# What can you feed goats?



## livefree (Dec 14, 2004)

Other than commercial goat feed? What fruits and vegetables are good for them? And what kind of hay is best for them? I have Nubian goats. 
Thanks


----------



## MoBarger (Mar 5, 2003)

second cut is generally better imo. A nice grass mix with some clover and/or alfalfa for higher protein. Commercial feed tends to get spendy. If you get get them out on pasture you will save both hay and feed money and won't have to worry about giving them fruits and veggies.


----------



## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I feed grain when they are in milk...otherwise just really good hay...mine like a course hay mine has alot of Timothy in it. The hay should be gray/green and smell good to be adequate. If it is dusty, musty or moldy do not feed it to them...they wont usually eat it but if they do they could die.
Table scraps....potato peels....tomato leftovers from canning....corn stalks and cobs (after you eat it)....mine love green beans!...I also give apple peels when I make applesauce....banana peels(some frown because of the chemicals)....mashed potatoes....left over pasta...old cereal
I buy 16% animal feed now because goat chow has gotten too sweet. At $7 a bag its not too bad. My goats like ash tree leaves, apple tree trimmings, Christmas trees, cedar etc.
My hay is my primary feed even in the summer with pasture, grain when milking, scraps lastly, with loose mineral salt free choice.

This year I am hoping to grow mangels as a winter addition to hay.


----------



## mamalisa (Feb 1, 2004)

At the moment, my cherry and apple trees, my blueberry bushes, and my grapevines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone wanna goat?


----------



## MoBarger (Mar 5, 2003)

careful with those cherry trees. Anything in the prunus genus can be fatally poisonous.


----------



## mamalisa (Feb 1, 2004)

MoBarger said:


> careful with those cherry trees. Anything in the prunus genus can be fatally poisonous.



Believe me, it wasn't my idea! :grump: I still don't know where she is getting thru/over/around the fence, but she's tethered today, within the fence to keep her safe.


----------



## Jen H (Jun 16, 2004)

My standard feed is grass hay (orchard grass) and alfalfa pellets. The babies get grain till they're tamed down and the growth spurts have mellowed out a bit. 

In the fall I run them through the orchards to get the apple drops. They get apple cores, banana peels, orange peels, left over squash, soft sweet potatoes, christmas trees (untreated, and make sure they aren't yew), maple and alder seedlings, apple tree prunings, animal crackers, granola......

When they get the chance they'll eat entire grapevines and my prized yellow raspberries. They're not nearly as interested in the blackberries or normal red raspberries, just the yellow ones I wait eagerly for every year.


----------

