Goat-Feed and Nutrition

Goat-Feed

Whether you are just starting out with meat goats or already have them, the greatest challenge is achieving the optimum nutrition plane for you’re animals.

There are several changing scenarios that must be considered and in a commercial Boer meat-goat herd such as mine, with 400 breeders, the requirements often overlap.

Essentially the following are the principal nutritional phases that must be met when planning goat-feed, and your prize buck also has specific requirements that will be covered separately.

1. Maintenance nutrition. The minimum goat-feed nutrition required to meet a non-lactating does requirements and also maintain body condition

2. Pregnancy nutrition. Required to supply essential nutrition to both the doe and kids throughout gestation period.

3. Lactation Nutrition. Required to ensure both kids and doe receive optimum nutrition, so that suckling kids grow at optimum rates (quality milk makes quality kids)

4. Kid Nutrition. Minimum goat-feed required to achieve optimum growth when weaned