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mixing feed

21 years ago

does anyone use and mix liquid molasses into their dry feed mix? i have some goats that i want to start mixing my own cracked corn and soybean meal and was thinking about mixing liquid molasses with it to hold it all together, but cant really figure out how to do it. i only feed all 15 head about 1/2 a 5 gallon bucket full a day.

thanks for any thoughts.

Gary

Comments (2)

  • 21 years ago

    I have used it over the years for cattle, primarily to add energy and help reduce dust when using very dry rations in Australia. Do you think goats really need the molasses added? They naturally consume a lot of very bitter material that other species of livestock will not touch if allowed to freely browse, so I am inclined to think they do not have the "sweet tooth" that pigs and humans umder 50 y.o. have. Water is a lot cheaper if you have a dust problem. I have picked up a lot of useful goat info from US university sites in the last couple of years. Try them. Old McDonald.

  • 21 years ago

    Liquid molasses is very tough to distribute evenly in feed without something like a concrete mixer, and if you plan to make batches to last several days, it will freeze solid, or nearly so, if you don't get the consistency exactly right.

    Cracked corn, molasses, and soybean meal is about as far away from what nature intended for goats to eat as you can get, and enterotoxemia and/or pregnancy toxemia are risks to consider with high-energy feeds like that. The calcium:phosphorus ratio is bad, too.

    A better goat ration would include oats and only a minimal amount of soybean meal to raise the protien, but the C:P ratio is still off from the 2:1 that's best to avoid hypocalcemia in pregnant or lactating does and urinary calculi in males. Adding alfalfa pellets can fix that. Adding suppliments of vitamins A, D, and E is a good idea too, as well as selenium possibly, depending on where in Nebraska you are.

    An excellent guide for formulating rations for goats is the NRC Nutrient Requirements of Goats that not only gives the composition of animal feeds (including pasture plants, hay, silage, energy feeds and protien suppliments) but also the various nutritional requirements for growth, maintenence, lactation, and pregnancy. It also has discussions on energy, protien, vitamins, and minerals and how and why to balance them.

    It costs $30, but can be read or printed online for free at the link below. There are also free online calculators to figure the right weights of each ingredient to balance TDN, protien, and essential minerals.

    Good quality commercial feeds with added vitamins and minerals are easier and rarely more costly than mixing your own for that number of goats.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Nutrient Requirements of Goats