Milker Grain Mix
At Green Gables, we only feed grain to our milking does. Bucks and dry does may get whole oats if they are too thin or need extra energy, but we do not feed them any on a regular basis.
We have had several different mixes that we have tried. Both recipes make 1000#. We started with the recipe on the left, but when we wanted to feed organic, we started looking for different options. I also wanted to get away from SOY and it has so many issues (GMO, phytoestrogens, etc.). I could not find a reasonably priced alternative protein source. I was a bit worried that production would decrease if I lowered the protein, but when I replaced the high protein grain mix on the left with the much lower protein mix on the right, the production did not drop at all! I was thankful to be able to switch to a healthier feed without losing production.
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Non-Organic mix at about 18% protein Whole soybeans – 80#’sWhole corn – 500#’s Sure coat (molasses type thing) – 60#’s Seleno (organic selenium) –1# Black sunflower seeds – 25# Oats – 50# Yeast – 4# SBM (Soybean meal) – 80# Purina Mill’s Goat Mineral - 50# Diatomateous Earth - 4# Kelp – 20# Beet pulp – 80# 38% (dairy ration) – 70#’s |
Organic mix at about 12%
protein Whole organic oats - 400# Whole organic barley - 400# Whole organic corn - 200# I will add in black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) sometimes, but have not found a good organic source for this so it is only added occasionally. If I had a good source, I would probably replace 100# of corn with the BOSS. |