How much pasture does a dairy goat need?

At least 15 square feet of bedded area should be provided for each goat. The outside exercise lot should provide a minimum of 25 square feet of space per animal, well-drained and properly fenced. Dairy goats have a strong herd instinct and prefer the companionship of at least one other goat.

What is the best pasture for goats?

Alfalfa, timothy or some other pasture mix is a good option, fed free-choice up to the amount that they will clean up without wasting. Feeding some hay cubes in addition to hay is fine, but be aware that your goats need the long fibers found in hay and browse to maintain healthy fiber balance in their digestive system.

How much pasture does a goat need?

Grazing space is extremely important for goats if you plan to allow them to graze off of the land. Each goat requires an area about 30 to 50 square feet for grazing. Goats should also receive supplemental foods, such as hay and grain, if they cannot get enough fresh grass each day.

How many dairy goats can you have per acre?

Land requirement: Goats can be reared intensively on small acreage by using supplemental feed. If using an extensive system, 2 to 10 goats per acre is a rough guide depending on the supply of grass and brush. Goats are top down grazers and will select from weeds, leaves and grasses to meet their own requirements.

How many acres do you need for goat grazing?

How Many Goats Per Acre? Goats are similar to sheep in that you can support about six to eight goats on an acre of land. Because goats are browsers, not grazers, it will be important that the land you have will supply them with the sort of forage they like to eat—see below.

How much pasture does a goat need per day?

Forage can be a grass, or a legume such as alfalfa. Each goat needs about two to four pounds of hay per day (3-4% of body weight in pounds), which can be fed free choice or twice a day. If good range isn’t available, dry grass forage of a horse quality is acceptable.

Should I mow my goat pasture?

Goats are not pasture animals. As grasses grow, the tips get less digestible to goats. Pastures that have tall grasses tend to stay wet at ground level, increasing the exposure to worms, pasteurella, and other organisms. Mow your pastures to about 8 inches in height so that the underlying ground dries out.

Do goats need hay if they have pasture?

Goats need hay. If you have a pasture, then you’ll only need to give them hay during the times of the year when they can’t graze. If you don’t raise alfalfa, but you want your goats to get that extra protein, then feed them alfalfa hay twice per day while they forage too.

Why are goats bad for grass pastures?

Goats are more likely to select plant parts containing tannins than other domesticated ruminant animals. Goats even sometimes climb into trees or shrubs to consume the desired forage. In a pasture situation, goats tend to graze from the top to the bottom of plants and do not like to graze near the soil surface.

What kind of food does a dairy goat need?

Dairy goats need a year-round supply of roughage, such as pasture, browse or well-cured hay. Winter browse and pastures should be supplemented with hay. Milking, breeding and growing stock need a daily portion of legume hay, such as alfalfa. Kids and bucks need a balanced grain ration and milkers should be fed a standard dairy grain ration.

What kind of pasture does a dairy goat live in?

Dairy goats will graze grass pastures, but prefer to browse brushlands and a varied selection of pasture plants, including non-noxious weeds. Dairy goats seldom thrive when tethered.

What’s the best way to manage a goat pasture?

The basic principle of control grazing is to allow goats to graze for a limited time, leaving a leafy stubble, and then to move them to another pasture, paddock or sub-paddock. Smaller paddocks are more uniformly grazed and surplus paddocks can be harvested for hay.

What kind of grass do goats graze on?

When goats in early lactation graze leafy cereal grains, annual ryegrass or grass and legume pastures which have been fertilized with nitrogen on soils low in phosphorous but high in potassium, some of the higher producing females can be at risk for grass tetany.