Goat Nutrition
The most essential piece of knowledge you need to be armed with to properly raise Nigerian Dwarf goats pertains to their nutritional needs that ensures they are healthy, strong, maintain production, and birth healthy kids. Proper goat nutrition isn’t something you can really “experiment” with either. These small goats are tough and often times first begin to show nutritional issues when it is too late. So, take notes! Let’s start with the basics.
In general, this is what every Nigerian Dwarf goat needs nutritionally:
- Access to clean, fresh water
- A constant supply of good quality hay/pasture
- Daily supplementation of miscellaneous greens (i.e. garden scraps)
- Daily ration of concentrates (usually pelletized)
- Daily mineral supplements (including micronutrients)
- A regimented feeding routine
Clean Water. Nigerian Dwarf goats are exceptionally clean and will not accept dirtied water (or food). We typically provide fresh, clean water daily. Then check several times per day to ensure it has not been dirtied either by debris or the goats themselves (urine or feces). We also scrub the water buckets weekly to ensure they are clean to begin with. If you do find that the water has been dirtied, change it immediately. Generally, goats prefer warm water in contrast to cold water. As a rule of thumb, we have found that a single adult Nigerian Dwarf can consume a gallon of water or more per day.
Hay & Pasture. A constant supply of good quality hay and pasture is a must. Nigerian Swarf goats are ruminants, just like cows. Their four stomachs are designed by nature to have fibrous food like weeds, alfalfa, and other forbs and should make up about 50% of their diet. The hay needs to be clean, fresh, and free of mold. Our goats are a bit spoiled…we used to provide them with 50-50% mix of baled grass/alfalfa which they enjoyed thoroughly when green pasture wasn’t available. One time we bought new crop alfalfa/grass hay that was predominantly alfalfa (80% plus) to feed them and they wouldn’t eat the 50-50% mix anymore. That’s okay – just stick with whatever they will eat and don’t change too drastically. Note: a 50 Lb. bale of hay will last a single adult goat for an entire month. When pasture is available for grazing feeding hay can be reduced, however, if you plan on milking, the greatest production comes when feeding high protein vegetation like alfalfa, peas, etc. Therefore, consider supplementing grass pasture with a little alfalfa hay or other high protein feeds.
If you do not plan on milking your goats, a diet composed of hay and other plant materials may be sufficient. If you are raising kids or producing milk you should you should consider supplementing their diets with concentrates (i.e. pellets) that are fortified with vitamins and nutrients. Note: adult goats do not need much concentrates in their diet. Feeding too much concentrate can lead to obesity and in males, development of urinary tract issues such as bladder stones.
Mineral Supplements. Mineral supplements are mandatory when raising healthy goats. We typically put out “goat blocks” near their grazing area to supplement nutrients especially micro-nutrients not readily available from grazing and feeding. Micronutrients, although required in very small amounts, are essential for proper nutrition and health. For example, if you live in an area with selenium deficient soils, plants that are grazed will also be deficient in selenium and thus, the goat will be selenium deficient also unless supplemented (available in gel form, an injectable, or in goat blocks). We also provide our goats with free choice “goat mineral”, salt, and baking soda. A goat knows what its body needs and will eat the free choice supplements to the extent they require it. Tip: like many animals, Nigerian Dwarf goats prefer NOT to eat food that has come into contact with the ground or floor. For this reason it is important to provide feed in hay bunks or hay racks that are situated above the ground where it cannot be soiled.
In addition to mineral supplements we also like to feed C.O.B (corn, oats & barley), cleaned oats, and black oil sunflower seeds to our milking does twice a day while they are on the stand and to a lesser amount when they have been dried up. Corn is safe for goats in small amounts. It is relatively low in protein (8% crude protein), but does contain a certain amount of calcium, which in excess can contribute to urinary calculi in bucks. Corn should never be greater than 50% of a goats diet.
Oats is a good feed for goats. It is normally about 90% of the energy value of barley but contains more fiber than corn or barley. A diet of alfalfa and oats is a balanced diet for goats, but they may get bored with it. Barley, if given in high concentrate diets, can cause digestive upsets. So, use in moderation. We always utilize COB (corn, oats, and barley) and it seems to work well with our feeding program.
We discovered black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) somewhat by accident. We bought a bag for placing the over wintering birds. The bag spilled and the goats cleaned it up faster than a vacuum cleaner! Turns out that black oil sunflower seeds contain vitamin E, zinc, iron, and selenium and also add fiber and fat to the diet. It makes the goats coats much shinier and increases the butterfat in their milk. We simply mix them into the grain ration while on the stand and they eat them, shell and all.
We generally feed our dairy goats 1 pound of grain per day unless we are trying to fatten a very thin goat, then we may double that amount for a period. What we found is that the goats will “tell” you what they need. They may take the time and sift through their feed and eat only the COB, oats, or sunflower seeds. They seem to know what they need nutrition-wise.
When we have milking does, we often provide them a small amount of sweet feed or sweet mix which is a mixture of grains (COB) mixed with molasses. As usual, goats seem to know what they need and will eat this readily or, conversely, they will turn their nose up at it. It has a higher protein than the grains alone so is good for added energy, especially, then milking.
One more item we found to be very nutritious – evergreen boughs! We have several evergreen trees on our property that were not fenced off. The goats seem to be attracted to them like magnets. After a little research, we discovered that evergreen trees are loaded with nutrients.
Pine trees provide trace nutrients, antioxidants, and minerals. Although trees should not replace their regular hay/grain diet, goats love fresh boughs/trees as a treat. Pine is also good for intestinal worm control and is high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A.
This is how we keep our dairy goats healthy. Keep in mind, Nigerian Dwarf goats have very sensitive stomachs, so it is important to apply any changes to their diet gradually.