What do pygmy goats eat

Kids do not eat as quickly as older goats and older ones have absolutely no manners when it comes to pinching food from others! Increase the amount of concentrates gradually but do not be tempted to overfeed.

Far better to increase the forage. Foetal development. The in-kid female must have a nutritious, balanced diet, but does not require additional feed throughout the entire pregnancy, unless you want to end up with an obese goat.

Increase the feed during the last 6 weeks of gestation and, even then, no need for double rations in my view. During lactation, kids make very heavy demands upon the doe, which is why so many of them lose condition for quite some time, especially first kidders who tend to give their all to their kids. Giving birth also drains the female of certain minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus.

Therefore she must be given extra feed not only after giving birth but also for about six weeks prior to it. The amount depends whether she is due to have twins or single kids. However, do not be tempted to overdo the concentrates as there is always the danger of encouraging acidosis: it is probably best to increase the forage rather than massively increase the concentrates.

Even after the kids are weaned off at weeks, the doe will still require extra in order to regain good condition. Physical activity. Young stock are by their very nature quite energetic, which helps the development of muscles etc.

Stud goats tend to require extra feed after the mating season as it is a high energy activity, many losing quite a lot of weight as they can go off food during this period.

The more nutrient dense the fibre source, the less needs to be spent on cereal. Roughage is essential for the efficient functioning of the rumen. A sound knowledge of the functioning of the ruminant stomach is well worth pursuing. Why is it so important? Good quality hay, especially if fed together with alfalfa of equal quality, goes a long way to providing it. Hay passes into the rumen — one of the four compartments involved in the digestive process — providing a good proportion of the essential bulk required to keep the rumen active.

The large number of micro-organisms and bacteria contained therein are delicately balanced. Only good quality hay can play a supportive part in sustaining the delicate micro-organism and bacteria balance, which is so vital in maintaining a healthy rumen. One important point regarding the rumen that should be mentioned is that it needs to be activated in a kid at an early age.

This is so that it will grow to the correct proportions in order to allow the animal to take in large amounts of long fibre to sustain growth. Leaving a kid too long before introducing it to hard feed, hay and water, does it no favours. Hay can be assessed either by appearance and smell or by having it tested.

Agricultural merchants will normally test a sample if asked. Most goat keepers assess by smell and appearance, but this only provides a rough guide to feed value and palatability. Break open a bale and look for dust. White mould and lack of leaf are sure signs of weathering.

Good hay should be bright in colour, smell sweet with plenty of leaf. Pale, tough hay is surely a sign of sun bleaching. Black sided, brown, limp hay suggests that it has been badly stored and exposed to the elements with insufficient ventilation.

Goats will more often than not reject poor quality hay but their rejection or otherwise is not always a true indicator of its feed value. Storage is important. It needs to be kept off the ground and placed on pallets, with space left around the sides of the shed and the bales. Particular care should be taken to control rats and wildlife which may live in the hay barn as there is a risk of toxoplasmosis, a protozoan parasite which causes abortions and still births if passed on.

Value can decrease drastically if weather conditions deteriorate and the hay gets wet during the drying off and turning period. Both of these factors have an influence on feed value of the crop and it is at this stage that its digestibility, energy value and level of crude protein is determined.

Buying poor hay is a false economy as you will then need to boost the food requirements with more hard feed. The better the hay, the smaller the amount of concentrates required. The grains are high in carbohydrates and contain some fat, particularly in the germ. Mill by-products may be low in fat and have less carbohydrates than whole grains. Evergy is needed for all the activities of the body. Young growing animals, lactating does, and pregnant does during the last half of pregnancy have high energy needs.

These needs are well supplied by feeding whole or rolled grains. The two most important vitamin needs are Vitamin A and Vitamin D. Vitamin A is important in keeping the interior and exterior body linings in good repair. It is needed in larger amounts by young growing animals, lactating does and by pregnant does. It can be supplied by good pastures or by feeding good green, leafy hay. Yellow corn is also an excellent source of vitamin A. All of these materials, green pasture, green hay or yellow corn contain carotene, one of the yellow pigments, which is converted into vitamin A by the goat.

