whats the worst that will happen if goats eat chicken feed?

[shay20]

Quote:
Yep thats right, i just got gaots myself, so i am knew to them, but the fisrt thing i learned about them, is to watch what they eat, make sure they do not get over feed.

and they should be eating only hay , horse food or best feed for goats.

but if you feed the sweet feed you need to cut down on it to half as much as regular feed.

they need hay to eat all day every day.

 

[farrier!]

Quote:
Why stop the grain?????
With grass hay they will not get all the nutrients they need. A sudden change in feed makes goats, or any animal sick, not just feeding grain....

If our goats received only hay I would be watching them slowly starve to death. We have poor quality hay around here. If I had alfalfa for them I would not need to add the grain.

 

[ozark hen]

sorry, what I meant was that I will discontinue the "extra" grain. It is allgrain and is sweet and from what I just read on here ...it looks like I need to go back to their one cup per day.

 

[shay20]

Quote:
Yep 1 cup per day per each goat.

 

[ozark hen]

thanks Shay

 

[mekasmom]

Quote:
I had a goat die after getting into the layer feed last summer. She got into the feed shed.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

My neighbors lost both their goats to eating chicken feed. One died right away the other died almost two days later of bloat. I felt so bad for the goats and angry at the neighbors for going away without someone to watch thier animals for an entire weekend!!

 

[chickenzoo]

Our on occasion would slip under the gate and get into the feed room or push the chickens off their feeders. they also would clean up around the other feeders leftovers. They are still alive and kicking but our chicken feed is from a local mill.....

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I had a goat that squeezed through the teensy chicken door to eat the feed. She was fine.

 

[cmjust0]

Chicken feed sometimes contains protein from animal sources. That alone is reason enough to keep goats out of the chicken feed.

Other reasons are the fact that chicken feed's typically left out in goat-bloatable quantities, it's not mixed correctly for goats, it may be contaminated with bacteria from the chickens, etc., etc., etc...


Also...as to the question of whether to feed goats grain at all, or just hay, or hay plus some grain, etc...feed to condition. Consider bagged feed to be a supplement. If your goat's thin, supplement a little more. If it begins to get fat, cut the supplementation. I know it's easier to say "two cups" and forget it, but that simply doesn't work.. If you want your herd to be healthy...not fat, nor boney...feed to condition.