# Bread good for goats?



## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

I just read a post on HT that stated bread was a good source of selenium. It said the wheat takes up the selenium and then it is baked into the bread. The poster gives bread to her goats instead of Bose. Also said that bread was a great treat for the rumen because the grains were so easily processed. This sounds awfully hinky to me. Anyone ever hear of this?

She also said she is mystified over everyones concern of rumen health, so I don't think we come from the same school of thought when it comes to goat husbandry. But I was curious about the bread. 

Tiffany


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## Rose (Oct 26, 2007)

As a treat only, not as a source of nutrition.

Just my rookie two cents.


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## rg1950 (Feb 9, 2008)

We give a little bread to our goats as a treat occasionally. We have started using bo-se on them also. To much bread can cause acidosis, so feed it in small amounts as a treat only.

Quote taken from 
http://www.sweetlix.com/user_files/File/articles/Goat_AcidosisInGoats.pdf
Causes for Acidosis
The most common cause is the overfeeding of grains and/or commercial feeds. This can
occur from an animal accidentally getting into the feed bin or through routine
overfeeding. Other, less common causes can be overloads of milk, apples, grapes, *bread*,
sugar beets, or any other sources of sugar or starches. Additionally, feeding too little fiber
(in the form of long forages) can lead to acidosis even if the diet is not excessive in
starches or sugars.

Don't know about selenium from bread, but give bo-se to be safe.

Tara


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## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

> I just read a post on HT that stated bread was a good source of selenium.


 :lol Another one of those statements made without any research to back it up. I just love going to HT when I need a good laugh! Some advice I just cringe at! Most of the advice given is from people that scour the internet until they find what they want to "hear"...disregarding the advice from long time breeders or even research statements. Most of the advice givers have been in goats just a few months or years...So, take it with a grain of salt!

As for bread...I feed it, IN MODERATION, as treats with no medicinal purposes AT ALL! Each doe gets 3 slices after their grain, on the milk stand. I get a whole pick up load once a week and we give it to cows,horses,goats and chickens...BUT, then again...each species gets their own type of grain.
JMO,
Kaye


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Rose both you and Tara have seen my goats and they got feed bread all winter, I will be using it again this year. If I had a way of keeping it from molding I would fed it year round instead of grain.

But selenium? I think pickles are higher in selenium 

Vicki


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## Carolyn (Oct 27, 2007)

I worked at a Day old bread store and there was a farmer come in and took our expired bread and fed it to his cows--he said there was a study at NDSU about feeding bread to cows-- I fed some of the bread to my goats--not a lot--but on a regular basis-- but of course I am still learning from everyone. we can get sugar beets in the fall--- if we give them slices, should we eliminate the beet pulp? Carolyn


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

Vicki,
Which goats did you feed bread to or was it all of them, and what did you supplement it with? I have access to some extra bread and thought the chickens and future pigs would be the only ones I could feed it to. 

Thanks,
Tiffany


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## rg1950 (Feb 9, 2008)

Vicki,
Dad bought a big upright freezer cheap from craigslist and stores his bread in it. Our goats like the bagels the best cause they are the tastiest and easiest to eat. Kind of hard to get a whole loaf of bread in their mouth. (Bread is loafs not cut). Maybe check craigslist for a cheap freezer and store the bread in it. Take it out in the morning and let thaw what you need, then feed it to the goats that evening. I give our goats about 1 bagel a day (the bread is mainly for the hogs and chickens). The hogs will eat it frozen, and the goats semifrozen. We get bread 2 times a week from the bread company. We give the hogs rice bran (1 coffee can each) and bread and produce from the store where my brother works. Cheapest hogs to feed. :biggrin 

Tara


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I fed everyone, I ripped apart everything and did it myself I just didn't want to take a chance on any twist ties or pieces of plastic wrap left in it. I would feed them until they started to walk away, then clean the feeder and give it to the chickens. It so cut down on the alfalfa pellets they ate and biggy was the grain they would eat when I started them back on grain at 100 days bred. They looks great without fat added to their diet and came into milk. I did have two dead in utero pregnancies but I do think it was fighting and not death by donuts. When given the chance I did pick the whole wheat type things, then donuts/pastries..but lots of times it was just mountains of hamburger buns here. Vicki


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