Vitamin D is needed for the proper use of calcium and phosphorus in building or repair of bones. The action of sunlight on the skin of animals can convert certain steriods in the skin into vitamin D. During the summer when goats are outside in the sun, they will make their vitamin D that is needed. When animals are kept inside most of the time, vitamin D should be provided. Hay that has been sun cured is high in vitamin D but hay that is heat cured may contain no vitamin D.

If one is in doubt, some irradiated yeast can be added to the grain ration but one should not give too much or it may be harmful to the goats. The minerals that are more likely to be needed are calcium and phosphorus, however, iodine and selenium may also be needed in some areas. If one is feeding goats alfalfa hay and grain, the calcium and phosphorus needs will likely be provided by these feeds.

Alfalfa hay is high in calcium and whole grains are high in phosphorus. On pasture, one may want to provide a mineral mixture of equal parts of ground limestone, steamed bone meal and iodized salt. This can be allowed free choice if the animals have not been deprived of salt for a period of time. Young growing animals and lactating does have high calcium and phosphorus needs.

Heavily lactating goats may develop hypocalcemia and die in a matter of a day or two if they are not given this mineral. If one has a doe develop milk fever and go down, an injection of calcium gluconate into the blood stream will have the animal normal in 2 to 6 hours. Calcium and phosphorus are needed, but they must be in the proper ratio and Vitamin D is essential for their use. Their delicious milk makes them a welcome addition in a variety of small farming operations.

Pygmy goats have extremely variable coats, and have 7 breed standard approved colors. Their eyes come only in brown. Does weigh pounds, and bucks weigh pounds. Wither height ranges from 16 to 23 inches.

Pygmy does produce quarts of milk per day when lactating, and their milk ranges from 4. However, they produce milk for only a short days. Pygmy goats are known for being friendly, curious, and outgoing. They seek out and enjoy interacting with people, and will respond readily to vocal calls. While bucks in particular can have the stubborn streak that goats are famous for, Pygmy goats are an excellent companion animal. Pygmy goats are adaptable to a variety of weather conditions and are a low-maintenance animal.

Known to be sociable and friendly , their small size makes them easier to care for than larger goat breeds, because they require less space and less feed.

Pygmy goat social needs. Like all goats, Pygmies are herd animals and will not be healthy or happy when kept alone. If you are keeping a Pygmy as a pet, they will often not do well in an environment where they are alone for extended periods. Keeping them with other goats, or even with grazing animals or dogs, will help satisfy the social needs of this outgoing little animal. Like all goats, Pygmy need periodic hoof trimming and deworming, depending on their diet and lifestyle.

Fortunately, their small size makes handling them easy. Make sure you have access to a veterinarian who is familiar with the needs of goats. Pygmy Goat Food Needs. Goats should always have access to fresh, clean water. Remember that your pygmy goats will need more water than usual in hot weather or when lactating.

Forage and feed. Pygmy will happily browse on shrubs, weeds, herbs, and leaves. Allowing them freedom of pasture also gives them the exercise they need to stay healthy and prevent health problems. Depending on the size of your pasture, the variety of plants available, and the season, alfalfa hay can and should be offered for free feeding. Purchase very high-quality hay for the healthiest goats and best quality milk. Alfalfa hay is high in calcium, which is essential when goats are kidding and producing milk.

Alfalfa hay can be expensive, so some people supplement other high-quality hay with alfalfa pellets instead. Grain is a desirable source of extra nutrition when a goat is producing milk, but is not strictly necessary.

Depending on the plants in your pasture, local soil composition, and nutritional composition of your hay, it is likely that your goats will need mineral supplements. If you are providing high-quality food, they may only require small amounts of trace minerals. When free-fed, goats will only eat as much mineral supplements as they need. Use a mineral supplement designed for goats or cattle, and avoid supplements designed for sheep, because goats and cows require copper, which is toxic to sheep.

