Nutrition is one of the most important elements in our goat herd management routine. After all, what goes in, comes out! "Good feed and supplementation" in-- "well conditioned healthy goats who are productive" out. Before continuing any further, its time for a disclaimer! You need to know that the numbers below are very (and I mean very!) generic. There are a multitude of factors involved that effect the quality browse we supply our animals. To give you an idea, this is a incomplete list of items that effect nutritional values: rain fall, watering schedule, watering quantity, soil quality, time of the year harvested, area of the field harvested from, time of day harvested, how they hay/browse was baled, where it was stored, did it get wet, is it too dry, is it too moist inside from not drying out enough, how much leaf it has, stems, weeds-- and we will end there! The following list is just to give you a rough idea of what to expect--and is in no way meant to be exclusive to the type of feed you are currently using in your area. If you want accurate data to compare to, you will need to get a feed analysis report from your hay supplier. If they dont have one available, you can send in a sample of the hay you purchased to your state department of agriculture or any lab specializing in feed analysis. What is feed anaylisis?When you buy food from the store you turn it over and somewhere on the package you get this handy-dandy list of ingredients, along with a break down of the nutritional value of the food you are about to eat/buy. Its very convenient! You can decide instantaneously if that food item is going to be at all nutritionally beneficial just by looking at a few key areas. We like to look at the 'calories' to see how much energy this food is going to give us/ require for us to burn off later... 'fats', and 'vitamins' right? Well, a feed analysis is essentially the same thing--but for your goats hay/browse. How is it useful?Feed analysis reports are very handy for a lot of reasons, but mostly they help us determine what feed(s) are going to be the best match for our goats nutritional needs. A doe in milk is going to have different needs than buck outside of breeding season. Dairy animals have differing needs than meat animals. And some 'easy keepers' gain too well on protein rich feed. So having a tool like a feed analysis is actually going to be a great tool for helping us address the condition of our herd, maintain good body condition scores, and possibly help us save money that would have been wasted on otherwise more expensive feed concentrates. What areas apply most to goats?The full report is beneficial in its entirety really, but for the most part you will want to look at:
What is a good range for goats?For a dairy goat, you want them to consume at least 6-7% of their body weight in dry matter (hay) daily with about a 16-18% crude protein value. Crude fiber should not fall under 12% (though lower fat production in milk has been reported by some authors at any value under 17%). The TDN for browse ideally should be at (or around) 60%. Various Hay/Browse feedstuffsAverage feed analysis for common feedstuffs (remember nutritional values are subjective to the region in which they are grown!) : Alfalfa Crude protein: 19% Crude fiber: 26% TDN: 61% Timothy Crude protein: 8% Crude fiber: 34% TDN: 57% Meadow grass Crude protein: 7% Crude fiber: 33% TDN: 50% Fescue Crude protein: 11% Crude fiber: 30% TDN: 52% Clover Crude protein: 15% Crude fiber: 30% TDN: 55% Brome Crude protein: 10% Crude fiber: 35% TDN: 55% Orchardgrass Crude protein: 10% Crude fiber: 34% TDN: 59% Bluegrass Crude protein: 6% Crude fiber: 40% TDN: 45% Oat hay Crude protein: 10% Crude fiber: 31% TDN: 54% Bermuda grass Crude protein: 10% Crude fiber: 29% TDN: 53% LINKS: Texas AG. Ext. Goats- ASWeb078-goatenergy.pdf (tamu.edu) Milk/Production of Dairy Goats-Feeds and nutrition - Milkproduction.com Understanding Feed Analysis- Understanding Feed Analysis | UNL Beef Langston University Feed Calculator- Goat Interactive Nutrient Calculator – Goats (extension.org)
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