Goats grow and breed best on a mix of browsing, green fodder, some dry fodder and, at the right times, a little concentrate. Most of the feed can come from grazing and from fodder you grow yourself; concentrate is mainly for pregnant and milking does, growing kids and breeding bucks. Clean water, salt and mineral mixture every day complete the diet.
Choose a feeding system
| System | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Grazing | Goats graze and browse all day and come back at night | Plenty of grazing land, little cash |
| Grazing plus stall feeding | Some hours of grazing, plus fodder and concentrate in the shed | Most small farmers |
| Stall feeding | Goats stay in the shed; all fodder is cut and carried to them | Little grazing land, own irrigated fodder plot |
- In the mixed system, goats graze 3–5 hours a day (TNAU); ICAR-CIRG suggests 6–8 hours with some grain (ICAR-CIRG). ICAR-CIRG says moving from grazing alone to this system can raise output by 40–100% (ICAR-CIRG).
- For stall feeding, NABARD reckons one acre of irrigated fodder land can support about 25 goats (NABARD).
- If you graze, move the flock between plots (rotational grazing). The grass gets time to regrow, and TNAU notes it also helps control worms (TNAU).
What goats eat
Goats prefer leaves and legumes to plain grass, and they like variety (TNAU). Plan three kinds of feed:
- Green fodder: grasses such as Cumbu Napier hybrid (CO-4 and others) and guinea grass; legumes such as velimasal (hedge lucerne), cowpea, lucerne and stylo; tree leaves such as agathi, subabul and glyricidia, and local trees like neem, vagai and karuvel (TNAU, TNAU).
- Dry fodder: legume straws such as groundnut haulms and the dried plants of red gram, black gram and green gram, plus dry tree leaves (TNAU). ICAR-CIRG advises legume straw rather than wheat straw (ICAR-CIRG).
- Concentrate: crushed grain, bran and oil cake, with mineral mixture and salt (see the next section).
Feed grass and legumes together, about half and half (NABARD). Chop the fodder and serve small amounts in racks a few times a day — goats waste fodder that is trampled or wet (TNAU).
Buy fodder and feed near you
Farmers near you sell paddy straw, green fodder, silage and feed on Kattutharai. Call the seller and check the load before you pay.
Concentrate, mineral mixture and salt
ICAR-CIRG says concentrate is a must for does in late pregnancy, kids growing from 3 to 9 months, does in their first 60–90 days of milking, and bucks in the breeding season. When grazing is poor, give adults about 150–250 g a day; pregnant, milking and growing goats need an extra 150–250 g (ICAR-CIRG).
An example concentrate mix from NABARD, by weight (NABARD):
| Ingredient | Parts in 100 |
|---|---|
| Bajra (or maize) | 40 |
| De-oiled groundnut cake | 25 |
| Rice bran | 20 |
| Dal chuni (broken pulses and husk) | 13 |
| Mineral mixture | 1.5 |
| Salt | 0.5 |
- Crush or grind the grain before mixing (ICAR-CIRG).
- Whatever recipe you use, keep about 1.5–2% mineral mixture and 0.5–1% salt in it (NABARD, ICAR-CIRG).
- Also hang a lump of rock salt or keep a salt lick where the goats can reach it (TNAU).
- Buy a mineral mixture made for livestock, from a shop you trust.
Feeding by stage
These amounts come from the TNAU–TANUVAS feeding guide (TNAU):
| Goat | Fodder | Concentrate a day |
|---|---|---|
| Doe, not pregnant | Good grazing is enough | None; 150–200 g if grazing is poor |
| Doe, first 4 months of pregnancy | 4–5 hours of grazing + about 5 kg green fodder | Only if grazing is poor |
| Doe, last month of pregnancy | 4–5 hours of good grazing + about 7 kg green fodder | 250–350 g |
| Milking doe | 6–8 hours of grazing + 10 kg green fodder or 800 g legume hay | Or 400 g instead of the extra fodder |
| Young goat, 3–12 months | About 8 hours of grazing; dry fodder at night in summer and on rainy days | 100–200 g |
| Breeding buck | Grazes with the does | About 500 g if fed separately |
- From about day 100 of pregnancy, keep the doe apart and feed her better (ICAR-CIRG).
- In the breeding season, give bucks an extra 200–300 g of grain so they do not lose weight (ICAR-CIRG).
