# Beet Pulp



## carlidoe

My milker is running a little thin and I've decided to use beet pulp. What form of beet pulp do most of you feed? Shreds or pellets?
How much and how often should I feed it? Twice a day at the milk stand was my original plan, but I'm open to suggestions. 
Is there another remedy for keeping a little weight on a doe that's in milk? Her rumen stays full but she is so thin around her backbone.


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## prairie nights

Carli, 

actually it is hard to put weight on a milker once she kidded, especially when you are new. Once you know your does better and know how much they produce and how much they milk off in the few first weeks and month of lactation you will be better prepared to condition them accordingly in the dry months. 

The beet pulp will not hurt, when I had thin milkers last summer I mixed it into my grain mix - 4 parts of oats, 1 part of corn, 1 part of BOSS and 1 part of barley. I use shredded but I am careful where I store it as it contains molasses and will spoil in our heat and give the girls acidosis. 

Also, up your protein in their daily roughage if possible, I would feed free choice alfalfa and start top dressing milk stand grain with calf manna, slowly , of course. 

I had problems with weight last year, this year I swear by the 17% pellets, it increased both their protein and calcium. If your alfalfa is nice green hay then your girls have quality roughage but unless tested you may not know what they are getting in terms or protein, etc. You can also switch her to once a day milking so she doesn't have to work as hard.

Different does are different, but thin around backbone is usually pretty thin, I start worrying when I see ribs, I want to feel them but I don't want to see them. Again, it can be the way they are built - maybe if you can post a picture. 

With weight loss like that I would also be checking poop for worm eggs, membranes for anemia, and - being paranoid after the ordeal with pneumonia now - monitoring temps, paying close attention to coughs, etc. She may not be as thin as I think she is, I am picturing the backbone showing on animals I have seen so take this with a grain of salt also 

I hope this helps some. 

Jana


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## carlidoe

Thanks for the info. I will get a picture of her on here and let the pros decide . 
I think I will start milking once a day. I hadn't even considered it. 
I am definately going to start them on alfalfa pellets. What kind of feeders do you use for the pellets?
Also, I'm going to take a sample to my vet for a fecal. I will post a pic on here in a bit so be watching for it!


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## nightskyfarm

I feed beet pulp shreds in the winter. I soak them like I do for the horses a few hours before. In the morning, I would make up the evenings ration of beet pulp. The does do very well with it. I stop feeding it when the pastures come in.


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## prairie nights

I feed them without soaking but I know some soak, matter of preference. I have never had a doe choke on it so it's one less thing to do. 

Vicki has nice pellet feeders, I think Michelle and Troy's barn is similar and you can find it googling here. My barn is in the process so for now I feed in buckets set in a tire, the milkers don't poop or stand in them but it's a temporary solution. 
The kids step, poop, lie in everything so their feeder is a shallow (about 10 inches) but long and wide plastic box outside of a cattle panel and they stick their heads through to eat. lets me run the horse through that pen also without eating all the pellets since I feed them free choice. 

My set up is not ideal but it works in a pinch 

Jana


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## Faithful Crown Nubians

I have used shredded beet pulp...I have never had an issue with it spoiling...I have part of a bag that I found this evening...its been in the hay barn all summer and it still looks and smells good...hmm. 

I use the beet pulp w/ BOSS...that's what I used on Acapella and Misty. They are still thin but that's something I am going to work on once I dry them up.


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## LMonty

a few thoughts-Beet pulp helped me put weight on some girls 2 yrs back. But one thingthey responded better to was more fat. our feed at that time was rather low in it. I think its an individual thing, not all animals need it. I found the best results from a little liquid (NON Hydrogenated 72 degree expeller pressed) oil drizzled on the feedings for a few weeks. Helps the girls in winter, too. Coconut oil is a rather special oil, its the only one I know of that is only 6 calories a gram instead of the usual 9. Some soaper places sell it in the bucket, thats how i get it. If its food quality oil its the coolest stuff to cook with ever. You can call the supplier and ask if the oil is food grade. They cant recommend it for human use because of insurance issues but as long as its food grade its good. Last a long time without going rancid. 

But it might be worth checking for tapes. They steal the nutrition an animal is given and can affect condition. Any time an animal loses weight I always thing feed quality, and possible worm burden as the first things to check out.


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## Sondra

I mix my dry beet pulp right in with my grain mix 
Only use soaked pulp as a slurry for a sick goat my recipe
is 
100lb whole oats
100lb steam rolled barley
25 lb cracked corn 
25 lb BOSS
20 lb beet pulp
then I top dress with a tad of soybean meal or calf mana.
too much beet pulp and you will get a taste in your milk.


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## ellie

Beet pulp -- like grain -- has the potential to cause acidosis because it is high density sugar (carbohydrate) if over fed. Just be careful. They love it. I caused founder in three goats once upon a time, by allowing them too much beet pulp.


