Things You'll Need
- Goat grain concentrate
- Yeast culture powder
- Goat collar
- Goat leash
- Boulders or wooden ramps
Instructions
Supplement your goats' forage diet with 1 to 4 pounds of flaked, rolled or pelleted grain concentrate each day, depending upon your goats' ages. Select a grain mix that is designed specifically for goats, which helps ensure that your goats obtain the proper amount of essential health-enhancing vitamins and minerals, such as selenium and copper. Improve daily weight gain, and encourage increased muscle development and body conditioning by choosing a concentrate that features protein levels between 16 and 20 percent.
Feed your goats yeast culture, a powdered dietary supplement that may help improve a goat's appetite and minimize potential digestive upset, especially when you are adding grain to your goat's diet, according to Dr. David Pugh, veterinarian and author of "Sheep and Goat Medicine." Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 ounce of the powdered yeast culture across the top of each goat's grain ration each day before you feed them.
Encourage your goats to exercise daily. Minimize fat gain, and encourage muscle development by taking each goat for a 30- to 45-minute walk each day. Place large rocks or inclined wooden ramps in their paddock for them to climb and jump on throughout the day, which helps boost appetites and build muscle mass.
Check your goats closely for symptoms of a stomach worm infestation, which may compromise and slow their daily weight gain. Examine the insides of their eyelids once every five to seven days for pale pink or gray-tinged conjunctiva, a key sign of a heavy stomach worm infestation. Other symptoms that may indicate a worm infection include a sluggish appetite, listlessness, weight loss and loose stool. Collect a stool sample from affected goats, and take it to your veterinarian for proper worm identification and to obtain a wormer medication that is safe for use in goats.