Can we take a look at the pros & cons of all fats sups?

[RamblingCowgirl]

I'm doing a bit of home work for horse feed, BUT the fats are the same as the ones feed to goats and I think it will get more trafic here, thus being more useful to all. I'd like to know for the sake of my goats too. I want to look at all the pros & cons, from price to how hard/easy it is to come buy and so on.

BOSS {Black Oil Sunflower Seeds} oil, whole, ground
Flax oil, whole, ground
Corn oil, whole, ground
Other Vegetable oils {feel free to brake down into more detail if you wish}
Beat Pulp shreded, pellet
Rice Bran
Cotton seed
Soybean oil


Is that all...or are there otheres? Please add something if you think it fits.




For a start I know Flax has omega 3 fatty acids that is a pro, but is is also one of the more costly then most {maybe all} of the others

 

[Goatherd]

From your list, I can only offer my findings/experience with flax seed and beet pulp as I've not used the others.

Yes, flax seed is probably the most costly on the list, but for my dollar, the nutritional benefits are very cost effective. Flax is considered a grain along with corn, sunflower and safflower, all of which offer the by product of oil.

I purchase mine from my feed dealer and I believe I pay $35 for 50#.

Where flax differs from the others is that it is very nutrient dense as far as vitamins and minerals are concerned. A few of the minerals that come to mind are copper, selenium, iron and calcium, all of which are vital to goat health. It contains vitamin E and several of the B-complex vitamins and as you've mentioned, the omega 3 fatty acids. It is a proven anti inflammatory and benefits skin, hair and hooves quality because of it's protein content. There are many more benefits if you choose to research it.

Personally, I use ground flax seed myself in many of the foods I prepare.

One of the controversial topics of flax is whether to use it in it's whole form or to grind it before using. If you do decide to grind it, it's best to do it immediately before using as the nutrients start to break down as soon as the seed is processed. Buying it in the ground form is still good, but not as good as if you do the grinding yourself. A coffee bean grinder works very well for this. This debate has also extended itself into the animal world, but personally, when it comes to goats, they digest and process foods differently than humans and receive the benefits of flax in it's whole form equally as from the ground.

The other food that I use is shredded beet pulp, but I don't think of that as an oil (low) but rather a fiber source. I don't use it as a steady feed, but more as a supplement.

As I've mentioned, I can't comment on the other foods as I've not used them.

 

[that's*satyrical]

I use the BOSS. Seems to give my goats a nice shiny healthy coat. It also is reportedly a good source of dietary selenium & our area is low in selenium so that is the main reason I supplement with it. We get the large size bag it seems to be more reasonably priced than the smaller bags.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Cotton seed
soybean oil

 

[DonnaBelle]

We have used BOSS for about two years now.

I have two black goats whose coats are noticibly slick and shiney when I feed the BOSS in the wintertime.

I haven't been feeding it in the summertime when they get a lot of brouse and pasture.

DonnaBelle

 

[RamblingCowgirl]

Cotton seed
soybean oil

Thanks

 

[RamblingCowgirl]

The other food that I use is shredded beet pulp, but I don't think of that as an oil (low) but rather a fiber source.

In the horse world it is used for both a weight builder and fiber, I guess that is why I thought of it. But I'm looking for info and both fat & weight builder...guess I should edit the title.
And thank you for all you said about flax, it is at the top of my list for now to feed to an old horse. After reading all that I think I want to add it to the goat feed as well.

Thanks everyone, keep it coming

 

[Goatherd]

And thank you for all you said about flax, it is at the top of my list for now to feed to an old horse

I forgot to mention that even though the price of flax seeds might seem cost prohibitive, you really don't feed large amounts of it at any one time. Also, because of the size of the grain/seed and the weight of it, there is quite a bit of product in a 50# bag.

 

[Karma]

We feed Cocosoya Oil to our horses that just need a little more fat in their diet and don't necessarily need a lot of weight gain or all of our horses for the winter, it's basically a blend of Soybean and Coconut Oil. They have another product only available through SmartPak called Cocosoya Ultra SP that is basically the oil with Flax Seed and Rice Bran with additional pre and probiotics and we give that one to our horses in heavy work or ones that need to put on a few pounds.

You can get a free sample from their site here: http://www.uckeleequine.com/page/freesample/

Pricewise, for the original Cocosoya Oil we use about a gallon per horse each month which comes to about 75 cents a day to feed. Even if the feed store is out and we have it shipped it still usually does not hit $1.00 a day to feed it. The Cocosoya Ultra SP comes to 89 cents per day however it's also conveniently packaged in daily doses with free shipping straight to our door.

 

[goodhors]

Not saying the Cocosoya isn't good, but for almost $1 a day (rounded off) for EACH horse, that can add up to quite a bit of money in ONLY fat for the horses. One horse for $365 a year is pricy, and if there are several animals to give the Oil to, you could easily get to large amounts of cash spent on one small item.

I couldn't afford to feed my horse with that choice of fat supplement, and even plain corn oil has gotten unreal in cost. We used to use corn oil but have quit with the prices so high for our 6-7 horses to feed. And they only got 1/4 cup each, once a day then.

We don't do much in supplements, just adding a vitamin pellet and Selenium with Vit E. No Selenium in our soil.

I have our horse feed mixed to our recipe, horses look very nice on it, with good quality hooves and hair. No wasted items in the feed, like happens when you purchase feed at the store. Read your bag labels, learn what percentages are in them, how many useless items you pay for that horse can't digest. Adds up over time, money I would rather spend other places.

Not directly goat related, but I fed the horse grain mix to the sheep, because it had no horse extras in it. Just plain grains mixed together. Additions named above are added so each horse serving to get EXACTLY what they need when fed.

I wouldn't feed the BOSS, unless they were shelled, which adds greatly to the cost. We know PERSONALLY, several horses that got blockages from the hulls. Not worth the benefits if horses cost to be fixed or die from a blockage. Goats obviously are not horses, so possible blockages might not be an issue with their digestive system.

Haven't used the other products, flax, safflower, because of higher cost and needs more work to get fed. I don't have the time to do lots of feed fussing, and haven't seen much benefit when I tried it before.

I have been very happy with simple, cheaper, less work grains, in results on the animals. Corn in various forms is an excellent animal feed, provides many needed nutrients of various species at a reasonable (most of the time!) price. Not as messy as oils, won't go rancid like the oils, lose the feed values if kept dry.

We do feed wet beet pulp as a forage food, but find it easy to fix in the AM by adding water, walk away, feed in the PM. At feeding time everything is "scoop into each bucket" and feed without extra work.

We feed Cocosoya Oil to our horses that just need a little more fat in their diet and don't necessarily need a lot of weight gain or all of our horses for the winter, it's basically a blend of Soybean and Coconut Oil. They have another product only available through SmartPak called Cocosoya Ultra SP that is basically the oil with Flax Seed and Rice Bran with additional pre and probiotics and we give that one to our horses in heavy work or ones that need to put on a few pounds.

You can get a free sample from their site here: http://www.uckeleequine.com/page/freesample/

Pricewise, for the original Cocosoya Oil we use about a gallon per horse each month which comes to about 75 cents a day to feed. Even if the feed store is out and we have it shipped it still usually does not hit $1.00 a day to feed it. The Cocosoya Ultra SP comes to 89 cents per day however it's also conveniently packaged in daily doses with free shipping straight to our door.