My Nigerian dwarf goats were fed rabbit food!

[natyvidal]

Hi everyone!
I placed an order with a local feed store by internet. The order was for a bag of medicated goat feed and layer pellets. A simple order that was messed up when they substituted the goat feed for Rabbit feed.

It’s late in the afternoon, goats are hungry and the help, confused fed the goats the rabbit food and then told me afterward of the mistake. The goats ate the food! They seemed to like it. But, I know they have delicate bacteria and microbes in their digestive system that maintain a balance digestion.
And Anything out of the ordinary can affect them!

Question: Is there anything added to the rabbitt food that can hurt my NDG? I read someplace that most of the es it food is alfalfa. I’ve never given Alfaguara to my goats. Can it hurt them? Any help is appreciated.

 

[NatJ]

I don't know enough about goats to be sure, but maybe you can look at the ingredient label on the rabbit food, and look up the ingredients in the food the goats were supposed to eat. Some rabbit food is mostly alfalfa, but some rabbit food is made with timothy hay, so you'd have to look at the label to see.

Rabbits and goats are both herbivores too, so it's probably better than something like dog food.

I would guess that it's not actually toxic, but that it could upset their digestion just by being different--but that's a guess, not something I actually know.

 

[blackdog043]

Bucks and wethers should not eat alfalfa, they could get mineral deposits(stones). Eating it a little here or there won't hurt them. Other than that your goats will be fine. You can google feeding alfalfa to goats if you want more info.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I have goats (Nigerian dwarfs), chickens, and rabbits. Other than a risk of the issue that @blackdog043 mentioned above with bucks and wethers, rabbit food is safe and you'd have to feed it regularly to have an issue with the mineral build-up. A day or so until you get the right food is OK.

Now, DON'T feed the goats chicken feed....it can cause dangerous and potentially deadly bloat in goats.

Good luck and enjoy the animals!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

BTW, my Nigerian Dwarf's two favorite treats are kale and animal crackers. The rabbits also love the kale.

 

[natyvidal]

Thank you so much for your great answers! I only have one buck and three doe’s. I called the store and complained about the mistake. They said that even though the bag is open they will take it back! But the best news is that my NDG chances of getting sick are almost nil! And thank you for the chicken feed warning. Good thing I keep their feed separate from one another in opposite parts of the farm.