Dairy Goats enjoy a regular supply of green feed and it helps with the costs of keeping your dairy goat.

Always make sure the green feed is fresh and free from sprays.

 

Some of the crops that can be grown to advantage and can be either grazed or cut and fed to the dairy goat are: -

1.      Oats – this can be harvested several times and can be grown in small areas if there are beds free in the vegetable garden. The stubble can be dug in when it is finished and the bed prepared for the next vegetable crop.

 

2.      Kale and all other cabbages, cauliflowers etc. is all good feed particularly the outer leaves. But remember that too much of this can give the milk a taste. Also remember if you are obtaining these from an outside source wash carefully to remove any spray residue.

 

3.      Lucerne should be sown in an area that you can keep as a permanent bed as it will last for a long time if top dressed with manure annually and cut just as it begins to flower.

 

4.      Comfrey is an excellent green for the summer and this is another green that will last for years if it has a good dressing of goat manure in the winter.

 

5.      Most garden vegetables such as carrots, corn, silver beet, celery tops. Pea and bean bushes after you have picked the crop for the house.

 

6.      Sunflowers also make a valuable addition to their diet.

 

7.      Goats also enjoy branches from trees including wattle, gum, bull oak she oak, Lucerne and quite a few others but remember if getting these outside your own property that they may have been sprayed and this could prove fatal.

 

8.      Some garden plants suitable for feeding to goats are Roses, herbs such as sage, thyme and lavender in small quantities, raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries. Apple, apricot, nectarine, plum and pear prunings, willow is well liked by goats also.

 

Some plants are unsuitable for your Dairy Goat.

 

Azalea, Rhododendron, Foxglove, Lilac, Hellesorus (Christmas rose) Yew, Laurel, Fuchsia, Poppy, Laburnum, Potato tops, Rhubarb leaves, bulbs, Hydrangea, Oleander, Belladonna, (deadly nightshade) just to mention a few.

If unsure the best idea is do not feed it.

 

Always remember when feeding anything new to your goat it should be introduced slowly. Make sure they have a good feed of hay before being turned on to lush feed.