You can also feed your Pygmy goats fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen to add variety to their diet. Pygmy goat enclosure needs. Like all goats, Pygmies are agile and ready jumpers, and require ample space to roam and exercise to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your fencing.

However, their small size limits how high they can jump, and reduces the potential for damaging your fences and enclosures. Remember that fences not only keep goats in, but should keep predators out, and Pygmies are especially susceptible to predation, depending on your local wildlife.

Even some stray dogs can pose a threat to Pygmies. Fences should be about 4 feet high since Pygmy goats can't jump higher than that. Goats will lean, stand, rub, and chew on fencing, particularly if they have smaller pasture, or if there seems to be attractive forage on the other side, so posts should be no further than 8 feet apart. The best way to secure your Pygmy goats is with a woven wire fence with 2x4-inch openings too small for adults to put their heads through; woven wire is strong enough to withstand the chewing, leaning, and standing that the fence will endure.

Pygmy goat shelter needs. All goats need shelter at night and in poor weather. Situate your shelter well away from your fence, so that goats aren't able to jump from the roof of their shelter over the fence, and avoid situating the shelter on low ground that would accumulate rain. At minimum, the shelter can simply be a roof and three sides, so that goats can get out of bad weather. It is better to have a dry dirt floor than a wood one; wood flooring can get slippery with mud or manure, and potentially injure a goat or cause foot problems.

Does will need additional shelter and protection when they have kidded, and to be separate from the herd while the kids are still small. Pygmy does can come into heat when they are as young as 2 months, but breeding them that early should be avoided. They are polyestrous, and will come into heat when they are exposed to a male, so it's a good idea to keep young does away from bucks until you are ready for them to breed.

They are prolific breeders, and does can give birth to kids every months. When a doe is coming into heat, she will generally show signs with signature behaviors, such as:. Unlike dairy goats that will come into heat annually, and produce milk for years, Pygmy goats produce milk for only a relatively short month period of time. This makes their polyestrous nature favorable.

If you want a steady supply of delicious, high-quality goat milk, you will need several does, and to time their breeding schedule so that you will always have a doe producing milk. At a minimum, this means four does, breeding a different one each quarter, so that you can have quarts of goat milk a day throughout the year. This presents the challenge that all goat farmers have: keeping a buck so that you can breed your goats when desired, but isolating him from the does so that they don't breed to early, or more than once.

Even relatively small Pygmy bucks can be quite determined when they want to access a receptive doe, so their enclosure needs to be very sturdy.

And even bucks that need to be separated from the herd still have social needs, and should be kept with other animals or a wether for company. If you choose to keep a buck, it is best to not have him share a fence with the does. Goats are resourceful, and have been known to breed through fences.

Create an enclosure for the buck, with a clear area of 15 or more feet between it and the enclosure for the does. This buffer zone will not only prevent unwanted breeding through the shared fence, but it will also discourage him from attacking the fence and putting undue strain on it.

This is a popular method for keeping constant milk production, while avoiding some of the expense and challenge of owning your own buck. Pygmy does are famous for having kidding problems, due to the small size of their pelvis, and will need to be watched closely as a pregnancy nears its term.

It is best to have a veterinarian available to assist if necessary, and be familiar with the signs of a difficult kidding and how best to intervene and help the doe. Most does experiencing a normal birthing will have a kid within an hour of beginning labor.

If your doe has been pushing for an hour and not yet kidded, notify your veterinarian and have them on standby. If she still has not given birth after 2 hours of pushing, it is necessary to intervene, and potentially save the life of both mother and kid s.

Pygmy wethers make excellent and popular pets, and this popularity as a pet helps to reduce some of the stress of figuring out what do to with the unneeded male kids born several times a year. It is also a good source of additional income from a pygmy goat farm.

Because Pygmies are both pets and livestock, there are a variety of breeders who specialize in different purposes. Many popular Pygmy breeders can simply be found on Facebook, and there are excellent resources available through the National Pygmy Goat Association.

Be wary of people offering pet goats through public bulletin boards like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.