Goats not eating minerals

[HankTheTank]

Recently I noticed my goats weren't touching their loose minerals. I tried putting some on top of their feed, but it just sits on the bottom of the bowl. Is there any way to encourage them to eat them? Or should I not worry about it?

 

[ksalvagno]

Were they eating it before or is this a new mineral? Sometimes when my goats aren't eating anything, I actually just not give them minerals for a few days. Then after that, they seem to go back to it. They do go through periods of not eating it as well as gobbling it up so maybe they are just going through a period of not eating it.

 

[HankTheTank]

It's the same one I've always had, Manna Pro. They used to eat them as soon as I put them in the holder, but now they just sit there and get all nasty. I was getting a bit more worried about this lately especially with winter coming up.

 

[ksalvagno]

I would just not put any out for a few days and see what happens. If they aren't deficient in anything, I don't worry about them not having minerals for a few days.

 

[HankTheTank]

Ok, thank you

 

[DonnaBelle]

My goats eat the minerals sometimes, sometimes don't touch them for a week.

It's not like the all eat some everyday.

My goats love apple slices. I usually slice them into a plastic ice cream container and the goats go nuts when they see that container, so I put minerals in it sometimes and they stick their heads in and lick some. LOL.

Be sure and keep them fresh. It's better to put a little in the mineral holders every day than fill it up and let them set and get "crusty" and old.

I have started using the Goat 20 N supplement tubs and I really like them. DH built me a wall holder for the tub and it works great.
The goats love them and they have never looked better.

DonnaBelle

 

[that's*satyrical]

Make sure the minerals don't smell bad or anything. I doubt they would be our Tractor Supply sells them quickly. I noticed they changed the packaging, I sure hope they didn't change the formulation so the goats don't like them because right now my goats love them.

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I second most of what's been said. I would check the minerals for anything strange. Smell, looks, color, mold, wet, ect Anyhitng out of the ordinary. If all seems fine then I would just change the minerals in the feeder and leave it at that. They might not need/want any for a few days but will more than likely come back to them soon. As ksalvagno said you may want to withhold them for a few days. Then go out and hand feed it to them and see if they will eat it. I don't think there is a big reason to worry here.

 

[meme]

The same thing is happening to us. The first two bags we bought, they gobbled up like crazy. This bag, they have hardly touched it in a month. The only difference I can see is that it is more of a gray color instead of red like the others.

 

[Mf628]

If the goats aren't deficient in any mineral, then they will not seek it out. They know where it is, so when they need it they will look for it. I agree with keeping it away for a few days to avoid it from wasting, but it won't kill them to go a little while without them. Most grains will provide enough salt and minerals to keep the goats healthy, but I always offer it free choice along with baking soda. The feed tag also claims that no additional roughage is required, but I always keep their hay feeders full to keep them healthy.