Example Goat Diets

There is a wide variety of production systems in which goats are raised in the United States. Likewise, goats consume many different types of vegetation and are fed various diets and supplements mixed on a farm or purchased from local sources. The institute receives many questions about types of diets and supplements that can be used with goats. Listed below are some of the diets and supplements fed at the institute in the past few years. Many of these have been used in experiments, although some are fed to maintain goats when not used in research. Research diets and supplements may have been formulated for specific reasons rather than to maximize profit from production. Therefore, there are also comments regarding how some of these diets or supplements might be altered for greater utility under field production conditions. Also, in some instances, brand names of particular commercial feed products or their nutrient concentrations may be listed. This does not imply endorsement by eXtension or that other products might not be equally suitable.