Tag: healthy goat snacks

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Beet Pulp for Your Animals

I belong to a few goat and hobby farm groups on Facebook and really enjoy seeing all the new baby goats coming into the world. It’s also pretty cool to see new farmers and goat owners come on the horizon, whether it’s because people want to become more self-sufficient, teach the kids, fulfill a lifelong dream, or just because! Unfortunately, along with a lot of the learning comes some misinformation. As of late, I have seen some questions regarding the use of beet pulp in animals’ diets and some myths regarding its use.

Bag of shredded beet pulp
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Bottle Feeding Your Baby Goat

There are several reasons why you might want or need to bottle feed your baby goat. We have a doe who after kidding refused to feed her babies. The young ones seemed to scare her to death! She was very good at watching over them from a safe distance, but if they came near her, she would bolt! We would milk the doe then bottle feed the babies. You might have a doe who just doesn’t have the milk supply to adequately nourish all her little ones. You might want to supplement the kiddo’s milk with a bottle just to increase their socialization and encourage them to be more people friendly. You might be taking on some kids from another farm who had been nursing off their mom but are not quite old enough to be weaned. Whatever your circumstance, bottle feeding your baby goat should not be a difficult or dreaded process. It should be fairly simple and enjoyed as much by you as the babies.

Young boy trying to bottle feed goat kid
Bottle feeding provides the perfect bonding opportunity for you and your baby goat.
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Goat Treats!

The old myth that goats will eat just about everything, isn’t totally true; but if it were, it certainly doesn’t mean that they should! Animals are fairly smart creatures. Left to their own devices, they are pretty good about figuring out what’s good for them to eat and what’s not, and what their bodies need and what they don’t. Goats are ruminant herbivores. Their digestive systems are built for things like grasses, weeds, leaves, small branches and bark. As animal owners, it is our responsibility to take care of our animals and ensure that they are fed a healthy diet. We should feed our goats a good quality hay, not try to pawn off on them the sun-bleached or moldy horse hay. They should enjoy pasture time to browse if available. They should get a quality goat feed or grain mix, and limited treats are a bonus.

black and white goat eating hay
The majority of a goat’s diet should be a quality hay, or pasture forage.
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