Raising goats on your family or hobby farm can be a lot of fun; we sure have enjoyed having goats on our small homestead over the past few years!
Through our experience with goats, we’ve come to understand all about their ruminant digestive system, particular dietary needs, as well as just how much goats eat per day.
Fortunately, we are gonna share all of our experience based knowledge in this best guide post on just how much foodstuff goats should and need to eat each day, so read on!
| Foodstuff | Healthy Intake Per Day |
| Hay and forage plant material | Unlimited amounts, at least 3-4% of body weight |
| Grains (winter months) | 0.5-1.0 lbs of a 14-16% protein blend |
| Goat Pellets | About 1.5-2% of body weight |
| Mineral and Vitamin Supplements | Mineral/salt block or 1 handful of fruit/veggie treats. No more than ¼ to ½ cup per day |
NOTE: Pregnant and/or lactating nannies require more energy and nutrient intake, head to the Feeding Pregnant and Lactating Nannies section of this post for more information.
Feeding Goats: Ruminant Digestive Systems
Before we go into the what and how much of feeding goats, we’ve got to talk about their unique digestive system.
Goats are ungulates, which is just another word for hooved animals. And because they are even toed ungulates (if you look you’ll notice your goats’ hooves have one separation, making it seem as if they have two, hooved “toes”), goats are also ruminants.
Ruminants are animals that chew their cud and have four stomach compartments, all specialized in the digestion of course, high fiber plant materials.
The very first stomach compartment, called the rumen, is really just a huge fermentation container where specialized gut bacterias and protozoans provide the necessary enzymes to break down the otherwise indigestible plant fibers that goats thrive off of.
A goat’s digestive system has evolved to be so efficient in this way that they must ingest high amounts of coarse and fibrous plant materials in order to remain healthy.
How Goats Eat: Browsing vs Grazing
Just how do goats ingest such high amounts of coarse and fibrous plant materials?
They eat by browsing or foraging rather than grazing.
The big difference between browsers (i.e. goats) and grazers (i.e. cows), is that browsers eat various parts of a plant and tougher plants. They are also usually more picky, choosing only the most tender or largest buds for example.
On the other hand, grazers eat the entire plant, often down to the ground, without discrimination. Grazers also don’t like very coarse or tough plant materials.
Common foodstuff that foragers like goats enjoy include:
- Leaves
- Bark
- Buds
- Fruits
- Stems
- Twigs
- Flowers
- Branches
- Roots
H2 Feeding Goats: Dietary Needs
The dietary and nutritional needs of goats also determines how much they eat per day.
The average adult goat requires 3-4% of their body weight in dry matter food intake per day.
This means if your goat weighs 100 lbs they need about 3-4 lbs of dry foodstuff per day. And if you work in kilos, a 45 kilo goat would need 1.4 – 1.8 kg of dry foodstuff per day.
What is dry foodstuff for goats?
Great question, dry foodstuff for goats is any high fiber dry plant material (foraged or high quality hay).
How Much Hay Does A Goat Eat
You can offer your goats unlimited amounts of hay.Goats can eat up to 92% of their daily diet in hay thanks to its extremely high fiber content.
That could be up to 4 lbs of hay a day; we keep our goats’ hay feeder topped off and allow them to eat as much hay as they want.
Helping Your Goats Meet Their Nutritional Need
Like all other animals, goats do require certain amounts of vitamins and minerals.
You can learn more about goat’s micronutrient needs from the MSD veterinary manual for goat nutrition.
Notice that, as long as your goats have access to quality pasture that you rotate every 30-31 days, their basic micronutrient vitamin and mineral requirements are pretty much covered!
In addition, goats can actually synthesize all their required B and K vitamins in their rumen thanks to their bacterial friends.
However, it is a great idea to provide your trip of goats with a salt and/or mineral lick. We ensure there is one for our goats during winter months, when the foraged foods on our land aren’t as vitamin and mineral rich.
Grains For Goats: Do Goats Need Grain Everyday?
Goat’s can eat grains, but grains should never be a main part of their diet.
