182 MODERN MILK GOATS 



some grain which is too high, i.e.j higher than 1 : 5.7, to 

 supplement the alfalfa. Barley you find is 1:8. If, 

 then, you feed your doe alfalfa hay, 1 : 4.3, and rolled 

 barley, 1 : 8, you will get a combination which strikes 

 somewhere near the proper ratio of 1: 5.7. But if you 

 feed her oat haj% which is 1:8, and for grain feed her 

 barley, 1 : 8, and for green stuff you give her carrots, 

 1 : 10, it is plain that her diet will be far too high in car- 

 bohydrates, she will put on fat, but will fall off in pro- 

 duction. Or one might feed her alfalfa hay, 1 : 4.3, and 

 oil cake meal, 1:1, and bran, 1: 4 — all excellent feeds, 

 but all too high in protein, and deficient in carbohydrates. 

 Your doe in this case would probably in time get sick, 

 and again fall off in milk, although in themselves all these 

 feeds are good and useful for milk- production. 



Therefore, even if one pretends to no scientific knowl- 

 edge of balanced rations, it is not safe to remain in 

 ignorance of the food values of the feeds he uses, lest he 

 pile up the diet too exclusively on one side or the other, 

 and thus endanger the health and productivity of 

 his animals. 



With these general principles in mind, we may con- 

 sider the different kinds of feed that are available for 

 our goats. 



Green or Succulent Feed. — Pasture. — Under this 

 head first of all comes good pasturage or range, with a 