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## Ashley

You can soak and rinse the beet pulp to get sugar out of it. Do it a couple of times. A lot of people with foundered horses that need weight use it for calories that won't aggravate the horse's metabolic problems. Just have to soak and rinse it well to get the leftover sugars and added molasses out. 

The do in my avatar gets thin when she's in milk. I have found beet pulp to help some in the past. I think when they are past their peak lactation it can help. But oil would be good to in small amounts too.


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## Tracy in Idaho

There are a LOT of misconceptions about beet pulp. Please check out Susan Garlinghouse's article on the subject -- http://shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml
Susan is a DVM and has a master's in Equine nutrition.

Ten pounds of beet pulp contains about the same amount of sugar as is in a few apples.

We have been utilizing beet pulp in our feeding program this year -- offering it soaked in 5 gallon buckets, and even our appraiser commented on just how good the condition is on all our animals.

Tracy


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## NubianSoaps.com

Tracy how much do you offer? How much do you put in the 5 gallon bucket and then fill the bucket with water? With 4 of my girls getting older, and we used to feed it dry until does are gummers, was thinking of doing this for them also. Vicki


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## Guest

Excellent article Tracy..I have been feeding beet pulp mixed dry with grain ration now going on two yrs and seen an increase in milk production and it is an excellent source of digestable fiber.. It also does not put weight on your animals.. I mix mine at 25 to 40 percent with grain on the milk stand..


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## Tracy in Idaho

Vicki, I fill up one of those big orange Home Depot buckets with shreds, then go out and dump a quarter of it into four other 5 gallon buckets I have attached to the fence. Then I fill them all to the top with water. (actually I do it as I go, or they'd have it all eaten before I filled them!) 

I do that 2x a day and there are 17 does in that pen. They are cleaning it all up, and they actually LEAVE feeders full of new alfalfa to get their beet pulp.

I actually have found that it really does put weight on them. All of our girls are carrying more weight than before, and look really nice and filled out. It's particularly nice in hot weather, as it gets more fluid into them. They love sucking the water out of it.

I even have a pen of late kids that are sucking down the beet pulp/water like a bunch of pigs at a trough! 

I plan on using it through the winter as well, putting hot water into it rather than cold. If it freezes too quickly, I may go to feeding it dry instead.

Tracy


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## dragonlair

I feed soaked BP mixed with their grain in the winter. I get the pellets and put them to soak the feeding before I feed out, so it soaks about 8-12 hours. It takes a couple of feedings before they get used to eating it again, but they do seem to love it once they remember what it is. I like the fact that it gives them a little added moisture when everything is frozen, and I feed it slightly warm, so I feel better giving them a warm meal. Not that it makes a difference to them, I think it's the mother thing, wanting their kids to have a hot breakfast on a winter morning. 

It does make a difference in the older does. I feed it to my older horses too. I always soak it, but not because I am worried about it exploding in their stomach. Since its main purpose was for older horses with bad teeth or breathing issues, wetter is better.


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## cariboujaguar

Tracy in Idaho said:


> I plan on using it through the winter as well, putting hot water into it rather than cold. If it freezes too quickly, I may go to feeding it dry instead.
> Tracy


They love beet-popcicles! When ours froze I'd dump it upside down into a rubber feed dish and they'd scrape at it all day LOL
On a side note, I've been feeding beet pulp to my does for 2 yrs now, I have ten does in a pen and they get one full five gallon bucket a day which is about 2 scoops with almost a full bucket of water.
I had a BP question and hope this thread hy-jacking is forgiven when I ask: Has anyone had their beet pulp smell sour? I just got a bag and it reeks, should I throw it out??? feed it to the horse? lol she's less picky then the goats... I hate to waste a whole bag but it smells like feet.


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## Oat Bucket Farm

We always fed beet pulp to our horses,usually soaked because one horse had no teeth and the other horses enjoyed the special treatment too. They really seemed to enjoy getting it warm in the morning.

We are using it for our goats too.


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## MF-Alpines

You can buy beet pulp shreds with or without molasses. But even the BP with molasses, doesn't really have that much. I fed it to one of my does who was not doing well after she kidded this spring. It was the only thing she would eat besides hay for about two weeks. I fed it dry to the does. No issues. I don't feed it regularly, don't know why, just don't. My does are looking fine. I'm pleased with the way they look going into this fall.

Because beet pulp can have molasses, as we know, molasses can spoil, especially in hot, humid conditions.

I've had to dump a second bag of dairy ration because of it.


