Confused About Loose Minerals

[Hipshot]

Animals get some if not most of their minerals , from the vegetation they eat. Most people don't do a soil analyses to see what is in the soil . Am I feeding to much are to little mineral I just sprinkle lose mineral on their feed .they leave most of it in the feed trough, I also give them a supplement block . I get that from my Farmers Co-op. They eat it like candy. I've always heard a rough coat means the animal is wormy . While Alaskan says it means a mineral deficiency. If your goats look good to the eye and would rather have weeds than grain or minerals' they are my kind of goats .The feeders look like a good ideal. Inside so supplements do not get wet . Just remember to keep all supplements and feed fresh . I wouldn't put out a lot of something they aren't eating.

 

[babsbag]

I live in CA and we have no summer pasture. We also have selenium deficient soil and the copper isn't absorbed well due to our well water. I have no parasite problems at all, ever. But I constantly battle Selenium, zinc, and copper deficiencies. I have 50 goats, 32 of them in milk, and go through about 50 lbs of minerals a week. I sometimes put the mineral on their hay and they lick it up, I also have the feeders for them. I also give them a cobalt block. Their coats have changed to a nice smooth coat with darker coloring since I started using the minerals from NE.

 

[Chebird]

Oh my, I haven't heard that goats need cobalt. Can someone please explain?

 

[babsbag]

I can't really say why they need cobalt but most people I know put a cobalt block out for them. If a person mentions that the goat's milk has an off flavor it is often suggested to give them cobalt. I leave a block out for them and they do eat it.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

I had found a small article hidden in some other stuff, a few years ago when I was scouring the internet when I had issues with Bailey one of my best boer does, having issues with pink milk after kidding 9 or 10 lb triplet doe kids. It was not mastitis, and it cleared up when we managed to get her calcium/magnesium and cobalt sorted out. I had to order a cobalt supplement I gave her in a pill form and I put out a block for everyone else and now they use the block almost exclusively. I like the Sweetlix loose minerals for their general maintenance, sometimes I use the Magnum Milk, sometimes I use the Meat Maker, depends on what I am feeding as the main diet to the majority of my herd.

 

[BrendaJune]

Tell a little bit about your barn kit. Who makes it? Do they ship? How big is it? What company in NE has the minerals you like? Thanks!