Goats store their food in their stomachs. The stomach is a small, pouch-like organ in the goat that helps them digest their food. The goat’s stomach contains two chambers: the first chamber is where the goat eats, and the second chamber is where the goat stores its food.
First off, it’s important to know that your average one-acre homestead can give space for up to four or five does (female) and their offspring each year without overcrowding the land or stressing the soil out. As such, if you are starting an operation with zero breeding stock then plan on establishing these ratios before spring comes around again in order to make sure there will be enough food for everyone come winter time when most all grazing animals start thinking about hibernation mode just because they need to conserve water.
Second, it’s important that the goats have plenty of shade during the hottest parts of summer and a means of escape from rain or snow in the wintertime. The shelter should be provided for them by either building your own goat barn with natural straw bedding on the ground inside (with room enough for four does per stall) or by utilizing one of these prefabricated shelters available at most farm stores before you start buying feeders and hay racks.
Third, bedding is necessary because not only do they need soft surfaces to lie down on when they sleep but their waste needs somewhere to go instead of just piling up outside where predators might come looking for dinner. Straw bales are ideal as long as there is a trough for waste to fall through into a composting area.
Fourth, hay racks should be placed in the barn or outside so that they have access to food at all times and are allowed to eat as much as they please without being frightened off by passing predators.
Fifth, it’s important not only to feed them quality hay during wintertime but also good-quality grain mixes with plenty of barley or oats mixed in for protein because otherwise, their stomachs will get too acidic from just eating grass year-round.
Sixth, you need some kind of water supply available either inside your goat house (provided there is no danger of freezing) or outdoors where goats can drink whenever they want instead of having limited access like most bov ine.
Seventh, a good goat house will have three enclosed walls with one open side facing south for sunlight and warmth on cold days but can be closed up if they get too hot in the summertime.
Eighth, goats are usually quite happy spending all day outside as long as there is some kind of protection from winter winds or torrential storms (which tend to happen more often than people might think). Ninth, make sure that your grass isn’t too high because goats cannot use their horns to cut it down as cows do so you need to keep them trimmed back by hand.
Tenth, unlike bovine who should be able to graze every single day through most of the year without any problems at all, goats need to be fed hay or oats in wintertime when there are no grasses available.
