Goat Feed Chart and Goat Weight Chart – a Full Guide

Introduction to goat feed chart and weight chart

Goat is a multi-use animal which is normally reared for the meat. In the different parts of the world, the goat is raised for meat, wool, milk, and leather. Goat is called “the poor man’s cow”. Naturally, goats are hardy and can tolerate weather changes highly. Then, they can survive for a long time without water in a heavy drought. During natural disasters and food crisis and they can even consume low quality food. This type of survival with low-quality food is not possible for other animals and their mouth are very strong among all the plants eating animals. With their strong mouth, they can eat any types of grasses, different types of leaves, and branches of trees, etc.

A step by step guide to goat feed chart and weight chart

Importance of goat farming

• Goat plays the main role in providing supplementary income and livelihood to millions of resource-poor farmers and landless laborers of rural India. Small ruminant rearing ensures self-employment and acts as a cushion in distress situations such as drought and famine.
• Goat manure is a rich fertilizer for fields. An average goat produces over a ton of manure every year, and the feces are in pellet form and makes them easy to handle. Goat manure is a good source of potassium, potash, and nitrogen, and also possibly other minerals as well.
• Goats have few demands of housing and management. They hardly require separate housing and happily share their homes with their owners or his other livestock.
• To increase income generation through scientific goat farming business in traditional approaches.
• The goat is a multi-purpose animal producing meat, milk, fiber, and manure. In hilly areas, goats are used for hauling light loads.
• Goats can be raised by landless agricultural laborers, ladies, and children as they can thrive well on a variety of leaves, shrubs, and kitchen waste, etc.
• Goat farming business can be a profitable occupation for a farmer and can fit well into mixed farming.
• Goats are cheaper to maintain, easily obtainable, and have a friendly disposition.
• Goat products such as milk and meat are not only nutritious and also easily digestible but are also a great source of regular income for the poor, landless, and marginal farmers. It contributes immensely to the rural economy and national income.
• For being a successful goat farmer, one needs to do some common tasks such as feeding, milking, and caring. These tasks do not need much equipment, capital, labor, or hard work.  Their return on investment ratio is very good. As goat farming business is profitable, hence many governments and non-government banks are giving loans for starting this business.

Feeding Management for goats as part of goat feed chart plan

Goats have larger belly comparatively to other cattle, and then eat smaller grasses which other cattle cannot. Goats can also eat bitter grasses. Goats can eat dry matter equivalent of about 4% of its body weight. Goats can produce more meat, milk by taking substandard grass than other cattle and goats do not like to eat wet and filthy things.

Feeding Management for smaller kids as part of goat feed chart plan

Offspring needs to be fed with milk for 2 to 3 times a day so that kids can be protected from diseases. After 2 weeks, progeny can have soft grass and feeds. Kids should be weaned from its mother after 10-12 weeks, and feed more forage and feeds with protein.

Feeding Management for adult goats as part of goat feed chart plan

After 4 months of parturition, Doeling and Buckling must be kept separate from preventing unnecessary mating behaviors from bucks to doeling. The growth of Boer cross kids must be 50-150 grams per day; if it is not measured, it must be learned that there is a problem in feeding management. As possible as for the whole 24 hours, green forage and fodders must be kept in the place of the stall. Salt and multi-nutrients minerals cake and clean water adequately need to be fed to goats.

Methods of preparation of balanced feed for goats by using raw materials

To obtain cheap feed is a very important element for getting profit from any livestock, and as much as 50% cost is incurred in Goat farming. Healthy livestock can be formed by ensuring proper quantity and balanced feeding. To get maximum benefit, focus to be given in fodder plants than into feeds.

• Crops (non-leguminous) – 3 parts (different varieties of crops such as maize, wheat, bran-roughage, products from maize, wheat, millet, rice, etc.)
• Pulses (Leguminous) or wastages from oilseeds (bi-products) – 1 part
• By mixing crops and legumes or different types of balance feed can be prepared.
• If dry bi-product of oilseeds is available, it is necessary to break in small particles, and better to be roasted, but it is not necessary if it is fed after cooking.
• Likewise, it can be better to mix 1 kg salt, 1 kg mixture of minerals, and 25 grams of vitamin “A” supplement with 100 kg feed, and it should be mixed well 2 to 3 times to mix up very well.

How to feed a goat for weight gain

Raising meat goats can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but can also be very challenging. With a bit of preparation and understanding of the nutritional needs of goats, even the newest farmer can raise happy, healthy, and fattened goats. Goats are energetic and burn a lot of calories through running around, so finding the right balance of nutrition to keep them gaining weight can be a challenge for even the most experienced farmer.

Items you will need

• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Oats or Corn
• Protein
• Energy
• Water

Required nutrients in the goat feed are;

Protein

For the quality meat production, Enough Protein in the Diet is quite needed. Protein helps in muscle growth of goats and then keeps the goat free from weakness. Extra protein must be present in the diet of Lactating goat and Breeder of the Farm.

Energy

All the feed provides energy but the concentrate feed is full of energy and energy is quite much needed for daily routine like exercise, walking, ruminating, and another Daily routine of goats. The good source of energy is Fat, Grains, and Bran, etc.

