# loose minerals and sweet feed?



## marlowmanor (Aug 23, 2011)

How old does a goat need to be to give them loose minerals? Can you just buy a mineral block? This is what I am looking at http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...erdlife-billy-block-goat-block-4-lbs--2182117 . I'll only have 2 goats at first, and they will be 6 week old Pygerians buckling/wethers (one will be wethered right before we get him, and the other we will wait till he is closer to 3 months to wether). 

I keep hearing that goats should not get sweet feed. Why is that? My dad feeds his sweet feed and has no problems from it. I know he has fed them regular goat feed before too. Right now I know he is feeding them sweet feed, and I know we will have to transition our kids we get from him in a couple weeks to regular feed if we buy it. I'm looking at cost effective feeding options and sweet feed it way cheaper than regular pelleted goat feed. I know out kids eat it too as the ones we are getting that are only 3 weeks old right now were eating it, in fact one even ate it from my ODS hand. So I guess my question is why not give them sweet feed or mix sweet feed with regular goat feed? Also when transitioning the new kids to regular food that we buy from sweet feed what do we need to do. I know you have to transition over a 2-3 week span to prevent problems, but what ratios do I need to use.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm trying to go off of what my dad has done for years with the goats he raises, and he has never used loose minerals, only salt or mineral licks, and feeds sweet feed sometimes too. I'm trying to learn, but I've seen what he does for years and he has had healthy goats with no serious health problems. So there are many things that I keep hearing here that I wonder about b/c of what I have been exposed to.


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## elevan (Aug 23, 2011)

Sweet feeds are a matter of preference to the goat owner...goats don't really need it and it's not gonna cause harm unless they over indulge.  See my goat feeding thread (link in signature) to see how many different answers you'll get for feeding goats  

Minerals...imo all goats won't get what they need from a block - it's just not possible for them to lick it enough.  That said I do offer a block to my goats BUT I also offer loose minerals.  You can get a small bag of Manna Pro minerals from TSC.  My easy keepers usually lick the block but the majority go for the loose minerals with some licking of the block.

Transitioning to feed for kids...I make it available to them all the time for their first 2 weeks of life - they are penned with their mama during that time and she has feed free choice during that time.  After that they get penned up with their mama during feeding and after a while they'll start eating it.  If you're bottle feeding then someone else will have to give you a transition timeframe since I dam raise.


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## marlowmanor (Aug 23, 2011)

These kids are being dam raised. I know my dad gives his herd feed at certain times and they are on pasture the rest of the time. We noticed yesterday when we went to visit our goat that he ate from the feed trough with the adults. DH and my ODS fed him from their hands too. My son loved it! Our kid is getting quite tame, definately getting used to my ODS picking him up and toting him around. Now since we just put a deposit on his brother we have to start working some with that one when we visit too. My ODS is a chicken wrangler and loves catching his goat and toting him around too! It's quite cute!


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## elevan (Aug 23, 2011)

Just remember that said goat will get MUCH bigger than a chicken and may develop some unwanted habits from being carried around  

We are currently breaking a doeling from jumping on you...DH used to carry her everywhere (he was in love) and now she wants to be in your arms, on your back, on your head...don't bend over around her or you'll have a 35# pygmy leaping up


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## marlowmanor (Aug 23, 2011)

LOL! It's just something he does right now. He'll catch BlackJack and tote him around with him through the pasture. It's getting him used to my ODS. We figure when him and his brother come home with us we won't let Logan (ODS) do that anymore. We'll just teach him to pet them nicely. Plus there won't be as much room to run away when he comes home with us so it won't be so much trouble to catch him. We will let him continue to hand feed him some though. Or is that a bad idea too?


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## elevan (Aug 23, 2011)

Hand feeding is fine as long as the goat has manners    I've got one that if you're not paying attention he'll pull your finger in his mouth!  But normally as long as you teach your son how to feed from his hand and you keep the situation calm the goat will be fine with hand feeding.


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 23, 2011)

I would keep them on the feed they are used to when bringing him home and worry about changing feed type 3 or 4 weeks after bringing him home if you choose to do that.  The biggest thing being they are males is they should have ammonia chloride in the feed.   If what your dad is doing is working for that specific breed and bloodlines, and he has been following that practice for a few years, then I wouldn't worry too much about changing it and continue with what he is doing. 

If you are referring to a  general sweat feed for all species and not goat specific it will not have very much copper in it.  But if you are just having them for pets and not production, it may not be that big of a deal. 

I would for sure go with loose minerals for goats, regardless of the feed you choose to use.


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## Georgiamainers (Aug 23, 2011)

At first I set out a mineral feeder but it always got messy, dried up, or got pooped in.  Now, I just pinch a good amount and sprinkle it on their morning feedings.


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