Meat Goat Feed: What It Contains and How to Choose the Right Diet

By Dr Duncan Houston

Choosing feed for meat goats starts with a simple question: what is stopping these goats from growing well?

The answer might be insufficient energy, poor-quality forage, a protein shortage, competition at the feeder or a health problem. Buying a richer pellet only helps when it addresses the actual limitation.

A useful feeding programme supports healthy growth, meets your buyer’s requirements and delivers a worthwhile return. Goats may investigate almost anything with their mouths, but that does not make everything a suitable dinner.

Quick Answer

Meat goats usually eat a combination of browse, pasture and conserved forage, with grain, protein ingredients and goat-appropriate minerals added where needed. Choose feed according to age, bodyweight, production stage, existing forage and target growth. Growing kids, finishing goats and breeding does have different requirements, so there is no single standard ration suitable for every animal.

What is meat goat feed made from?

A commercial goat feed may contain cereal grains, plant protein meals, fibrous ingredients, minerals and vitamins. Depending on the product, it may be a complete ration or a supplement that must be fed with pasture, browse or hay.

Common components include:

Feed component	Common examples	Main purpose
Browse	Suitable leaves, shoots and shrubs	Supplies selected forage, with nutritional value varying by plant and season
Pasture	Grasses, legumes and suitable herbs	Provides energy, protein and fibre
Conserved forage	Grass hay, lucerne hay and suitable silage	Helps maintain forage supply when grazing is inadequate
Cereal grains	Barley, oats, wheat, maize and sorghum	Increase dietary energy
Protein ingredients	Suitable pulses, soybean meal and canola meal	Help correct protein shortages
Mineral and vitamin supplements	Products formulated for goats and the local feeding system	Correct dietary gaps and imbalances

The ingredient list is only the beginning. The amounts, nutrient composition and balance of the whole diet determine whether it suits your goats.

Why browse matters for meat goats

Goats are selective feeders. They often choose leaves, shoots and other digestible plant parts rather than eating a paddock evenly.

Good browse can be valuable, but a property covered in shrubs is not automatically a balanced feed supply. Some plants have limited nutritional value, while compounds such as tannins can reduce nutrient availability.

Assess what goats can reach and what they actually eat. As preferred plants are depleted, the diet may deteriorate even when plenty of vegetation remains.

Identify unfamiliar plants before offering them. Avoid assuming that garden prunings or ornamental shrubs are safe simply because goats show interest. MLA’s goat nutrition resources include plant identification and toxic-plant considerations for this reason.

Match feeding to the production stage

Young kids need a good start

Newborn kids need prompt access to adequate colostrum, followed by sufficient milk. Pellets and hay cannot immediately replace those early requirements.

For artificially reared kids, use a suitable milk replacer according to its directions, maintain consistent mixing and keep feeding equipment clean. Monitor whether each kid is drinking and growing.

Offer appropriate starter feed and forage as the kids develop, while maintaining their necessary milk supply.

Creep feeding can help before weaning

Creep feeding provides supplementary feed in an area that kids can enter but adult goats cannot.

It can support growth and familiarise kids with solid feed before weaning. Its financial value depends on the existing milk and forage supply, the response achieved and feed cost. It should be assessed as a targeted tool, rather than an automatic requirement for every herd.

Weaning needs more than a date on the calendar

Consider weight, health, development and established solid-feed intake when planning weaning. Abruptly removing milk from a kid that is barely eating can cause a growth setback.

Keep suitable feed familiar through the transition and check that smaller kids continue eating. Avoid combining weaning with unnecessary changes in diet and grouping.

Growing and finishing goats need a defined target

Growing animals need enough nutrition for muscle and skeletal development. Finishing diets should help them reach the buyer’s required weight and condition within a realistic period.

Breed, age, sex, season and starting weight influence performance. A Boer-cross kid and an older rangeland wether should not automatically be expected to grow at the same rate.

Breeding does support the next meat crop

Pregnant and lactating does need feeding plans that account for the demands of their kids. Multiple-bearing does deserve particular attention.

Use condition assessment and pregnancy information to group animals where practical. Meeting the doe’s needs supports kid development, milk supply and survival, so meat production begins well before the finishing paddock.

How to choose the right feed

1. Start with the buyer’s requirements

Confirm the desired liveweight or carcase weight, age or dentition limits, condition and any production requirements.

Record current weights and estimate the growth needed before the intended sale date. A heavier goat is only more valuable if the additional weight attracts enough return to cover its cost.

2. Assess the existing diet

Look at forage quantity, quality and accessibility. Check whether dominant goats are taking the best feed and whether young or timid animals are falling behind.

For purchased feeds and home-mixed rations, useful measurements include:

• Dry matter: the feed remaining after water is removed.

• Metabolisable energy: energy available to the animal.

• Crude protein: a starting measure of protein supply.

• Fibre and digestibility: important for intake and rumen function.

Compare products on matching moisture bases. Wet feeds can look cheap per tonne while containing much less dry matter.

3. Balance energy and protein together

A high-protein feed will not fix inadequate energy intake. Equally, extra cereal grain may leave a protein shortage unresolved.

Young, growing goats generally need a more nutrient-dense diet than mature animals being maintained at a stable weight. Have the total ration assessed rather than choosing the bag with the largest protein percentage.

4. Read the feeding directions carefully

Check whether the product is a complete ration, a supplement requiring forage or a concentrate that must be mixed with other ingredients.

Ask the supplier which weights and production stages it suits, what roughage is required and how it should be introduced. Pellet form alone does not mean that hay or other forage can be removed.

For a home-mixed ration, have the formulation checked by a livestock nutritionist experienced with goats.

