Diet and Digestion
Goats are related to other ruminant cud-chewing animals such as cattle and sheep. For this reason, it was once believed that goats could be fed the same as their ruminant cousins. But goats are primarily browsers, selectively eating a wide variety of shrubs, woody plants, weeds, and briars. Unfortunately many goats, especially does, are unable to get enough nutrients from browse alone to meet their needs. It is also important to realize that certain types of browse pose a danger including: wild cherry, hemlock, azaleas and species of the laurel family are all poisonous to goats.
To provide the nutrition goats need to reach their full potential, supplemental feeding is needed.
Problems with Hay and Pasture
Hay and pasture may vary considerably in quality and nutrient value. Of particular concern is the extreme variation that occurs in key nutrients such as protein, fiber and energy needed to promote growth and good milk production. Protein quality can also vary. Inconsistencies in quality can be influenced by climate, land use and time of year. Controlling these inconsistencies is an important part of providing the nutrition your goats need to lead healthy, productive lives. For this reason, HAF has developed a full line of goat feeds designed to take the guesswork out of feeding goats for all life and development stages.
The Importance of Nutritional Balance
The productivity and well-being of your goats depends largely on the quality and quantity of the feeding program you provide. Balancing your goat’s feeding program and providing the correct diet ensures your goats are receiving the total sum of the daily nutrients they need for optimal health.
Nutrient needs will vary depending on the goat’s life stage and activity level. A feeding program balanced for maintenance, for example, will not be sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of growth, pregnancy, lactation, wool production or for developing body conditioning and coat quality for showing. As nutritional demands rise with increased production demands, it will be important to readjust your goat’s diet and feeding program accordingly.
Supplementing A Forage Diet
The nutrient quality of forage can vary from season to season or even field to field as discussed earlier. So, when you want your goats to thrive, you should consider adding a supplemental feed to their forage diet. Supplemental feeds, like ANUPAM Goat Feed, provide the consistent nutrients not found in forage to ensure optimum nutrition. Supplemental feeds come in coarse grain mixtures or pelleted forms. ANUPAM Goat Mash is a coarse grain mixture.
Using A Complete Feed
Roughage is an essential part of good goat nutrition. But many times good quality forage is not available to provide roughage. Complete feeds not only contain the built-in roughage goats need, but other important nutrients as well. So with a complete feed, like Anupam Goat Feeds you know your goats are consistently receiving total nutrition in every bite. Complete feeds are convenient too – minimizing clean-up from wasted or uneaten forage.
Nutritional Confidence Based on Research and Testing
Hindustan Animal Feeds has invested years of research and field-testing to produce a full line of feeds designed specifically for the unique nutritional requirements of goats. ANUPAM Goat Rations provide the proper balance of high quality proteins, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients goats need to reach their full potential. These feeds are developed as highly palatable supplements and complete feed in both sweet coarse and pelleted rations.
So whether you want to enhance kid development, improve lactation, replenish does after kidding or stimulate weight gain, you can be confident you are providing complete goat nutrition management backed by research and the HAF’s commitment to quality.