![]() And a sick goat goes downhill very quickly.īut it’s also not fun to be hunting hay all year either. If the hay is low quality, moldy, or very stemy and they don’t eat it, they will suffer in their health. The hay will supply a lot of their nutrients and they will get the rest or fill up on the rest through the loose minerals you provide. You can read more about the importance of goat nutrition in the links below:Īnd a huge part, actually the most important part of your goat’s diet, is their hay. Feeding your goats every day is really important but even more important is giving them the vitamins and minerals they really need in their diet. And it all, usually, comes down to nutrition. Ketosis in Goats If you followed those links, you will see that goats can get sick very easily. Please click this link: Delci | A Life of Heritage and subscribe! You can also click this link to watch this information on YouTube: Hay Cost Calculator Video on YouTube In order to have healthy milk, you have to have healthy goats, right? Well, here are a few sicknesses that can run through your herd: If you like this information, my YouTube channel is full of even more goat information. You can watch the short clip about the information in this post in the video below. ![]() Click here for more info about cookies collected and our privacy policy.īut that doesn’t mean they don’t come without cost.Īlthough I haven’t done thorough research on this for our own family, my suspicion is that we actually would save money if we bought milk from the store.īut I have a firm belief it is worth it in every way to own goats! As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The only difference is we made them only 2 ft in length.*We get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. We made smaller feeders for the birthing stalls in our goat barn. Screw together and to the wall as orientated in the photos.Īttach the fence material to the rack sides using u-nails or wire clips and screwsĬut the 2×4 the same length as the trough and screw to the sides as the anti-poop board. Screw it to the sides at about a 45 degree angle. Cut (1) 2×8 for the trough however long you choose to make it. Put them about 4 inches below the rack sides. Cut 2 more 2×8’s about 1 foot long to be the sides of the trough. You have to rip them lengthwise diagonally so the hay can fall as they eat it. ![]() U-nails or wire clips (to attach the fencing material to the wood)Ĭut (2) 2×8’s about 2 feet long for the sides of the rack.Goat fencing material with 2”x4” or 4″x4″openings between bars – here’s the link to the one we got.2×8’s – length varies on however long you want to make it.Here are the specifics on how to make the best goat feeder For the others, we installed the anti-poop board to keep their rear end far enough away that the poop can’t make it in. If the trough is done well, that will stop the baby poop. The biggest annoyance that goats seem to always do, and then laugh at you afterwards, is pee and poop in the feeder. To remedy this, you have to make the trough narrow and at a slant that they can’t stand on and put the hay close above it so there isn’t space to get between. That knocks a bunch of food on the ground and when their dirty feet touch the food, they don’t like the smell/taste of it anymore. The next problem is that goats, especially babies, climb on and lay in feeders. Now, a little hay waste is inevitable - but you can greatly reduce it by doing this method. Then you have to size the perfect depth of trough to catch the hay and hold pellets and other feed. You have to use the fence material with the perfect size openings to let their noses in and not drop it all the ground. To prevent this, we had to do several things. The first thing they do is drop half the food on the ground and then wouldn’t dream of even smelling it again if it’s touching the dirt. Here she is in all her glory!įifteen years ago we started the fight to be able to feed the goats without having a complete catastrophe. It has taken many iterations and testing to be able overcome all of the issues that arise when goats don’t use the feeder the way I’ve told them to a million times. Many have asked for the specifics for the goat feeder that we’ve perfected over the last 10 years.
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