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## carlidoe

I picked up a bag of beet pulp with molasses the other day at the feed store. I can't see or smell the molasses..must be a really small amount. This morning I dumped a few quarts into a 5 gal bucket and mixed just enough water with it to moisten it up. I let it set for a couple of hours and gave all the goats a small amount. They loved it!
I don't know how long it will keep in this heat though. I will probably have to mix new every day. I'm afraid of feeding them too much. I will probably just keep introducing it a handful at a time.


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## Ziggy

Yes it can ferment. Don't give them more than they can finish in a couple of hours in the heat..


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## carlidoe

Since this is the first time I have ever fed it, how much is too much? I hate to waste what I've soaked but I would hate it even more if it killed a goat :/


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## buckrun

Start all new foods slowly. A handful for a couple of weeks to get their system going on it.
Then add weekly up to however much you want to pay for.
I still don't get soaking it. Just seems like easier to spoil that way. What is the reasoning behind soaking? Many old timers used to soak oats barley and corn too but - heh- these are ruminants! They will process the bumper off your car if you let them! 
They will drink water and swell it up and expand the gut nicely if you start doing this as kids.
We offer it at 3 days old but dry. They noodle it around like they do bark and dirt and I think it gives the rumen something to build on. But we never soak it. So tell me the reasoning for soaking please. I understand in a single stomach but for ruminants it's busy work me thinks.

Start slow on all changes to diet.


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## dragonlair

I soak it because I feed it to my horses also. I feed it warm in the winter for the added moisture. The stuff I get is pelletd and the pellets are large, too large for the smaller goats little mouths.


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## Anita Martin

I tried the pellets, dry, and they didn't like them at all. I've tried the shreds soaked , and they much preferred the dry shreds but I did have a kid choke once when he went at it too fast. It's a good, safe feed, but dirty, which may or may not be a problem, but is why I've soaked and rinsed it in the past. It's highly digestible, which is why it is good for adding weight to goats. Foundered horses are fed rinsed and soaked beet pulp as a replacement for part of their hay ration, replacing some of their higher sugared hay and as a carrier for their minerals. Rinsed and soaked beet pulp is low in sugar. But it does sour quickly in the heat and it will freeze just as fast in the winter.


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## Tracy in Idaho

Why not feed it soaked?  Getting them to take in more water is NEVER a bad idea! It also really makes them look filled out -- which is very nice at shows when you have girls who like to gaunt up. 

Sometimes we can only get it pelleted as well, depending on the mill -- so this way they aren't switching back and forth.


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## NubianSoaps.com

Thanks Tracy, wondered how you fed a pen full! Vicki


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## hammerithot

I don't know what the heck I'm doing right, but my goats look pretty good! They came to me rough-coated, the mama had a fish tail, and they just look poor. I've been feeding alfalfa twice a day, alfalfa pellets free choice, rye grass free choice, and beet pulp shreds free choice. I also just started using Noble Goat feed (the only lactation-specific feed I can find in my area, and I have to go 40 miles for that; fortunately I get out that way a lot for work). The only other thing they're getting is a 45 minute walk in the mornings, and turned out for 1/2 an hour every evening. They browse during the walks and while turned out.

When I tried giving them the beet pulp soaked, they didn't eat it up, so I ended up throwing it away. I also feed it to my horses soaked. I've found that my goats, at least, won't eat it terribly fast. It's a reasonably safe food. I suspect that it's not what causes founder, although I know that it can cause sore feet in barefoot horses. Dr. Garlinghouse is an excellent resource. She's also a really nice person. :lol


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## cariboujaguar

It smelled bad before it was soaked, I opened the bag and it reeked like sour something. The pellets were pale compared to the fresher bag I had just about used up, when soaked the smell dissipated and it smelled sweet and looked/tasted fine so I fed it and haven't had any issues so far, I guess it was just a diff batch?


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## hammerithot

Beet pulp can be something of a crap shoot. It tends to be processed last, after whatever else the mill is processing that day. I've had corn, oats, and even cotton turn up in my shreds! The only problem was the oats, as my horse is allergic to them and will colic on the least little amount. Lately, though, I've noticed the shreds are much better, and I haven't noticed anything foreign for quite some time. I'm paying more for them, though.

Pellets can be kinda weird. I've noticed that pellets are more apt to smell funny but turn out okay once soaked. I prefer shreds because they don't have to be soaked for any length of time and my goats like them just fine dry. I can't leave anything to soak around here because of the ants and squirrels, and in the summer heat, soaked beet pulp can ferment in no time.


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## Tracy in Idaho

Valerie! I didn't know there was another endurance person on here  Well, not that I do any endurance anymore, lol. Maybe someday I will get back into it, but right now I have time to compete with either the goats or the horses, but not both. Not to mention, our winters make conditioning a little difficult.

Susan is a riot, isn't she?  I haven't talked to her in ages....I used to send her boxes of elk/deer meat 

And for what it's worth -- I've used Noble Goat for several years now, and the girls have done very well on it.


Tracy


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