Elena Sparks

Hay and pasture should do most of the job.
If we're trying to put weight on someone quickly, we feed them some alfalfa (soaked alfalfa pellets work well) with sunflower seeds and oats. If you don't go overboard with the grain, they should be perfectly fine. It can take a while before you see big differences, so be patient.

I did a youtube short about our goat project a while back, and here's the link if anybody is interested in learning more about out project! https://youtube.com/shorts/-UA7JW2Am4k?si=2heOC8m1Kupdmo35

Timothy Norton wrote:I'm not exactly sure if my interpretation is correct but it may be more genetics than any other factors that might influence the birds health. The breed Golden Comets has some reports of being susceptible to neoplasia floating around the interwebs. Perhaps a different breed of chicken or at least different line of genetics might be something to consider?

I agree that there may be something to be said for genetics. If it were multiple breeds experiencing this I would question that theory, but I know from experience that Golden Comets can be prone to health issues. I had some several years ago, and whoever wasn't culled had died by the age of four. It was almost like clockwork. A number of high laying hybrids (like the Comets) experience liver failure before or at 4 years old. So at least that problem is genetic.
In sheep, at least, we've experienced a definite connection to the genetics. We brought in several new sheep last year that came with pneumonia. We're so dry that we don't usually get pneumonia, but this spring at lambing time we had probably half the lambs get it, and quite a few die. The connection? Genetics. One ram had every one of his lambs get it, and while only one died, 2/3 of his remaining lambs took months to recover.  Another ram only has one surviving lamb. Interestingly enough, another ram only had 2 of his lambs get sick, and they recovered quickly. Genetics played a huge role in the outcome of the individual lamb's health.

I am gonna send you a PM with info on milking abilities and fleece of the Icelandics so it doesn't get lost.
We run ours in electric netting and most of them do really well, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. Mostly keep your fences tight and rotate at a good pace. I would get poultry netting specifically, though, so you can make sure to get the hole size and fence height you're gonna need. Premier1 is where we get our fences, and they're really nice!
Can you get a picture of the pasture? That'll help us know how good it is.

It really depends on the kind of pasture. Is it irrigated? How good is the pasture (wet, dry, bushy, grassy, etc)?
By cattle fencing, do you mean some kind of wire mesh, or barbed wire? Additionally, what are they used to being penned with?

Don't know if you already found some, but we raise purebred Icelandic sheep in Wyoming. We never vaccinate, supplement as little as possible, and rotational graze during the summer. We've got both polled and horned lines, and have worked hard to select for dairy and fleece strength in particular. We don't have many left available this year, but we should have a good number next year. You can check out our Website if you want to learn more about our farm.

PM me for more info, located in SE, Wyoming (can help with transport to some locations).

When we first moved to Wyoming, we had purebred Nubian goats. Beautiful, good milk producers, great temperaments... but it turns out that they don't produce very well on our rough pasture and they needed tons of supplemental feeding and they really struggled in the winter. After several years of struggling with them, we decided to change things up a bit. We wanted the nice udders from the Nubians, but add in hardiness, thriftiness on pasture, and stockier frames. We had no luck finding a purebred that fit quite what we were looking for, so we opted to create our own! Now we're crossing a mixture of breeds to create our own hardy dairy goat. Want to add some of those characteristics to your herd? We've got you covered!
A number of does, bucks, and groups available! Check out our website for a complete list of all available goats: https://www.peacefulvalleyfold.com/sale-barn-goats

I don't know if this will be helpful at all, but I use a long trough to feed my poultry flock. I like to soak their food, and that doesn't work well in a traditional feeder. Plus, I have ducks and geese in with my chickens and the waterfowl tend to clog feeders up because of their wet bills. I fill the trough twice a day, and try to hit a balance between giving them everything they need, and yet not giving them so much that there's tons of extras left for the mice to eat at night.
Here's some pictures of my current setup: