How much hay does a goat need for the winter and how to prepare it

How much hay does a goat need for the winter? This question is popular among novice farmers. It is especially relevant in the central regions of our country, where the stall period lasts 6-7 months. Indeed, from mid-October to mid-April, it is impossible to graze goats on pastures here. Let’s try to figure out how much and how to harvest hay, what other food to give goats in winter.

How much hay does a goat need for the winter

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The amount of hay for a goat for the winter

Hay is the main food for goats in winter. It stimulates digestion, contains the main nutrients needed by animals. At one time, the goat is fed about two kilograms of dry grass. Goats eat twice a day, which means they need 4 kilograms of ready-made hay per day. This means that 400-500 kilograms of this feed should be prepared for one goat. It is advisable to make an additional supply of dried grass, about 100-200 kg per individual. Indeed, in extreme cold, animals are fed more often, and part of the hay may deteriorate.

Breeding domestic goats require more food than females. One male per day needs 5-6 kg of roughage. This means that about 600-700 kilograms should be prepared for the winter. The needs of the young must be taken into account. Kids eat 30-40% less food than adult animals. For a day, one goat will need 1,5-2 kg of dry grass. The amount of hay per offspring should be calculated if mating was made in the fall and there are pregnant goats in the herd. Kids will be born in February or March, after a couple of weeks they need to be given complementary foods, and there is still not enough green fresh food on pastures at this time.

How to store hay and prepare for the winter

We figured out how much hay a goat needs for the winter. Now we will tell you how to prepare and store it. Mowing is best done in June or the first half of July, before the grasses begin to bloom. During flowering, the quality of hay decreases, the grass becomes tough, contains a lot of fiber, loses vitamins and nutrients. Leaves should prevail in hay, they contain three times more protein and 9,5 times more vitamins than stems. Cereal crops are mowed in the initial period of heading. Legumes – at the opening of the first buds.

Best of all, goats eat meadow, forest and steppe hay. It should contain legumes (clover, alfalfa) because they are the main source of protein. Chamomile has a positive effect on digestion, serves to prevent intestinal infections, and increases milk yield. But a large amount of these flowers in the hay makes the milk bitter. Tansy, wormwood has the same properties. You need to mow hay in dry weather, closer to dinner, so that the dew disappears. They dry it in the meadows, then put it in stacks. You can not harvest hay on wet pastures, it dries poorly, often rots.

Store stocks of hay in a separate room. If you put it in the attic above the barn, it will pick up the smell of secretions, and the goats will not want to eat it. The storage place must be dry and protected from rain. How to equip the room is easy to see in the photo. In winter, dry hay is turned over from time to time so that it does not rot and rot. Spoiled dry grass, with mold and signs of decay, should not be fed to goats. They will either not consume it, or they will get sick.

Branch food for goats

Goats are happy to eat dry brooms with leaves in winter. The following trees are best suited for harvesting:

  • Maple
  • Willow
  • Birch
  • Linden
  • Acacia
  • Ash
  • Hazel
  • Aspen

Dry nettle and quinoa are suitable for goats, such brooms are given once a week. Branches are harvested in June or July, until the leaves become too rough and have less fiber. Branches are cut no thicker than one centimeter in diameter. Their length is 50-60 centimeters. Bunches are knitted 10-12 centimeters in thickness, they are intercepted with a rope made of natural threads; wire or synthetic twine cannot be used. Dry in a place protected from direct sunlight and rain. In winter, a goat eats 1-2 brooms from branches per day. Therefore, you should prepare about 100-150 pieces per animal. Goats willingly eat fallen leaves. They are harvested in the middle of autumn, collected in bags and dried thoroughly. For one goat, you need to stock up about 400 kg of sheets, they can replace brooms.

Other winter foods

The winter diet of domestic goats includes concentrated and succulent feed. It is allowed to give animals compound feed intended for cows. Its amount should not exceed 0,5-1,5 kg per day. Too much concentrated feed leads to goat obesity and reduced productivity. It is advisable to give compound feed in a wet form, along with swill. Sometimes they are added to hay. Goats also willingly eat bran, pea and corn flour.

From succulent feed give silage, root crops, kitchen cleaning. Beets, carrots are fed raw, potatoes must be boiled. A goat will need about 2-4 kg of raw root vegetables and 1-2 kg of boiled potatoes per day.

From time to time, small potatoes are fed raw. Carefully monitor that green tubers do not get into the feed. Cleanings from the kitchen are sprinkled with pea flour, bran or mixed fodder. You can add food leftovers from the table to food (soups, cabbage, boiled potatoes). You can’t feed a goat with sour waste, it gets sick from them.

You can diversify the diet in winter with hay dust or leaves. They are steamed with boiling water and soldered to goats in a warm form. In addition to nutritious swill, clean water should be given to animals. Goats drink about 2-4 liters per day. The temperature of the water should be 6-10 degrees, approximately the same as in the room. Drinking too cold is harmful for goats, because it causes them to catch a cold. Warm water will spoil the animals, they will become more sensitive to cold, they will start to get sick more often.

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Anna Evans

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