Minerals

TriWinkle · #1 01/08/12, 12:18 AM

So no matter what I feed, loose minerals available at all times are a must, correct?

Ok, ok, someone explain baking soda to me...I'm trying to raise goats here, not bread!!

BTW, I've been letting my girls graze, eat alfalfa and giving them a food labeled "goat food." Have I hurt them somehow if they haven't had access to minerals, since the day before X-mas eve? I'd like to know this last part ASAP, because if I gotta go and break into a feed store tonight so they'll be alright...well then...ok...

In the event that happens, please someone start passing the hat around and come bail me out...I'll be the one standing in the corner by myself, smelling of goats and goat minerals...Then again, if I pick up some Arm & Hammer while I'm out then I may be ok...If it works on the fridge, it should help me.

NataliaTwoDoes · #2 01/08/12, 12:45 AM

LOL...... Please dont break in. I think they'll make it till Monday

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I dont leave the loose minerals in the pen constantly because they get contaminated often by goat berries but I do provide it sprinkled on their rations and they are copper bolused as well. I do think most here provide minerals free choice though along with baking soda which if I understand right gets rid of gasses from an acidic rumen. Goats are sensitive to food changes and the baking soda helps them to regulate it on their own kind of like tums and heartburn for us but acidity in the rumen can be dangerous rather than just uncomfortable. Bloat can kill a goat.

Anyways Im not an expert just giving you info Ive gleaned since getting goats and hanging out on HT. The ladies and gents give pretty great info here. Im sure I will be corrected if I am off on anything

nathan104 · #3 01/08/12, 12:58 AM

I keep loose minerals out for them all the time. Keep it in a tall sided tub. I have not had any baking soda out for them them since I got them last summer. Mine have plenty of pasture and browse and every couple of days I give them goat feed and some alfalfa cubes.

houndlover · #4 01/08/12, 01:43 AM

My loose mineral pan goes empty now and then and nobody's ever died. Some goats won't touch them anyway. Baking soda is just the regular old baking soda - they'll eat it when they know they need it.

Backfourty,MI. · #5 01/08/12, 05:49 AM

It's best to keep loose minerals & Baking Soda available for them 24/7 that way they can get them when they need them. Of course a few days & no minerals or baking soda no one will die.

Although Natalie is right & bloat can kill a goat. The baking soda available to them when they need it can help prevent that.

I keep them in a 2 sided black dish sold at Tractor supply for about $4.00.Keep it up off the ground & out of the elements. I keep 1 in their lean too outside & also 1 in their section of the barn.

Also get a loose mineral made for cattle not goats. The goat mineral doesn't have enough copper in it that goats need. Also a dark gray or black colored mineral is better for them than a red colored mineral too. The color means they have a different type of copper in it & each one is absorbed differently into their systems.

I use Right Now Onyx by Cargill, but alot of folks use the Sweetlix and I'm sure there are a few others but can't think of them.

prairiedog · #6 01/08/12, 08:21 AM

I put the mineral holder up high enough that they put their feet on a cement block to reach it that keeps the goat berries out of it.

sherrie · #7 01/08/12, 09:20 AM

Mine have 24/7 loose minerals - Bluebonnet TechMaster. But those few times when they ran out of minerals nobody died.

TriWinkle · #8 01/09/12, 11:39 AM

Thank you all for your help...and for saving me from looking at 3-5 for B&E...but ya gotta do what ya gotta do...I've been working these past few days, so haven't gotten the minerals, but that's on the agenda for today.

thaiblue12 · #9 01/09/12, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriWinkle

Ok, ok, someone explain baking soda to me...I'm trying to raise goats here, not bread!!

Well clearly you are not raising purebread goats, we have them here along with purebread dogs

I always want to ask white or wheat when I see those ads, lol.

Mine have gone a few days without minerals and are fine. If you notice "fish tails" meaning the tail hairs on the ends are spilt in two directions then they are lacking in minerals especially copper. Or if you see the coat changing colors and getting rough.
Heck I was using unfiltered well water after my spigot froze and broke, they had loose minerals but the iron and etc in my water made it ineffective. I had to haul water from the house till I got that fixed.

Mine hardly have edible baking soda since they make sure they pee or poop in it. Putting it on the wall was no help since they thought I installed a cool new scratcher just for them.

ETA: When you look for the looose minerals find the kind with the highest copper and the lowest salt. I have to use cow mineral here since the goat mineral only had 1300 ppm of cooper and a ton of salt. The cow mineral has 2200 copper and much less salt.

TriWinkle · #10 01/09/12, 05:12 PM

Sounds like good advice...Anything I should avoid?

Another question: If we're supposed to use loose minerals, then why do they make goat mineral blocks and why don't we use them?

Backfourty,MI. · #11 01/10/12, 07:09 AM

People will make anything if they think folks will buy it & they can make money off it. There has never been alot of research done on goats for some reason. Most parts of the country are deficient in copper & through years of experienced goat people trying different things it's now known to goat people that goat minerals don't have enough copper in them for what they really need.

Goat mineral blocks have alot of salt so the goat licks & licks the block for the salt but never really gets what they need from the blocks. It would take them half a block to get what they need in copper & they'd wear their tougne's & teeth out.

TriWinkle · #12 01/10/12, 12:43 PM

Thank you!! Sorry for all the questions...Every time I think I've asked all I can, I think of more...I appreciate y'all's help and patience!!

saanengirl · #13 01/10/12, 01:45 PM

Hoegger's has a great goat mineral if you want one specifically for goats. I use Manna Pro Breeders Chelated minerals (formulated for cows, but work ok for goats too).

Baking soda is used to buffer the rumen. The rumen is supposed to have a neutral pH, but if there are a lot of simple carbohydrates in the diet (such as molasses and grain) the bacteria in the rumen convert the simple carbs into fatty acids really quickly. This can cause the rumen to get acidic which is not healthy for the bacteria and in the end is not healthy for the goat. Goats know when they need baking soda and will eat it when they need it. It helps bring the rumen back to neutral pH.