so put it in a hay feeder 1 flake at a time. Be sure to rake up and throw out the hay on the ground often. Count on maybe -1 bale a week.

Non breeding animals, male and female, won't need GRAIN per se once done growing, so I recommend at that time just giving 1 cup alfalfa pellets 2x/day.

They DO need the medicated goat chow for the 1st year to be a part of your cocci prevention program.

 

[Indiana hens]

My pygmies do not prefer alfalfa. Leaves and plenty of them. Their favorite leaves are from the orchard. Mulberry leaves are good. Maple, pine needles and they love bark. Jerusalem Artichoke leaves are a favorite. Ragweed is good. I use grass hay. They spit at me when I tried feeding them alfalfa. I feed them some grain when it is cold.
Next comes tetanus vaccine and syringe, wormer, antibiotics, and by all means get some power punch(pro-biotic) for diarhea.