# Horn delamination, is this something to be concerned about?



## cementitiousman (Nov 14, 2012)

We have a one year old Angora doe and her horns have begun to delaminate, the layers of her horn are peeling.  Is this something to worry about? She gets goat pellets, hay, variety of plants, salt lick, mineral lick.
Is this a form of scours?  What's up?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 14, 2012)

It's a mineral deficiency. I'm trying to remember what mineral but I just can't remember.

Anyway, get rid of the salt lick right away and dump the mineral lick too. Get her loose mineral and NO salt at all.


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## cementitiousman (Nov 14, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> It's a mineral deficiency. I'm trying to remember what mineral but I just can't remember.
> 
> Anyway, get rid of the salt lick right away and dump the mineral lick too. Get her loose mineral and NO salt at all.


Thank you, will do. What is wrong with mineral lick? Too much stuff they don't need?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 14, 2012)

Mineral licks can be ok and it does work for some people but your best bet is loose mineral. The block and licks can be bad on goat's teeth and alot of times they don't get what they really need from them. Loose mineral they can 'eat' it so they get what they really need and it's not bad on their teeth.

Salt blocks should never be given to goats because they, like all mammals, crave salt. They will choose the salt over the mineral and too much salt is bad for them. If they have it free choice they will become deprived of the minerals they do need and eat too much salt which is bad for them. Loose mineral will have some salt in it to attract them and they will get the right amount from that.


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## cementitiousman (Nov 14, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Mineral licks can be ok and it does work for some people but your best bet is loose mineral. The block and licks can be bad on goat's teeth and alot of times they don't get what they really need from them. Loose mineral they can 'eat' it so they get what they really need and it's not bad on their teeth.
> 
> Salt blocks should never be given to goats because they, like all mammals, crave salt. They will choose the salt over the mineral and too much salt is bad for them. If they have it free choice they will become deprived of the minerals they do need and eat too much salt which is bad for them. Loose mineral will have some salt in it to attract them and they will get the right amount from that.


Thanks again, that saved me some search time.  We will switch to the loose minerals. People like you make these sites great.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 14, 2012)

You're welcome. Glad to help and yes, it is always great when you can ask someone else and not have to spend hours looking or researching something!!


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## SkyWarrior (Nov 14, 2012)

I have an alpine with the same problem, only I got her with it.  I suspect she has never been introduced to minerals when young and that also explains her small size.  I gave her a mineral block but I need to do something else to make sure she gets enough.

I'm about ready to buy a bag of goat minerals.  All my other goats are fine with the standard salt/mineral supplements.


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## Verndawg (Nov 16, 2012)

So do you just put the loose minerals in their food or in another bowl for them to eat?  How much do you give them?


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## redtailgal (Nov 16, 2012)

my meat wethers came to me with poor horns.  Once they had access to loose mineral, things looked better.  We could see healthier horn growing in at the bottom in just a matter of weeks.

Many of my breeders babies had poor horns this year, she studied and figured out that a couple of the bigger does wouldnt let the babies near the loose minerals.

I'll be placing separate minerals in the creep when we have our babies and she has started doing the same.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Nov 16, 2012)

@Verndawg

Ideally you have a separate feeder for the minerals. You can feed them in their feed until you get something better though. As for how much, that depends on you, in a way. You could do what the directions tell you to do which is one or teaspoons I believe and feed them from your hands. That can be good when you only have a few goats as you do. Or you could make something to hold the mineral and you can either fill it for what they will eat for that day or you could just fill it up and refill when it's empty. That's how I do mine.

This is a page on my journal that will show you how I made my mineral feeders.

Here a great link that may help you some more.


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## cementitiousman (Nov 17, 2012)

Great design on the mineral feeder! And stylish in a PVC kinda way.


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## scalaway (Dec 25, 2012)

Another great source for minerals/vitamins is Kelp ... The brand name we use is "Sea-min"  it's a good one for all kinds of things they need!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 25, 2012)

scalaway said:
			
		

> Another great source for minerals/vitamins is Kelp ... The brand name we use is "Sea-min"  it's a good one for all kinds of things they need!


Giving free choice kelp is very good for goats. You can actually replace red cell with kelp, if they have it free choice. It's natural and it's very good for them.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Dec 25, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> @Verndawg
> 
> Ideally you have a separate feeder for the minerals. You can feed them in their feed until you get something better though. As for how much, that depends on you, in a way. You could do what the directions tell you to do which is one or teaspoons I believe and feed them from your hands. That can be good when you only have a few goats as you do. Or you could make something to hold the mineral and you can either fill it for what they will eat for that day or you could just fill it up and refill when it's empty. That's how I do mine.
> 
> ...


*
I just use a little horse feeder hung on the fence, looks like this; http://www.jefferspet.com/mini-sheep-foal-feeder/camid/LIV/cp/16759/*


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