Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Zachary Domikez <zdomike@yahoo.com>]

Hi Goat People,

My experience with feeding goats is that they are very
active, and can toss lots of food from most feeders. 
My favorite was a TEE slot for their horns to hold
their heads in place, since their nature is to tear
the leaves and look up to chew.  And I used an open
weave so that no liquids gathered in the feed tray.

I have had great fly control adding diatomaceous earth
to their feed, just about a teaspoon a day.  In
winter, I was able to sprout wheat and oats for them,
each with a unique technique, multiplying the
nutrition and digestibility of grains.

Goat wethers are probably worth training to a cart,
but must be raised with some bottle milk by hand, to
have the personality needed to work with people. 

And that cart shown at
http://www2.localaccess.com/rockyrun/car1.htm
appears too high to carry a load, so I suggest a
platform at the height of the axle.  Any road surface
would have to be very smooth and level to move much
weight, I learned the hard way.

Best,
Zack

Eliza wrote:

If it were me I would work on upping the quality of
your forages Dianne.  Sending in a sample to
www.aglabs.com and doing what they recommend
 will go a long ways to having quality forages that
your animals can  consume and will consume with gusto.
 You would need less then 1 good acre of forage to
feed your shetlands and your dairy goats.  They should
be
 able to help you figure out what forages are good to
grow in your area to meet your needs.  I assume
legumes like trefoil would grow there - they are a
total weed here thank goodness what a blessing - and
certain
 clovers will be palatable to both the sheep and the
goats.  Goats dont tend to enjoy eating dutch white
while it is growing but do like it dry in hay but the
sheep will eat it fine as it grows so make sure you
 have feeds that are palitable to both species in your
mix.  They will also eat the pasture at different
levels.  They do share all the same parasites. 
Reading Arden Andersen will help.  I am with Ken on
the rot
 ational grazing and fresh cut forages for your stock.
 If you feel they need more concentrated feeds the
root crops like mangles and turnips work well to
extend the growing season - no turnips for the milking
 stock when they are in milk though - makes the milk
taste yucky but the mangles are okay.

The shetlands should be fine on forage only assuming
you have high enough quality forages, are using a good
rotational grazing system and are providing the
correct loose minerals for their needs. None of my
sheep
 ever get grains though I do feed legume hay during
the winter if they are home at my place.  At my
sisters they seem to do fine as long as I have them
lamb in mid March or later when the forage quality is
higher.
   I have had shetlands, lincolns, cormo, australian
bond (corridale type) and finns.  Only the finns
required supplementation.  I no longer
 have finns or shetlands because I am more interested
in the fine wool and larger carcasses.  

 The dairy goats - depending on their genetics can
also do fine on forages only with adequate mineral
supplementation.  They do best if they
 have some browse but as long as they have high
quality forages that are palatable for them they seem
to do fine.  The goats will need supplemental copper
if it is low in your area and sheep should not have it
 unless it is severely deficient in your forages. 
Some lines of dairy goats require concentrate
supplementation because they have been selected to
 milk very heavily.  Some lines of Saanans are
notorious for milking every bit of flesh off their
body no matter how much feed they receive.
  My nubians get a handful of whole barley on the
milkstand with some wheatbran to keep them busy.  They
are always well fleshed even when milking 9 or 10
pounds a day though an average of 6 pounds a day on
good forage is more common.  I do supply free choice
kelp meal as well as redmonds salt in addition to
minerals like copper, selenium and zinc - th
 ese are the biggies in terms of deficiency in my area
- YMMV.  I am going to experiment with some of my
stock next fall giving them just mangles in the stand
and see if they find it enough of a treat to be
cooperative.  With just two does you should be able to
give them tasty garden treats maybe to entice them to
stand for you for milking.  Of course if they are non
lactating does or wethers they need no supplementation
 (other then the minerals/salt/kelp) for them to stay
healthy assuming adequate forage.  Look at the ATTRA
site that Ken recommended for information on
rotational grazing techniques.  
HTH

Aliza


      
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