Minerals

The minerals in the goat feed keep them free from stress as minerals help in the proper functioning of Brain. The minerals help in bone growth or milk production. So, the proper amount of minerals is much needed in the goat feed. Important minerals for the goats are Calcium, phosphorus potassium, selenium, copper, and salt.

Vitamins 

Vitamins in the goat feed are required for better growth and good health. The B vitamins help in cell growth also important and it also helps in feed digestion and proper working of metabolism. Important vitamins for Goats are Vitamin C, B1, B12, A, D, E, and K.

Water

Freshwater must be present 24 hours in front of the goats. Water is required for the proper working of the body. It helps with food digestion and milk production.

Feed the goat’s corn or oats – Grains are the quickest, easiest method to fatten up a goat because of the high carbohydrate content, your goat should receive no more than 1 1/2 pounds of grain per day. Goats must be fed grains out of a trough or hand-fed. The food must not be sprinkled on the ground.

Feed the goats grass – Your goat must feed daily in a field or pasture. Eating grass, plants, and bugs is beneficial and one of the most “natural” ways for a goat to eat. It’s very inexpensive for you.

Give your goats a vitamin and mineral supplement – The vitamins and minerals you provide a goat with will vary based on the levels of carbohydrates, fats, and protein you decide to feed a goat. Vitamins and minerals can be purchased specifically for goats at feed stores. Calcium is perhaps the most popular mineral for goats, but phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, iron, and copper are just as important and must not be overlooked.

Feed your goats protein – The protein is important because it helps goat build muscle, and it also aids in the proper levels of carbohydrate digestions. When protein is lacking in a goat’s diet, the carbohydrates will digest too quickly, decreasing the goat’s energy and affecting the absorption of minerals.

Some important green forages/feed chart for a goat

Cowpea, Sorghum, Pearl millet, Lucerne, Hedge Lucerne, maize grass, cowpea, Napier grass or Elephant grass), Guinea, Beffel grass, Marvel grass, Sewan grass, cluster bean, and fenugreek Grass are some important green forages for goats.

The green forages should have high leaves and fewer stems. The stem must be soft or the color should be dark green.

Maize Fodder – 9 to 10% crude protein and 70% Moisture

Sorghum – 6 to 7% crude protein 70% Moisture

Cowpea – 16 to 18% crude protein and 60 to 70% Moisture

A healthy goat eats about 8 to 10% of its body weight per day, which comprises of green fodder, dry and concentrated fodder and minerals in traces. Though, this feeding capacity decreases during the disease and increases during lactation.

Feeding is an essential aspect of goat raising and can be the highest expense of any goat farm operation. Generally, goats raised for meat need high-quality feed and require an optimum balance of nutrients to achieve maximum profit potential. Because of unique physiology, meat goats do not fatten as cattle or sheep do, and rates of a weight gain are smaller. Therefore, profitable goat production can be achieved by optimizing the use of high-quality feed.

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Concentrate goat feed chart

Starter goat feed must be fed up to the age of 6 months for better results. It can feed according to the weight of the goats. The Goal of the starter feed is to makes the good structure of kids. If we provide good feed in the starting then the weight of the goat must be increase regularly up to their slaughter age.

The pregnant goat and lactating goat required the extra nutritious feed. Because they require extra energy. In the last 2 months of pregnancy, proper care and management are required. When the goat is in the milking period they required feed to produce milk or to keep their health.

All the production of the goat farm and health of kids depend on Breeder. If the breeder is healthy then the future production of the incoming kids will be healthy. So, some extra feed is required for the farm Breeder.  Concentrate feed chart for goats is given below;

How to calculate goat weight

Guide to determine the weight of livestock goat;

It is very important to know the weight of a goat when calculating medicine dosages, balancing rations, selling meat kids, and monitoring the rate of gain. The best process is to weigh the goat on a livestock scale. If a scale is not available, other methods will give a fairly close estimation of the goat’s weight.

The girth measurement is taken by placing tape around the animal’s girth. The tape encircles the animal behind the withers on top and just behind the elbows on the bottom. The length of the animal from the point of the shoulder to the pin bone is measured. The tape should be pliable enough to bend around to the point of the shoulder and the pin bone. If the goat is not too heavy, pick it up and then stand on a bathroom scale. Subtracting weight from the total will determine the goat’s weight.

The below methods use measurements of body size to estimate the weight of the goat. While these are quite accurate for average-sized goats, goats that are extremely thin, obese, and pregnant will vary from the estimated weights. By using a cloth measuring tape, measure in inches around the goat’s heart girth and the distance from the point of the shoulder to the pin bone. Use the following formula to estimate the weight in pounds.

Make sure to measure girth about the location of the animals or goat heart.

Calculate body weight using the formula;

HEART GIRTH x HEART GIRTH x BODY LENGTH / 300 = GOAT WEIGHT IN POUNDS

For example, if a goat has a heart girth equal to 35 inches and a body length equal to 30 inches, the calculation would be (35 x 35 x 30) / 300 = 122 lbs

Use the following table to look up the goat’s estimated weight;

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