← Goats H25-03 · Module 3 of 7 · Pages: 21 · Worksheets: 6

Feeding and browsing

How much hay, grazing, concentrates, water and minerals each goat needs through the year, how to manage grazing and which plants are poisonous

€9

Secure checkout with Stripe · VAT included · The PDFs are in the language of this page.

Whole series: Goats, €39

Feeding and browsing

In short

  • Hay is the foundation. An adult goat needs roughly 2–2.5 kg (4.5–5.5 lb) of hay a day in winter; for the whole winter allow 400 kg (880 lb).
  • Every change of feed takes 7–10 days. Turning goats straight onto young clover or lucerne (alfalfa) causes bloat.
  • Only milkers, pregnant does and kids get concentrates, split into 2 feeds, never free access to grain.
  • Rotate the grazing: goats go in at 15–20 cm (6–8 in) of growth and come out when 8–10 cm is left.
  • Water and minerals always: 6 L a day, a milker in summer 10–15 L. Goat minerals never for sheep.
  • Yew, rhododendron, cherry laurel and oleander can kill a goat. Never throw hedge or shrub clippings to goats.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. How a goat eats
  2. Daily ration by group
  3. Body condition: fat, thin or just right
  4. Grazing and browsing
  5. Hay: how much and what kind
  6. Concentrates
  7. Minerals, salt and water
  8. Poisonous plants
  9. Kitchen and garden leftovers
  10. Feeding through the year
  11. Common mistakes
  12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Hay calculator for winter
  • Concentrate and feed cost calculator
  • My herd's daily ration
  • Pasture and rotation plan
  • Feed stocks and checking new ground
  • Feeding and grazing calendar

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

This guide in other languages:

BalkanDeutschEspañolFrançaisPortuguêsTürkçeالعربية