Choosing and using a mineral

[EosRisingFarm]

I am almost out of the first bag of mineral we ever bought. It was Manna Pro goat mineral. I am looking for a more economical option unless this really is the best choice for my goats. What do you all use? What do you think of the mana pro mineral?

Currently the lamancha doe (due may25th) gets a shot glass (1oz or 2.5tblsp ish) on her sprouts every morning and the nigerian get half that.

I was leaving the mineral out free choice but they just were not eating it and it would get damp in our PNW air. Is the amount i am feeding (1oz) adequate?

[momagoat61]

Manna Pro is avaiable to me through TSC, but my goat's will not eat it, I purchase cattle mineral's through my local COOP and the one I use has 2300ppm of copper in it and my goat's love it.. I can't stand the smell of Manna Pro Goat Minerals nor can my goats, they just walk away from it when I first purchased some many, many years ago.. I have been using the COOP Minerals in the green bag for 18 - 20 years. I feed the minerals from the PVC mineral feeder free choice.

[mygoat]

There should be feeding instructions on the bag. IF they're not eating much of it, it is likely too high in salt OR has less molasses than they're used to. (more molasses means they eat more, wether they need to eat more or not - some supplements are made to taste really good so they eat more, so you have to feed more... and thus buy more. )

I use Sweetlix Magnamilk by ADM. If your feed mill doesn't supply an inexpensive mineral, you can also use a low salt-high copper cattle mineral - many people swear by right Now Onyx (by Cargill) but I haven't found it conveniently close to me and I'm not going to drive all over to get a special mineral that is pricier especially when mine is working fine. (I do still BoSe and give Copper, though, 2x per year) I buy my mineral in a 25lb bag I believe, for around 12-14 dollars if I Remember correctly. I also buy baking soda by the partial or full bag (50lbs) which costs about 13.00 last time I bought it. They usually have Ammonium Chloride as well which I've only had to sparingly buy.

[EosRisingFarm]

our mana pro smells like apples. I just noticed it is lower in copper that some other mineral. I will check the feed store to see what they have. We do have free choice baking soda and kelp goes on their morning sprouts with molasses to mix it all together. My goats love asparagus and carrots in their too. silly goats.

[Awnry Abe]

I'm doing loose cattle mineral free choice plus nearly weekly Replamin.

[creeklady2000]

I use the manna pro minerals , yes they are a little costly around $10 for 8 pounds but they will slow down on it once they are used to it and my goats look great on it, i could use a cattle mineral i guess , but the manna pro has everything they need , and mine love it!!, i do use a sheep mineral in my pen that has goats and sheep in it as i cannot give my sheep the goat mineral,

[Goat Servant]

We use the Onyx Right Now. I found that I have to bring it out daily. They wont eat that or any other minerals unless they are dry & ABSOLUTELY FRESH.

[Backfourty,MI.]

I use Goat Power minerals from ADM, it's a loose mineral & my goats all seem to like it.
I pay $27.00 for a 50 pound bag & it lasts a long time here.

[EosRisingFarm]

Manna Pro 10lb bag is 17$ here. And Nutrena or purina.......goat mineral is 14.99 for 50lbs. We decided for financial reasons to go with the bigger bag. With the kelp meal and the mineral i think the girls will be good. They also get a selenium/vit e glop on the first of evvery month. And black strap molasses ect.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I am using the Onyx Right Now from Cargill currently. Because of the humidity, I put out about 1/2 cup at a time, then check it every day, adding as needed.

[motdaugrnds]

I use the "Golden Blend Minerals" from Hoeggers, getting it in 25 lb bags. (I usually get 4 bags and keep them in the plastic buckets this mineral use to come in.) My goats love it! I can put it out once a week and, even with our humidity, just stir it a bit and the goats still enjoy it. (I've discovered they're eating it more this past winter than in times past and I suspect that is because they have not been able to get out and browse as much due to the overly bad winter we've had.)

I still supplement with Bo-Se shots as my area is deficient in selenium; and I use Replamin Plus as a supplement as well. (I use to copper bolus; but since I've stopped feeding them BOSS, I've not noticed any reason to do so.)

[crazy4equines]

I use stockade horse mineral, mine love it. I just add a big scoop to their grain 1 time a day. They also get a salt and mineral block to lick on as well. I think my bag is 25 pounds and I pay around $12 at farm and fleet