Goat Feed & Hay Calculator

The body-weight hay rule

Goats eat hay as a fraction of body weight. Dairy does in milk are planned at 4% of body weight per day; dry dairy, meat, fiber, and mini classes use 3% for maintenance. A 130-lb dairy doe in milk therefore needs 5.2 lb of hay each day. Four such does need 20.8 lb/day. Over a 120-day winter with no pasture, that is 2,496 lb — about 50 bales if each bale weighs 50 lb (we round bales up for buying).

Pasture cuts hay in season — not in winter

When you mark pasture available, the daily hay figure drops by up to 50% (factor 0.5) to reflect browse. Winter hay still uses the full body-weight rate. Do not stock only the in-season number for January — ice and bare lots erase that discount overnight.

Dairy goats and grain

Milking does need concentrate scaled to milk. Our data uses 1 lb of grain per 2.5 lb of milk. A doe giving 6 lb of milk therefore needs about 2.4 lb of grain per day. Dry and meat goats often stay near a small maintenance grain cap when forage is decent; over-graining raises urinary calculi risk in males — keep ammonium chloride strategies and salt access in mind for wethers.

Hay types and minerals

Grass hay suits many dry and meat goats; alfalfa supports heavy milkers but is calcium-rich — balance the ration for bucks and wethers. Always offer free-choice loose goat mineral. Sheep mineral is too low in copper for goats; goat mineral can be toxic to sheep. Match selenium to your region’s soil map via extension guidance.

Winter planning checklist

• Weigh a sample of your actual bales — “50 lb” on a label is not a promise after storage loss.
• Budget waste: goats pull hay from racks and bed on it. Good feeders cut that loss.
• Store hay off the ground, dry, and away from the barn’s main fire load when you can.
• Recalculate if you add kids or keep does milking through cold months.
• Keep a two-week emergency buffer beyond the calculator total for ice storms and delayed deliveries.

Water matters as much as hay. Frozen buckets cut intake and milk overnight. Use heaters rated for barn use, break ice twice a day in a pinch, and pair this tool with the rainwater and livestock water calculator when you size tanks. Thin does in late gestation need quality forage before kidding — cheap stemmy hay is a false economy when you pay for weak kids and vet calls.

If your does are much heavier or lighter than the class defaults (130 lb dairy, 120 lb meat, 100 lb fiber, 60 lb mini), scale hay by the same body-weight percentages using your scale weight. The calculator’s class presets are conveniences, not substitutes for a weigh tape.

Frequently asked questions