How to Feed Cracked Corn to Goats

How to Feed Cracked Corn to Goats. Although a goat's natural food is forage (in the form of grass, browse and hay), many goat owners find that supplementing this forage with a grain ration that includes cracked corn can boost your goat's overall health. Since cracked corn provides energy, giving your goats a feed ration that has a high percentage of this ingredient can help maximize their milk production and growth potential. According to TennesseeMeatGoats.com, goats fed excessive amounts of cracked corn can develop ruminal acidosis (excessive acidity) and bloat, so providing the correct amount of cracked corn to your goats is essential to maintaining their good health.

Things Needed

• Storage containers for grain

Step 1

Assess your herd's nutritional needs, writing down on a piece of paper the age, weight, breed, and physical condition of each goat. Take note of how many of your goats are still growing to adult size, as well as how many adult does (female goats) are lactating (producing milk) or gestating (carrying babies). Animals in these situations require more energy than a pet goat or a buck (adult male goat), which affects how much cracked corn you include in their daily grain ration.

Step 2

Talk to a goat nutritionist about formulating a grain ration for your goat herd that includes cracked corn. Your local feed store or county cooperative extension office should be able to refer you to a qualified goat nutritionist. Depending upon the type of goats that you raise, as well as the physical status of each of your goats (for instance, pregnant or lactating does), the goat nutritionist will provide you with a customized, well-rounded grain ration that includes sources of energy, fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. In addition to cracked corn, other ingredients that your goat nutritionist may include in your grain ration include oats, soybeans, beet pulp and molasses.

Step 3

Purchase your new cracked corn-based grain ration. Your local feed store may sell a pre-mixed grain ration for goats that includes cracked corn and meets your goats' nutritional needs adequately. Another option that is usually more economical is to have your goat grain ration custom-mixed at a local grain mill, if you have one available. Although you typically have to purchase a certain amount of grain at one time (often at least 300 pounds), you will usually spend less money per bag of feed than if you purchased a pre-mixed grain ration.

Step 4

Store your grain ration in a secure location to keep your goats from raiding your grain supply. Keeping your cracked corn feed in a separate room or building is the best way to ensure that your goats don't overeat on grain if they escape from their pen. Metal or plastic trash cans with tight-fitting lids provide extra protection for your grain from rodents.

Step 5

Introduce the new grain ration to your goats gradually to reduce their chances of developing digestive problems, such as acidosis. According to Susan Shoenian, a sheep and goat specialist at the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, introducing the new cracked corn-based grain ration to your goats over the course of 1 to 2 weeks gives their rumens enough time to adapt to the new feed ingredients.

References

• TennesseeMeatGoats.com
• SheepAndGoat.com