What Kind of Grass Do I Need to Plant for Goats?

Goats are browsers and grazers, which means that they prefer to eat fresh green grass and tasty hay, the tender tips of woody shrubs and trees. A wide variety of grasses will keep goats healthy and well-fed -- they eat what is available, seeking out nutritious young leaves and buds and stripping the bark off ligneous plants.

Bromegrass is a high protein forage when compared to many other forage grasses like timothy, which is high in fiber. The grass grows best early and late in the season when temperatures are not too warm -- growth slows in 90 degree Fahrenheit summer heat. Brome is a perennial, drought resistant grass that grows vigorously and tall, and produces high quality forage when mixed with alfalfa.

Timothy grass is sweet-smelling, high-energy, high-fiber forage that is low in protein. It grows to about 30 inches tall when not grazed aggressively. Timothy can handle sandy soils as long as the soil is well drained. Goats seem to not find is as tasty as some other grasses, like alfalfa, but it will be readily consumed if alfalfa is not available.

Ryegrass is a perennial that grows well in midtemperate climates and is a rich, high-quality forage grass. The University of Wisconsin Extension recommends that ryegrass be grazed frequently and closely. It grows back quickly and will send up extensive new shoots from the plant's base. As ryegrass is susceptible to crown rust, the best cultivars are the rust resistant varieties. When cut for hay, ryegrass can be mixed with red clover and other grasses to make a nutritious winter feed.

Alfalfa is like nectar for foragers and grazers. Goats prefer it and will nose it out in a mixed field. It is a high-protein, high-fat legume with a good mineral content, especially in the early blooms. Try to let the goats munch it no shorter than 6 to 8 inches so it will regrow well until frost. A good strategy to balance nutrition and energy for your animals is to raise alfalfa with a quick-growing cultivar of orchard grass, fescue or ryegrass. The goats get a varied, complementary meal and the field isn't grazed to a bare patch. Timothy and brome are slower to regenerate after an onslaught of hungry goats.