Healthy Goat Feed or Fodder for animals is an important nutrient available to keep them healthy. When you start raising goats, you have to decide for what purpose you want to raise goats. Goats are raised for different reasons. Out of which livelihood is on the rise.
Whenever you start a goat business, you have to decide what kind of goat you will choose. Means for meat or milk production. Then there is food.
The choice of goat and the results obtained from it all depend on the diet. So it is very important for you to know about the diet of goats so that you can raise a healthy goat.
Remember, under no circumstances should you change your fodder all at once. This means that if you are feeding them something on a daily basis, do not change it suddenly. Never feed your animals large amounts of fresh vegetables.
If you do anything like this, not only will your animals become ill, but the disease factor will also increase. Remember that every disease found in animals is caused by their stomach and mouth, so be careful in their diet.
By the why, which Goat Breeds you have?
Healthy Goat Feed
- Goat Pasture
- Grass Feed
- Grain fodder / Dry feed
- Kitchen Scraps
- Minerals Feed
- Fresh Water
Browsing and Goat Pasture
You can feed your animals anything. But goats like the freshest fodder and grass. Most cattle breeders graze their goats in pastures. Where cattle voluntarily use hay and tree branches as food.
Cattle in the highlands know very well what kind of herbs to eat from the mountains to give them health. If you have been raising cattle for a long time, you would also know which herbs you can feed your cattle for.
Goats are four-bellied animals. They store more food in their stomachs than they need and keep the food circulating from one stomach to another. Due to which they can retain their energy for a long time. But they should still be fed at least twice a day.
Grass Feed
Grass has been considered a favorite pasture of animals since ancient times. But over time, innovation has replaced grass with other things. When there is a shortage of fodder in winter, most of the goats’ food is supplemented by bush plants.
Goats should be provided with at least 4 kg of fodder on daily basis and goats should be fed once or twice a day. Remember, a goat’s diet consumes at least four kilograms of fodder.
Grain fodder / Dry feed
Grain fodder is more nutritious. Due to the high protein, high vitamin and high mineral content in this fodder, the growth of animals increases rapidly. Animals that eat dry fodder are slightly healthier than grass-eating animals and have fewer diseases.
Using dry fodder as food has a great effect on the health of the animal. But the diet should be balanced. Animal health can be harmed if given too much food. Therefore, it is important to have a doctor when preparing food.
Prepare dry food for your animals in consultation with a veterinarian. Or choose a diet prepared by a veterinarian.
Kitchen Scraps
You can also feed your goats leftover food from your kitchen. Goats love vegetables and this treat works for them. This means that if you feed your goats leftover food from home two to three times a month, your goats will be attracted to it with great enthusiasm.
Homemade food refers to dry breads or vegetable peels. Never feed goats large amounts of vegetables and leftovers from the kitchen. Kitchen leftover food only serves as a temporary food. Don’t make it part of the food completely.
Minerals Feed
A goat cannot grow fast unless its nutrition needs are met. That’s why along with food, you must give your goats a certain amount of minerals. In the case of minerals, you can consult a veterinarian who will tell you in detail about the minerals according to the health of your animal.
You can usually keep a loaf of salt in your farm. The goats can get the minerals by licking them according to their need. But there are also many minerals that you have to give to your animals in the form of medicines.
Fresh Water
Ensure access to water for your goats at all times. Animals must have access to water at all times. Do not keep your animals tied up all the time, but leave them open so that they can walk and digest their food and be well aware of where they live.
Try to get your animal to drink calcium supplements once a month. Mix the jaggery in water and give it to your animals once a week.
Feeding Tools
To feed the goats you need a few tools to help you. There is no need to buy more expensive tools but you can also make tools from old household items. This includes a Hayrack which will be used for feeding fodder. A few cans of water will cover different places.
Tools you need:
- Feed storage containers
- Mineral feeder
- Food buckets
- Hayrack
- Water buckets
