08/26/2026
🐐💙 WHAT ELMER TAUGHT US ABOUT FEEDING MALE GOATS
Meet Elmer, aka “Ricky Bobby,” one of the GoatCountry OGs and our official Head of Security. 🏁🐐
When Elmer was only 18 months old, he developed urinary stones and ended up at Ohio State University for treatment.
It was scary, but it also taught us an incredibly important lesson:
👉 What you feed a male goat matters.
Male goats, can develop urinary calculi, which are mineral stones that can block the urinary tract. A complete blockage is an emergency.
🌾 SO WHAT DO GOAT OWNERS NEED TO WATCH?
One big concern is feeding too much grain or concentrate, particularly feeds high in phosphorus.
Many grains, including corn, oats, barley and other cereal grains, contain considerably more phosphorus than calcium. Feeding large amounts can throw off the overall calcium-to-phosphorus balance of the diet.
The goal isn't simply “NO GRAIN.”
It's a properly balanced TOTAL diet.
For many adult pet wethers, good-quality forage may provide most or all of the calories they need, so grain may not be necessary at all. Growing, breeding, lactating or underweight goats can have different nutritional needs.
🐐 FOR OUR BOYS, WE PAY ATTENTION TO:
🌾 Making quality forage/hay the foundation of the diet
💧 Providing unlimited fresh, clean water
⚖️ Keeping the overall calcium-to-phosphorus ratio appropriately balanced, commonly around 2:1
🪨 Providing a properly formulated loose goat mineral
🥣 Avoiding unnecessary or excessive grain/concentrates
🍞 Limiting inappropriate treats like bread, crackers, cereal and large amounts of grain-based snacks
🏷️ Actually reading feed labels instead of assuming every bag labeled “goat feed” is right for every goat
And another important piece of the puzzle is water.
The more a goat drinks and urinates, the less concentrated the urine becomes. Clean, appealing water is especially important for urinary health. 💧
Some feeds formulated for male goats also contain ammonium chloride, which can help acidify the urine and reduce the formation of certain types of urinary stones. But it isn't a magic ingredient that makes an otherwise poorly balanced diet safe.
❤️ Elmer taught us this lesson the hard way.
Before his urinary stones, we didn't understand goat nutrition the way we do today. His experience made us learn about minerals, grain, forage, calcium, phosphorus and the special nutritional needs of male goats.
That's one reason we share these stories.
Sometimes the animals who have been with you the longest are also the ones who teach you the most. 💙
Five years old now, Ricky Bobby is still here, still handsome, still sporting those ridiculous blue eyes, and still keeping GoatCountry secure. 😂
And if you ask Elmer what the most important part of his diet is?
He'd probably say:
“SHAKE & BAKE... and bring me the hay.” 🏁🌾🐐😂
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Straining to urinate, repeatedly attempting to p*e, dribbling little or no urine, vocalizing, kicking at the belly, restlessness or obvious discomfort in a male goat can indicate a urinary blockage. That's a veterinary emergency.
