Goats: How much feed will a goat need per day

[Manihot]

To help in planning feed storage, how much will a goat eat per day?

[Manihot]

Nobody?

[FarmKing]

Meat goats will need about 3-4% of their body weight in dry matter per day. For dairy goats it is 5-7%. This actually depends on the age and production stage of the goats. A lactating goat will need more feed than a non-lactating goat. A buck during breeding period will need more feed than a resting buck. For pregnant does, the last 2 months of pregnancy is the period when the quality of feed is needed in larger quantity than during the first 3 months of pregnancy. By giving more feed of superior quality during this period, the goats will give birth to kids of higher body weight, the kids will grow faster and mortality will be less. So from those percentages, you can estimate how much feed you'll need.

[Manihot]

Farmking I thank you very much. But what do you mean by dry matter?

[FarmKing]

Dry matter means the quantity of feed when all the water have been driven off. Fresh grass contains about 25% dry matter (DM). This means that a 100kg of such grass will contain 25kg solid and 75kg water. So if you have a 20kg goat that needs a daily feed intake of 4% of its body weight in DM, you'll need to feed it ...... Kg of grass per day?


Let's calm down a bit. Goats don't need only grass to meet their nutrient requirement. They need concentrates too. So let's say you're feeding them 80% grass and 20% concentrate.

So the total DM requirement of the goat is 4/100 x 20kg = 0.8kg DM. Now 80% of this value should be grass and 20% concentrate. So:

80/100 x 0.8kg = 0.64kg grass DM.
Concentrate needed is then 0.8kg-0.64kg = 0.16kg concentrate DM.

Let's focus on our grass:
we know that our fresh grass contains only 25%DM and we need enough fresh grass to supply 0.64kg DM. Here is how you do the calculation:

100kg fresh grass contains 25kg DM
How many kg of fresh grass will contain 0.64kg DM? It will be less, so more should divide:

0.64/25 x 100 = 2.56kg of fresh grass is needed.

Remember that we need 0.16kg DM of concentrate feed. It is important to know the DM content of your concentrate. Let's assume 90%. So:

100kg concentrate contains 90kg solid.
How many kg of concentrate will contain 0.16kg DM? It will be less, so more will divide.

0.16/90 x 100 = 0.21kg concentrate.

Finally, our 20kg goat needs 2.56kg of fresh grass and 0.21kg of concentrate every day.

[Hilux]

Nice one farmking.

[Manihot]

Yes, a really nice one. Thanks.

[Fnwarui]

Dry matter means the quantity of feed when all the water have been driven off. Fresh grass contains about 25% dry matter (DM). This means that a 100kg of such grass will contain 25kg solid and 75kg  water. So if you have a 20kg goat that needs a daily feed intake of 4% of its body weight in DM, you'll need to feed it ...... Kg of grass per day?


Let's calm down a bit. Goats don't need only grass to meet their nutrient requirement. They need concentrates too. So let's say you're feeding them 80% grass and 20% concentrate.

So the total DM requirement of the goat is 4/100 x 20kg = 0.8kg DM. Now 80% of this value should be grass and 20% concentrate. So:

80/100 x 0.8kg = 0.64kg grass DM.
Concentrate needed is then 0.8kg-0.64kg = 0.16kg concentrate DM.

Let's focus on our grass:
we know that our fresh grass contains only 25%DM and we need enough fresh grass to supply 0.64kg DM. Here is how you do the calculation:

100kg fresh grass contains 25kg DM
How many kg of fresh grass will contain 0.64kg DM? It will be less, so more should divide:

0.64/25 x 100 = 2.56kg of fresh grass is needed.

Remember that we need 0.16kg DM of concentrate feed. It is important to know the DM content of your concentrate. Let's assume 90%. So:

100kg concentrate contains 90kg solid.
How many kg of concentrate will contain 0.16kg DM? It will be less, so more will divide.

0.16/90 x 100 = 0.21kg concentrate.

Finally, our 20kg goat needs 2.56kg of fresh grass and 0.21kg of concentrate every day.

 Nice read. 

Kindly advice on how I can make total mix ratio (Trm) for goats using hay, nappier grass, molaplus and grinded corn and comb mix.

Please also advice on the amount of feed in kg that each goat should be fed. 

[Henlus]

 Nice read. 

Kindly advice on how I can make total mix ratio (Trm) for goats using hay, nappier grass, molaplus and grinded corn and comb mix.

Please also advice on the amount of feed in kg that each goat should be fed. 

.
What is the weight of your goat? Also, what do you mean by molaplus and comb mix?
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Don't use grinded corn for goats to prevent acidiosis and death! When feeding corn to ruminants, be very careful! Read this: http://farmersjoint.com/thread-29041-lastpost.html.
.
when selecting goat feed, have profit in mind. So rather than feed them corn, why not feed waste products like pap chaff, brewers spent grain, soyabeans hull etc? Corn may not be that cheap.

[Fnwarui]

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What is the weight of your goat? Also, what do you mean by molaplus and comb mix?
.
Don't use grinded corn for goats to prevent acidiosis and death! When feeding corn to ruminants, be very careful! Read this: http://farmersjoint.com/thread-29041-lastpost.html.
.
when selecting goat feed, have profit in mind. So rather than feed them corn, why not feed waste products like pap chaff, brewers spent grain etc? Corn may not be that cheap.

 Thanks for the reply. 
The goats weigh between  45 and 60kg. By comb mix- I meant that that we grind the dry corn together with its comb (Maize comb) and molaplus is more like molasses.

[Henlus]

 Thanks for the reply. 
The goats weigh between  45 and 60kg. By comb mix- I meant that that we grind the dry corn together with its comb (Maize comb) and molaplus is more like molasses.

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Going by the calculation given, a 45kg goat will need 1.44kg of grass and hay and 0.36kg of corn-comb mix. A 60kg goat will need 1.92kg grass and hay and 0.48kg corn-comb mix. These are dry matter (DM) values. If we factor in water content the values will increase. Hay has about 90% DM and fresh grass has about 20% DM. So the values will become 7.2kg grass or 1.6kg hay for 45kg goat. For 60kg goat it is 9.6kg grass or 2.13kg hay.
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For corn-comb mix, I don't know their DM value.
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Note that this is theory, so proceed with caution. I hope this helped? What are you currently feeding your goats?

[Henlus]

When introducing grain or new feed in your goats' diet, start with very small amount of grain and increase it very slowly such that in 2 weeks time, the goat will be eating the required amount of grain.
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Also, the grain should not be grinded into flour-like texture to avoid serious digestive problem.

[Fnwarui]

When introducing grain or new feed in your goats' diet, start with very small amount of grain and increase it very slowly such that in 2 weeks time, the goat will be eating the required amount of grain.
.
Also, the grain should not be grinded into flour-like texture to avoid serious digestive problem.

Thank you very much Henlus for the information. 

-  The maize was cracked into small pieces instead of grinding.  I have been feeding them with hay and Napier grass.
- I will mix the feed today and start feeding the goats tomorrow, I will share the update soon.

[Henlus]

Nice. But don't forget what I told you about new feeds. Start very small and increase gradually over a period of 2 weeks. Death may occur if u do it suddenly.
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I will love to see your updates. Post some pictures too.

[FarmTech]

Thank you very much Henlus for the information. 

-  The maize was cracked into small pieces instead of grinding.  I have been feeding them with hay and Napier grass.
- I will mix the feed today and start feeding the goats tomorrow, I will share the update soon.

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How is it going?

[Henlus]

Max. Amount of Grain in Goat Feed 

Facts about Goat Health