- Around kidding: cut down the grain, give good dry fodder freely and plenty of clean water. Feed lightly on the day of kidding, give lukewarm water after it, and then build the feed up slowly (TNAU).
- Extra feed before mating helps does conceive — see flushing.
Feeding kids
- Kids must get colostrum (the first milk) within the first half hour after birth (TNAU). More in Goat kid care: colostrum, creep feed and weaning.
- Keep the kids with their mother for the first 2–3 days; after that, let them suckle 2–3 times a day until weaning (TNAU).
- From about 2 weeks, offer tender green leaves to nibble. From about 1 month, give a starter mix (creep feed): begin with 50–100 g a day and increase to about 200–250 g by 3 months (TNAU).
- Keep kids in the shed for their first 2–3 months instead of sending them out to graze; give them tender tree leaves and crushed grain there (ICAR-CIRG).
- Wean at about 3 months (ICAR-CIRG).
Water
- Keep clean water in front of young kids all the time, and give adults water at least 2–3 times a day (ICAR-CIRG).
- Milking does, goats on dry fodder and all goats on hot days drink more — keep the trough full and in the shade.
- Wash the trough every day.
Grow your own fodder
Plan green fodder for the whole year, not only for the rainy months (ICAR-CIRG). These timings are from TNAU (TNAU):
- Cumbu Napier hybrid: a perennial grass; first cut 75–80 days after planting, then every 45 days. Plant 3 rows of grass to 1 row of velimasal and cut them together.
- Velimasal: first cut at 90 days, 50 cm above the ground, then every 40 days.
- Agathi: plant 1 m apart each way; first cut after 8 months, then every 60–80 days.
- Subabul: make the first cut only when the stem is about 3 cm thick; then cut every 40–80 days at a height of 90–100 cm.
- Glyricidia: grows from cuttings, sprouts again after every cut and makes a good live fence.
- Fodder sorghum: cut at about 50% flowering, 60–65 days after sowing.
Change feed slowly and avoid poisonous plants
- Never change the feed suddenly; change it over several days. When you bring goats home, do not overfeed them on arrival (ICAR-CIRG).
- Do not turn hungry goats onto fresh, lush grass right after the rains. TNAU links this to enterotoxaemia (TNAU); vaccinate before the rains, as shown in Goat health: vaccination schedule and deworming.
- Subabul should never be the only feed. Keep it below a quarter of the total feed (KAU); in an ICAR study, does fed mostly on subabul had thyroid and pregnancy problems (ICAR journal).
- Never feed young sorghum before it flowers, or wilted regrowth after a drought.
- Lantana is poisonous. Goats that are hungry, or new to an area, are the ones that eat it — graze them where there is enough other fodder, and clear lantana from grazing land (veterinary report).
- Never feed mouldy, rotten or dirty feed; goats eat only clean, fresh fodder (TNAU).
Common mistakes
- Grazing only, with no extra feed in late pregnancy — kids are born weak (TNAU).
- Throwing fodder on the floor.
- Changing feed suddenly or giving too much grain at once.
- No salt or mineral mixture.
- Feeding only one kind of leaf, such as subabul alone.
Frequently asked questions
How much concentrate does a goat need per day?
When grazing is poor, about 150–250 g for an adult, plus an extra 150–250 g for pregnant, milking and growing goats (ICAR-CIRG). A doe that is not pregnant may need none on good grazing.
Can goats live on grazing alone?
Adult does that are not pregnant can, if the grazing is good. Pregnant and milking does, growing kids and breeding bucks need extra fodder or concentrate.
Which tree leaves can I feed my goats?
Agathi, subabul and glyricidia are rich in protein, and goats also eat neem, vagai and karuvel. Feed a mix, and keep subabul under a quarter of the feed.
How often should goats drink water?
Kids should have clean water all the time, and adults at least 2–3 times a day — more often in summer.
Is fodder sorghum safe for goats?
Yes, when it is cut at about 50% flowering. Never feed young or drought-stressed sorghum.
Next
Protect your flock with the vaccination and deworming calendar in Goat health: vaccination schedule and deworming, and read Goat breeding: heat signs, mating and kidding for feeding before mating and in pregnancy. If your own fodder runs short, buy green or dry fodder from nearby farmers. To start or grow your flock, see goats for sale.