Feeding dairy goats properly is a very important aspect of raising dairy goats. Since it is high in protein, alfalfa is a good choice for dairy goats if they are producing milk because it promotes excellent milk production. A high quality grass hay is okay for wethers, kids, and dry does (does who are not lactating). We keep all of our Nubian dairy goats and Alpine dairy goats in the same barn, so it is not possible to feed grass hay to some and alfalfa to others, so we just feed them all alfalfa. Alfalfa is more expensive in western Oregon where we live, but we feel it is necessary since we milk some of our does. Someone gave us one ton of grass hay recently, so we give some as a treat to our goats in the evening. If there is a large, dry area of your barn which your goats don't have access to, it will save you a lot of money in the long-run if you purchase alfalfa and/or good quality grass hay by the ton from a farmer who grows these. Our favorite is the 3rd cutting of alfalfa. Our second favorite is the 4th cutting followed by the 2nd, and the 1st cutting is our least favorite due to the fact that it is full of stems. The best alfalfa in the U.S. is grown in the Rockies and parts of eastern Oregon and Washington.

When our kids are very young, and they are in a stall separated from the rest of the herd, we feed them high quality grass hay. Once a day we feed our kids one cup of concentrate (grain). Wethers can have one cup of concentrate, but it is not necessary to give them any at all. We don't keep our wethers anymore; instead, we just keep our female goats. When we did keep our wethers, they ate alfalfa with the rest of the goats. Then we learned that a diet too rich in alfalfa can cause kidney stones in wethers if they have been banded. If they are castrated with a knife they are much less likely to get kidney stones from alfalfa.

When our does freshen (begin producing milk after they have their babies), we feed them 6 cups of grain at each milking. After one year or so, their milk starts decreasing, and sometimes their intake of grain lessens as well, so we feed them as much as they want up to 6 cups at each milking. Our favorite commercial brand which our goats like is Super Goat by Albers. If you decide to switch from one brand to another, add the new brand gradually. A very smart thing to do is to mix your own grains. It is time consuming, but healthier and less expensive in the long run. You can research how to do this on internet.

A pregnant dry doe needs to be fed one pound of concentrate each day. At 16 weeks into her pregnancy, start slowly increasing her grain until it reaches 3 lbs. per day by the due date.

Our goats have a relatively small pasture, so we bring them treats from our garden daily in the summer, such as collard greens, kale, comfrey and sunflower leaves. Don't give them too much since too much could upset their rumen. However, it is okay to be generous with blackberry leaves. Blackberries grow in abundance on our property, but since they don’t grow in their pasture, in the summer each day we fill a wheelbarrow full of blackberry clippings and bring it to them.  They love it, and it is great for them.  Maple leaves and apple tree leaves are good for them too, and they love them. 

In the fall our goats like chunks of pumpkin from our garden; make sure you don't cut the pieces too large. Apples and pears are good for goats, but in small amounts.  Don’t give too many apples to a lactating doe or she will dry up. Black oil sunflower seeds are best for dairy goats, but sometimes we give sunflower seeds from our garden to the goats, just not too many.  Flax seeds can be given to them.  Don’t feed the stalk of the corn, just the leaves.

Never feed pines needles to a pregnant goat since the pointy needles can cause abortions.

There are a lot plants and weeds that are poisonous to goats. Here are some recommended books:

A Guide to Plant Poisoning of Animals in North America by Anthony P. Knight, Richard Walter

Livestock-poisoning plants of Oregon by Helen Margaret Gilkey

Sheep and Goat Medicine by D.G. Pugh

A good website listing plants poisonous to livestock is:
www.ansci.cornell.edu/...comlist.html

To find out what poisonous plants to goats are in your area of the country, you might try asking your extension service.

A few poisonous plants to goats are bracken fern, larkspur and columbine.

Some poisonous weeds may grow in your goat pasture.  You may not realize they are growing if you keep your goats in the same pasture because they will graze everything before you get a chance to see the weeds grow tall enough to tell what they are.  It is a great idea to rotate pastures.  One of the reasons is so while you have them in one pasture for several months, the weeds in the other pasture will grow so you can dig out the poisonous ones.  Another reason to rotate pastures is if you keep them in only one pasture, they are more likely to get worms. If you see mushrooms coming up, make sure you dig them out.

Each day we clean out their small containers and put as much of the following as our goats will eat in one day.  Diatemaceous earth, a natural substance, kills worms, bugs, or insects in their bodies. It is okay to feed this to pregnant does. Make sure you buy a food grade diatomaceous earth.  Kelp is great for them and is good source of iodine.  Both of these can be purchased from garden supply stores.  Baking soda can be purchased in a large bag at Costco, and a goat mineral mix can be purchased at a feed store. Ours particularly like a type called SWANGO.   A block of salt should be placed on something off of the ground so the goats can reach it easily to lick it whenever they want.  In Oregon there is a selenium deficiency, so we have to buy selenium salt licks.  Loose selenium salt is also an option, but the rainy Oregon winter causes way too much moisture to accumulate on the loose salt making it unappetizing.

Every morning we clean their large water buckets and fill them with fresh water.  In the summer on hot days, we check a few times a day to make sure they have plenty of water, and on particular scorching days, we add cold water.  On freezing winter days, if the water in their buckets is frozen, we add hot water to melt the ice.  Even if there is no ice in their buckets, in the mornings on cold winter days, we fill their buckets with hot tap water from our house which they love to drink. Dairy goats need to stay hydrated, so it is important to make the water desirable in any kind of weather. The more goats we have, the more buckets of water we fill.  Hanging water buckets on a barn wall is a good idea to prevent the buckets from being knocked over. Rubber buckets are very smart to have if you live in a cold climate since they don't crack nearly as easily as plastic buckets.  

Putting a small amount of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar on top of their concentrate (grain) helps prevent mastitis and worms.  Try to start them on this when they are kids or they will probably never acquire a taste for it.