Feeding Program

Sancta Grotto Nubian goats are raised on a natural diet without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics. The best cheese comes from healthy, stress-free animals and clean properly handled milk. We provide the safest, healthiest, most humane environment possible. We provide the goats with the highest quality alfalfa and mixed hay both inside and outside, so that when the weather is wet, the goats can still dine in comfort. Alfalfa pellets are provided if hay becomes unavailable in the winter months. Alfalfa pellets are a good source of nutrition for goats. The amount to feed Standard Nubians Here.

*Note: It is important to change any feed gradually over a two week span. Keep feeding what you are normally feeding and decrease a little bit of that, then introduce the new feed gradually. This is because of how the rumen works.

Grains are generally used to supply the extra energy needed for milk production and pregnancy. Our method is to feed enough grain so that the doe gives good milk without losing weight. Goats should not each too much grain through over-feeding or accidental access to your feed storeroom. An excess of grain can change the pH (acidity) of the rumen causing acidosis, founder, enterotoxemia, or bloat. Any of these conditions can be life threatening. Goats are browsers, eating high fiber foods like tree bark, leaves, grass, and hay. This fiber is the key ingredient in keeping the rumen functioning properly. Here is a list of plants which are edible for goats and the plants which are poisonous.

We usually give a doe one pound of grain a day plus another pound for every quart of milk she produces. Alfalfa hay is higher in protein and calcium than grass hay so it is a good choice for feeding your milker. A doe in the last month of pregnancy will also require some grain because of the extra demands on her body as the kids inside increase their growth rates. I feed rolled oats, sunflower seeds, loose minerals for goats, rock salt, baking soda, kelp, veggies, and vitamins.

Fodder may also be fed to the goats as sprouted grains and legumes, which are a source of amino acids, vitamins and calories. Wheat, barley, and oats or any bean can be sprouted and fed to goats as fodder. It is good to use 5 gallon buckets to make sprouts. We use mason jars for sprouts in the kitchen, and seed trays for wheat grass which can be juiced. An excellent source for seeds and other items: Grow Organic

“Fodder” refers particularly to food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves in pasture and grazing land. It includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and pelleted feeds, oils and mixed rations, and also sprouted grains and legumes.” Reference: Growing Sprouted Fodder For Livestock by Jason Wiskerchen

Barley is very high in nutrition and I use a system that is time-efficient and effective. Goats will eat the sprouted barley (called fodder for livestock) including the root mat, seeds, and green shoots. Even chickens like to eat fodder. The chickens due well with large chunks, and the goats like it cut up into smaller portions.

You can turn about 30 oz. of barley grain into 12 – 15 lbs. of fodder. This will give enough fodder to feed about 3 – 4 milk goats or 15 – 20 chickens every day. The cost of fodder seed in our area ranges from $16 to $19 for 50 lbs. of barley, and this translates into $0.60 – $0.71 per day, or $18.00 – $21.00 per month for feed cost (as of December 2014).

Water is vitally important to goats. We supply the goats with fresh, clean well water. For the adult goats keep their water raised up on concrete blocks above the risk of being messed in, and have at least two water containers in each pen so that if one is emptied, or made unusable they have a back up. Water availability and quality is especially important for milking goats since water is the main component in the milk they make. In cold weather, I give the goats warm, to nearly hot, drinking water to help them maintain their body heat and encourage them to drink all they need or want. I find that my goats like some warm water available even in the high heat of summer. For the young goats provide a water dish they can access but they adults cannot.

Parasites need to be controlled in your livestock. The most important of the gastrointestinal parasites include roundworms (barber pole worm) and coccidia. Dairy goats such as Nubians are more susceptible to parasites due to their South African ancestry (hot, dry climate). Green leaves are good to feed to a sick goat because that would be the first food it would eat, then follow with quality alfalfa hay. Don’t offer sacked/processed grains to a sick goat, because they are too difficult to digest. A goat will begin eating sacked or processed grain feeds only when recovery is well underway. To determine what is making the goat sick have the stool tested or learn how to test it yourself. About worming medicine for roundworms (barber pole worm) and coccidia Here. A natural herbal wormer to keep goats healthy and for pregnant does and kids. Herbal wormer ingredients: worm wood, gentian, fennel, psyllium. Purchase Here

Homemade Electrolyte can help a goat needing to gain strength from weakness or loss of weight from a worm problem. Bring the goats strength back with this formula for a couple of days, and then give some worming medicine.

Electrolyte Formula:
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1TBSP molasses
• 1/2oz strong coffee
• Add water to make 2.5 liters of solution

If you use a chemical wormer, make sure that do a second dosing 11 days after to kill the larva and eggs (now adult worms) that were missed during the first dose. Give probiotics to restore the natural balance to their digestive tract. And give an iron supplement to rebuild the red blood cell count. To help strengthen the goat’s compromised immune system give Bovi-Sera or Goat Serum of 10cc sub-q injection. This will help to possibly head off any additional ailment that is waiting to piggyback on the opportunity and weakness created by the worms. More about how we care for the goats Here.

Keep your goat’s area clean. If  it is wet or dirty, you are inviting infection. Goats are naturally very clean livestock and do not like wet conditions. Keeping them clean and dry is the first step to healthy goats.