# feeding goats



## SodaPopinski (Oct 7, 2008)

I am thinking of having a flock of goats in my backyard, what would be the best thing to feed them that is cheap? Do they really eat cans if I leave cans lying around?


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## carnut1100 (Oct 9, 2008)

Never seena goat eat cans yet. I think that is a myth. 
they will taste everything insight as they are inquisitive and intelligent. 
I have seen them chew the bottom of clothes hanging on a line to dry, then continue to eat the cotton stuff. 
We lost one to a plastic shopping bag he ate which killed him. 
We lost another to some hay bale twine which blew in from a neighbouring paddock and she ate it. 
We lost another to a snake bite.

As for food, they will eat a lot of stuff other animals won't, but they do need some good food. 
They will eat thistles and gorse and so forth but need some grass too. 
Supplementary food can include wheat, oats, corn etc but the best stuff is an all-round food with some grain, chaff, and a bit of molasses. Often you get this as horse food. 
I would say if there is plenty of grass for them, and plenty of celan water and you give them a bit of grain, a bit of chaff and a little bit of hay if things are a little low on the grass front they should be fine. 
Goats are wonderful animals. 

Just make sure your fences are very good......


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## SimeaseDream (Oct 10, 2008)

What kind of fence should you keep goats in?


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## Jack (Oct 10, 2008)

G'day carnut

tins is a myth but they will chew em a bit to get the tasty flavours but they can get cut up bad by this.

look at the feral goaties we have in the bush they eat almost anything and will dig open termite mounds to get to those too.

if you can get the leaving from your neighbours bird cages and throw this out to you paddock the shoots will provide them with lots of nutrients and the rest will come from natrure but dont let them over graze the will eat to the dirt then dig up the roots, worse than sheep...

theres a lot of waste you can feed them 

vege trimmings from a growers market is free but check for plastic waste strapping etc plastic as stated above will kill them in a not nice way but because they are tough you dont know until it too late..

paddock stubble from corn wheat barley is good an generally free too

i have a friend who rents out his goat to folks with thistle problems 

loads em in a truck and takes em to a paddock for a week or so and they'll clean up the thistle but check if they have sprayed first.

goaties are good critters for survival situations and should be included in most plans if possible

cheers

jack


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## Bearman405 (Oct 9, 2008)

G'day JACK


Love goats..........hate sheep.....................while in OZ, I ate goat meat and drank their milk whenever I cud. 

Use to hunt "ferals" up along the Murray River.


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## Jack (Oct 10, 2008)

good onya Bearman.

come SHTF times goaties will be on the menu real regular here, trap the younguns and breed em and domesticate em again

milk meat leather fur coats all in one package

put a few in a fenced off area and soon you'll have nothing to compete with what you want to plant 

then fence the goaties OUT or there'll be no garden either.

but back to feeding them anything fast growing would be suitable 

something that can be used would be good hemp ( the rope kind) would be good feed em the leaves and use the stalks etc

corn stalks anything of the kind

i would not waste time energy or money in a survival situation for animal food

figure out what you and yours need and feed the critters the waste.

cheers

jack


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## carnut1100 (Oct 9, 2008)

Bearman405 said:


> G'day JACK
> 
> Love goats..........hate sheep.....................while in OZ, I ate goat meat and drank their milk whenever I cud.
> 
> Use to hunt "ferals" up along the Murray River.


Same here. Sheep can be infuriating stupid things. 
I love goats though. 
I spent several years of my childhood west of the Darling, which runs into the Murray. We were 120 miles from a town with regular supplies, so wild goat was the meat of choice. Used to make a lovely curry of goat.....
Haven't eaten goat for years now. Bloody good meat.

And +1000 on keeping plastic ties etc away from the buggers. They will chew on them out of curiosity and if they swallow some it WILL kill them. 
We lost a billy goat to a plastic shopping bag and a female milker to some hay bale twine that blew in from next door.


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## infidel (Oct 13, 2008)

If I got goats would they try to eat through my wooden fence?


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## CoyoteRidgeFarms (Oct 14, 2008)

*Fencing*

Here's a few things to know about fencing goats... from a goat owner.

If you have goats with horns, stay away from woven fencing and even some styles of cattle panels. You will be sure to find the critters stuck in them. Having them stuck is one thing. Finding one dead in the fence is another.

The style of fencing we put up is a 5 strand barbed with 2 strands of electric on the inside. With regards to the barbed fencing: the bottom strand is 8" of the ground, the next is 8" above that and another 8" up. The 4th strand (from the ground) should be 12" above the last and the top wire 12" higher than that. So, from the ground, mark 8", 16", 24", 36" & 48". We placed the 2 electric wires at 12" and 22".

The best insurance for keeping goats in, is to keep them full. Nothing will keep a hungry goat confined. 

A word about wood fencing... goats will climb. Use electric with the wood.


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## CoyoteRidgeFarms (Oct 14, 2008)

*Fencing*

Here's a few things to know about fencing goats... from a goat owner.

If you have goats with horns, stay away from woven fencing and even some styles of cattle panels. You will be sure to find the critters stuck in them. Having them stuck is one thing. Finding one dead in the fence is another.

The style of fencing we put up is a 5 strand barbed with 2 strands of electric on the inside. With regards to the barbed fencing: the bottom strand is 8" of the ground, the next is 8" above that and another 8" up. The 4th strand (from the ground) should be 12" above the last and the top wire 12" higher than that. So, from the ground, mark 8", 16", 24", 36" & 48". We placed the 2 electric wires at 12" and 22".

The best insurance for keeping goats in, is to keep them full. Nothing will keep a hungry goat confined. 

A word about wood fencing... goats will climb. Use electric with the wood.


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## slurp (Oct 14, 2008)

How could it climb over a wooden fence? What height would it need to be so they can't climb it?


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## carnut1100 (Oct 9, 2008)

I've seen them get out of a 5 foot rail fence. Not quite sure how, but they did it!

And absolutely true about them roaming more if hungry! Ours would sometimes get out of the paddock in search of tastier stuff but would seldom get further than my mother's roses and geraniums!

Electric works, but they soon get to know if you have turned it off for any reason. Then they go for walkies.


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