Goat Sweet Feed

[HipMystic]

I feed Dumor Goat Sweet Feed to all of my does, and usually Dumor Goat Feed (with ammonium chloride) to my bucks.

Dumor is the only one I’ve found that I can feed my herd, they get zinc deficient otherwise (zinc deficiency is something I have to watch out for here). I supplement with MannaPro goat minerals.

Wethers don’t usually need grain, as long as they have a good quality hay and minerals.

 

[1cock2hens]

I've actually stopped giving mine feed the last few months and they gained weight and act sooo much more frisky. I do give them a few handfuls of sweet feed when it's horrible out, snowed etc.

 

[HensAndFriends]

I feed Dumor Goat Sweet Feed to all of my does, and usually Dumor Goat Feed (with ammonium chloride) to my bucks.

Dumor is the only one I’ve found that I can feed my herd, they get zinc deficient otherwise (zinc deficiency is something I have to watch out for here). I supplement with MannaPro goat minerals.

Wethers don’t usually need grain, as long as they have a good quality hay and minerals.

Interesting! People said that their goats’ coats improved after eating the sweet feed. Did you notice this after feeding your sweet feed for the first time?

Also, how did you know that your goats we’re zinc deficient?

If you don’t mind me asking!

 

[HensAndFriends]

I've actually stopped giving mine feed the last few months and they gained weight and act sooo much more frisky. I do give them a few handfuls of sweet feed when it's horrible out, snowed etc.

Hmm wow!

 

[1cock2hens]

I should mention the goats have my 15 acres plus my neighbor let's us use his 40 acres to graze so they have endless forage

Hmm wow!

 

[HensAndFriends]

I should mention the goats have my 15 acres plus my neighbor let's us use his 40 acres to graze so they have endless forage

I bet your goats love that!

 

[1cock2hens]

Con

I bet your goats love that!

I hope so lol its just 6 of them currently, my potbelly pigs graze with them also so just the 8 animals living it up.

 

[Starrs]

You guys helped me out last time I had a goat related question! Thank you!

My goats:
Three doelings ages from 8-11 months old
One wether 8 months old
All of them have been getting 2 cups of Purina Goat Grower in a communal trough.

Since they will be a year old soon, and I plan on breeding and milking, I wanted to switch off from the medicated grower and to a feed that is more ‘adult’/‘maintenance’.

Feed considering switching to:
Purina Goat Chow

I chose this since it has added Vitamin E for their coats (which need some supplements). I found out it is a ‘sweet feed’ and am now vary wary about the Purina Goat Chow, since ‘sweet feeds’ have a bad reputation for causing issues. Maybe I should try DUMOR Goat Feed? (Only other brand that I can get a hold of)

My wether NDs do not get any feed. They have constant access to Timothy hay and Purina goat minerals. They also get a few Timothy pellets when being put up for the night.

I keep ammonium chloride on hand but have never had to use it

 

[HipMystic]

Interesting! People said that their goats’ coats improved after eating the sweet feed. Did you notice this after feeding your sweet feed for the first time?

Also, how did you know that your goats we’re zinc deficient?

If you don’t mind me asking!

I don’t mind at all!
So I’ve pretty much always fed Dumor, it was what I started with and it just happened to work well
With that being said, my goats do get noticeable differences if I switch feeds for whatever reason. Coat quality goes down, the guard hairs go wiry and the goats get a “fluffy” look to them. I also notice hair loss on a few specific goats, especially around the ears and nose.

I always thought it was a copper deficiency, because that’s what you always hear about, until I had a necropsy done on a buck a few years ago. He died from unrelated causes, but I had a mineral screening done with the necropsy because my does were showing the symptoms above. All of his levels were good except for zinc, which was just barely in the healthy range. Everyone was getting the exact same feed, except that the does were getting extra calcium, which slows the absorption of zinc.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I don’t mind at all!
So I’ve pretty much always fed Dumor, it was what I started with and it just happened to work well
With that being said, my goats do get noticeable differences if I switch feeds for whatever reason. Coat quality goes down, the guard hairs go wiry and the goats get a “fluffy” look to them. I also notice hair loss on a few specific goats, especially around the ears and nose.

I always thought it was a copper deficiency, because that’s what you always hear about, until I had a necropsy done on a buck a few years ago. He died from unrelated causes, but I had a mineral screening done with the necropsy because my does were showing the symptoms above. All of his levels were good except for zinc, which was just barely in the healthy range. Everyone was getting the exact same feed, except that the does were getting extra calcium, which slows the absorption of zinc.

Sorry you had to lose a buck to find out, but glad you were able to remedy the deficiency.