5. Use minerals appropriate for goats

Goats have higher copper requirements than sheep, and sheep mineral products may leave them short. However, goats can still develop copper toxicity.

Consider copper from the whole diet and avoid adding boluses, drenches and fortified feeds without checking their combined contribution. Coat changes or poor growth do not prove a copper deficiency.

If sheep share the property, prevent them accessing goat mineral products that contain unsuitable copper levels.

In Australia, the ruminant feed ban applies to goats. Restricted animal material, including meat meal, bone meal, blood meal and fishmeal, must not be fed to them. Check labels and prevent contamination from feeds intended for other species.

Introduce grain gradually

Sudden increases in grain or concentrate intake can cause ruminal acidosis.

NSW guidance describes introducing grain or pellets gradually over about two weeks. The programme should suit the ration and the goats’ previous diet, with suitable long fibre maintained throughout.

Observe appetite, droppings and feeding behaviour. Avoid letting hungry goats gorge after a feed interruption, and check whether they are sorting a mixture and leaving important components behind.

Review clostridial vaccination with your veterinarian before major feeding changes. Enterotoxaemia can occur with rich diets, and vaccination complements careful feeding management. It does not make abrupt grain changes safe.

Make sure every goat can eat and drink

Provide enough feeder access for the group, and separate animals that are repeatedly bullied away from feed.

Keep troughs clean and provide reliable access to fresh water. Check that younger goats can reach it and that water remains available during peak demand.

Inspect feed refusals as well as the feed offered. A ration can look balanced on paper while individual goats consume something quite different.

Maintain dry resting areas and minimise faecal contamination around feeders and drinkers. These details become especially important when kids are concentrated into smaller areas.

Why are goats growing poorly despite being fed?

Investigate both nutrition and disease. Useful checks include:

• Whether the feed supplies enough usable energy and protein.

• Whether every goat actually gets its share.

• Gastrointestinal worms and whether previous treatment worked.

• Coccidiosis, particularly in young goats.

• Painful feet, mouth problems or other illness reducing intake.

Use faecal testing and a goat-specific parasite programme. Do not automatically copy sheep drench doses or repeatedly treat without checking effectiveness and appropriate veterinary directions.

Coccidiosis can reduce growth before severe diarrhoea becomes obvious. An ordinary worm drench does not automatically treat it. Diagnosis considers age, clinical signs, management and faecal findings together.

Watch for urinary stones in male goats

Bucks and wethers can develop urinary obstruction. Prevention requires attention to the whole diet, mineral balance and water intake.

Do not assume that adding ammonium chloride makes any high-grain ration safe. Whether an acidifier is appropriate, and how it is used, should be decided with your veterinarian or nutritionist.

Repeated straining with little or no urine is an emergency, even when it looks like constipation.

What you notice	What to do
Slow growth while goats remain bright and active	Review weights, intake, feed quality and parasite risk
Diarrhoea, reduced appetite or persistent weight loss	Arrange prompt veterinary assessment, especially in kids
A late-pregnant doe becoming dull or leaving feed	Seek urgent advice because pregnancy toxaemia and other metabolic problems are possible
Severe abdominal swelling, breathing difficulty, staggering or collapse	Seek emergency veterinary help
Repeated straining with little or no urine	Treat as an emergency

After accidental access to a grain store or a large concentrate meal, contact a veterinarian promptly. Do not wait for collapse before acting.

Compare the cost of growth

The cheapest bag does not necessarily produce the cheapest weight gain.

For a hypothetical example, if the whole ration costs $0.48 per goat per day and average liveweight gain is 0.16 kg per day, the feed cost is:

$0.48 ÷ 0.16 kg = $3.00 per kg of liveweight gain.

These are illustrative figures, not current prices, feeding recommendations or performance targets. Include forage, supplements and wastage when calculating the actual daily feed cost.

Then include labour, health costs, deaths, transport and the value of the goats before the feeding period when assessing the overall margin.

Liveweight is not carcase weight. Gut fill and other factors affect dressing percentage, so compare costs against the buyer’s actual payment basis. Use processor feedback rather than assuming every kilogram gained becomes saleable meat.

Measure progress before changing the plan

Weigh goats regularly under comparable conditions and record feed use, health problems and treatment.

Calculate average daily gain as the change in weight divided by the days between weighings. For example, a 3 kg increase over 30 days equals 100 g per day.

Look at the spread of results as well as the average. A few fast growers can hide animals that are failing to thrive.

Common feeding mistakes

• Assuming goats can grow well on whatever vegetation remains.

• Choosing feed by protein percentage alone.

• Weaning before kids are eating enough solid feed.

• Making sudden grain increases.

• Overlooking bullied or reluctant feeders.

• Treating poor growth with supplements before investigating disease.

Can meat goats finish on pasture and browse alone?

Yes, when the available forage meets their nutritional needs and supports the required growth. Supplementation becomes useful when it fills a measurable gap.

How much grain should a meat goat receive each day?

There is no universal amount. It depends on weight, stage, forage intake, ration composition and adaptation. Follow the specific product directions and obtain a formulated plan for intensive feeding.

Can I feed meat goats sheep pellets?

Some products may be suitable as part of a checked ration, but do not assume they are interchangeable. Confirm the feed’s intended use and whether the total diet meets goats’ mineral and nutrient requirements.

Are pellets better than a home-mixed ration?

Either can work when properly formulated and managed. Compare nutrient supply, consistency, sorting, wastage, labour and total cost rather than choosing by appearance.

ASK A VET™ can help you work through poor growth, weaning difficulties and feeding concerns, and identify when your goats need an examination or a tailored nutrition plan.