Mixed Herd Feed for Goats, Sheep, and Cows

There are more than 100 ways to practice mixed herd feeding of animals, so it’s going to be tough to give the “right” answer.

I feed my goats noble goat mixed with oats and boss. The sheep gets the same but with dumor sheep feed as the base. They get a 1/2 cup each am/pm and both get general livestock minerals mixed directly in their feed. The goats get copper bolused so I don’t have to worry about who should be getting copper and who shouldn’t be during feeding time.

Mixed Herd Feed for Goats, Sheep, and Cows

I raise my goats and sheep together. I just separate out the doe to feed her separate (she enjoys dairy feed). I also offer the mineral to just goats, and then just the sheep.

They can do well together, even with cattle, it just takes a little more management. The buck usually gets a bit of the sheep feed when he’s in there with the sheep.

I would still offer the mineral though, even if the bag says it’s a complete feed.

• For Sheep and Goat Herd

The majority of their diet should be forage-based; hay or pasture. Grain should be a supplemental diet.

Too much grain is bad for their rumen and could cause them to get UNEEDED fat, and will sometimes make bucks develop urinary calculi.

It is best to separate the goats and sheep during feeding in order to offer the right mineral.

Too much copper will kill a sheep and goats require it. Getting the correct mineral for each animal is essential. The bucks don’t need grain at all, unless they are breeding. A doe will only need a little unless she is pregnant or lactating.

Hair sheep are an easy breed to keep, so your ewe might not even need any grain at all. My Shetland ewe hardly go for grains.

Now, If I were going to feed a mixed herd of sheep, and goats, I’d feed only 1/4-1/2 lb of grain per animal per day and see if that works. It’s hard to guess how much you’re feeding now, but 2 full scoops of grain are several pounds I’m sure.

As for the bucks, I’d prefer to feed them good quality hay instead to much grain.

For minerals, I’d buy a good quality sheep mineral and a good quality goat mineral. Since goats need more copper than sheep, I’d get the loose mineral so I can feed it individually after separating the sheep and the goats at least during feeding time in order to offer the right mineral.

ALSO SEE: Do Goats Bleed When in Heat?

• For Beef Cows/Dairy Cattle

Feed your cow a mixture of grains, silage, corn, barley, field grasses, cottonseed, and bakery or grocery store by-products. Some farmers might prefer to buy a mix known as Total Mixed Ration.

Formulating your own herd mix feed is easy:

Dairy cow ration examples:

Feed cows once ounce plus 1 ounce for every 25 pounds of milk. Salt should be included in the grain mix at 1 per cent. Calcium: more than 150 grams/day or. 75 to 1 per cent of ration dry matter.

A cow feeds up to eight times a day. This can add up to 90 lbs of food daily.

A cow drinks 30- 40 gallons of clean water each day.

Best Herd Feeds on the Market

• All Stock feed (CHECK ON AMAZON)
• DuMOR Sheep Formula
• DuMOR Goat Formula
• Noble Goat