A goat’s digestive system did not evolve to digest large quantities of grains, so we always err on the side of caution when it comes to giving our goats grains.
Too many grains can lead to serious health issues, including:
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Weight gain or weight loss
- Bad eating habits
We stick to about 0.5-1 lb grain per day of a 14-16% protein goat blend and have found that our goats have no issues digestively.
We also always separate our goats when offering them grains so that they can all enjoy eating without competition.
Feeding Pregnant and Lactating Nannies
Pregnant and/or lactating nannies, or young growing goats, have higher energy requirements and can greatly benefit from small amounts of daily grains year round.
We offer up to 2 lb of grains for our pregnant or lactating nannies daily and they have consistently birthed healthy kids and had rich milk!
Read more about how old your goats need to be before breeding them here.
As for all your other goats: you can feel free to offer them a handful or so of grains as a nice treat throughout winter months, but grains should be distributed sparingly.
PRO TIP: give your goats access to baking soda (we put it in a small feed bucket and give our goats free-access to it) if they are eating grains. Grains can cause the rumen to become acidic, and baking soda is a safe, ingestible base that can balance out rumen pH and help avoid GI tract issues.
What To Feed Goats In Winter
Depending on where you live the winter season can offer much less foragable foodstuff for your herd.
Goats may need to eat higher quantities of barks, twigs, needles and dead plant matter, which can be nutritionally wanting.
This is why we often supplement our goat’s diets in winter with high quality goat pellets and unlimited hay, as well as a few handfuls of grains as mentioned above.
In addition, we always offer about ¼ to ½ cup of black oil sunflower seeds alongside our goats’ winter grains for an extra nutritious and protein rich energy boost.
Pellets for Goats
We like to offer our goats alfalfa pellets in the winter months, as alfalfa is high in protein and easily digestable.
Nonetheless, pellets should never take the place of foraged food or hay. We’ve come up with a practice to ensure our goats eat hay alongside the pellets: we mix the two in a feed bucket first before offering them to our goats!
How Much Pellets To Feed Goats
When we offer our goats pellets we keep it to about a half of the poundage of dry matter they receive.
So for example: we let our 100 lb goat eat 1-2 lbs of pellets per day. A 45 kg goat could eat 0.5-1.5 kg of pellets daily.
How Often Do You Feed A Goat
Goats can remain in their pasture all day and can have unlimited access to hay.
When we offer our goats pellets or grains we usually offer a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening.
Some hobby farmers like to offer all supplemental foods at one time, but our goats seem to enjoy starting and ending their day with these tasty bits!
Can You Overfeed A Goat
Yes, you can absolutely overfeed a goat.
Goats are curious animals and love to chew, which can get them into trouble if you don’t monitor them well.
If a goat overeats they can suffer from serious bloating, constipation, diarrhea and dehydration.
All of these, if not remedied quickly and properly, can lead to death.
If you think your goat may have overeating, or eaten something toxic, we highly recommend contacting your local veterinarian for emergency help.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To How Much Do Goats Eat Per Day
Do You Need To Keep Goat Food Off The Ground?
Yes, keeping your goat’s foodstuff (hay, pellets, grains, mineral supplement blocks) off the ground is very important.
Foodstuff that is directly on the ground is more likely to collect inedible and dangerous materials, including feces, dirt and small pests.
What Is The Best Way To Store Goat Food?
We store all of our animal’s pellets, grains, and mineral supplements in metal bins that have clasps closer.
This keeps curious pests (and farm animals!) out and helps it all stay fresher for longer!
Final Thoughts On How Much Goats Eat Daily
While we’ve shared our experience based knowledge and best practices when it comes to feeding your goats in this post, it is important to realize that the exact daily food intake of your goats can be influenced by breed, size, life stage and productivity, food and water availability, and environment.
Raising goats isn’t an exact science. We encourage you to interact with your trip, observing how they respond to certain foods and pastures, and continue learning about best animal husbandry practices!
For more on raising and breeding goats on your hobby farm or homestead, read up on how to tell when goats are in heat.