Goats and cows are two distinct species with very distinct needs and feeding schedules. Additionally, these two mammals possess distinct digestive systems and require different nutrients to remain healthy.
It may be tempting to feed sheep and goats the same food or mineral supplement, but this isn’t recommended. Instead, they need their own separate spaces for eating and housing.
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Goats and Cows Have Different Digestive Systems
Goats possess an exclusive digestive system, known as the ruminant stomach. This consists of three parts: rumen, reticulum and omasum.
Rumens are large fermentation vats that enable ruminants to break down plant cellulose and provide them with essential nutrients.
Microorganisms in the soil contain billions of microorganisms that digest fiber from feedstuffs like hay, grass and rough grazing. Furthermore, these bacteria synthesize proteins, B vitamins and vitamin K for animals’ needs.
Once a ruminant chews their food, it passes from their mouth through the esophagus into the rumen where it is regurgitated and then chewed again before swallowing.
After passing through the rumen, food passes through an area of the ruminant stomach called the omasum (Diagram 3). This acts like a giant filter to prevent plant particles from entering the rumen.
They Need Different Nutrients
Goats require different nutrients than cows in order to keep their bodies healthy and produce milk. A goat’s diet should consist of forage, fiber and feed grains.
Protein is the most essential nutrient for goats. Ample leafy forage and browse, as well as tree leaves provide enough protein to meet all the needs of every goat on the farm (Tables 1 & 2). Feed grains high in protein include whole cottonseed, corn meal, wheat middlings, soybean hulls, soybean meal and corn gluten feed.
Fat is an essential nutrient for goats. Rumen bacteria in the stomach convert sugars, starches, fats and fibrous carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids that are absorbed and used as energy sources.
Goat’s rumen microflora can tolerate gradual shifts in forage: grain ratio. However, if this ratio or absolute amount of forage increases rapidly, it could cause an overeating disease called lactic acidosis which could result in sudden death for the animal.
They Can’t Eat the Same Food
Goats and cows are herbivores, meaning they feed off plants such as hay, small plants, and weeds. By keeping goats and cows together on the pasture, pasture productivity can be enhanced since all the animals are eating the same amount of plants.
Cows and goats cannot share the same feed due to their different digestive systems. Cows digest their food in the rumen, while goats move it into their reticulum (second stomach).
Sheep and goats have different nutritional needs than cows do. One major distinction is that goats require less copper than cows do.
They Can Eat Cow Feed
Cows can eat goat feed, but it’s essential to remember their different dietary needs and digestive systems. Furthermore, cows are larger than goats so they require more total food in comparison.
Goats are ruminants, meaning they possess a four-chamber stomach that ferments food and extracts essential nutrients. This aids ruminants with digestion and prevents them from getting sick or experiencing other health issues.
The first two stomachs, the rumen and reticulum, break down food into smaller chunks that travel to the third and fourth stomachs – the omasum and abomasum – for full digestion.
Goats are herbivores, meaning they consume a wide range of plants in their daily diet. Common plant foods include grasses, legumes, alfalfa and hay.
