Loose mineral..."if it's red, it's dead."

[lilhill]

You know, now that you mentioned it, every time I go in to the CoOp or feed store for minerals, it's always on the very top shelf and dusty. Evidently, lots of folks around here don't use it or use the blocks which, for goats, is almost like using nothing. Who would want to take a chance on something like that while possibly breaking their goats' teeth in the process.

 

[cmjust0]

Yep.. I'd hazard a guess that it's among the most important things which are widely and routinely neglected in raising goats....or livestock in general, for that matter.

The common wisdom is that goats will eat mineral whenever they need mineral, but I'm not so sure about that now. I know we've had mineral sit in the barn for an eternity with nobody seeming to have touched it for months, but when you finally take a wild hair and replace it with fresh mineral, they go nuts and knock each other out of the way to get at it.

I'm going to try a new tack once I get better mineral..

I'm going to try to figure out how much mineral they'll use in a certain interval -- a week, maybe -- and provide only that much at that interval. My guess is that mineral probably gets soiled as quickly as anything else would get soiled if it sat, free choice, in the barn at head (and butt) level for more than a day or two.

For instance...what would a bucket of water look like after a month in the goat barn? Would they consume it?

No way.. Now that I'm really examining the issue, I'd say mineral is much the same.

 

[ksalvagno]

I actually give my goats new minerals every day. I'm currently using Purina Goat Mineral. I only give them about a tablespoon full. They always eat some but there is always some left in the morning and it is always clumpy. I clean out the mineral dish really good and then put the new stuff in. I have no idea if they eat enough of it or not. At least half of it is always gone.

 

[lilhill]

That stuff is so expensive (maybe why more people aren't using it) that I give them what they can finish in a day. If they finish the morning ration by evening, I refill the pans. It's so humid here, you have to be careful or the minerals will "liquify". The bucks will waste most of theirs, so for those boys, they get a good pinch in their feed pans every feeding.

 

[cmjust0]

I think most folks -- myself included -- have traditionally just "put out mineral" and let it go at that with the idea that the goats will use it when they need it.

I don't think they do, though..

I do know they attack it when you put it out fresh, but my question then would be...if you put it out fresh everyday, would they attack it everyday? And if so, is mineral designed to be used that way, or is it designed to be put out and forgotten?

In other words...if you refresh a goat's mineral everyday, and they attack it everyday, could they wind up getting too much mineral?

I might -- might -- be able to speak with someone soon who can answer these questions..

I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[lupinfarm]

Thats a very interesting though CM, I know with the horses I put out the salt block and they just use it at their own leisure... most of the time it is ignored (unfortunately our boarder is biting chunks off it, so I'm going to have to get another one when she leaves).

 

[lupinfarm]

Perhaps, CM, Goats are like cats...

If you leave a dish of cat food out, the cats won't eat it after a while as the oils dry up. Cats will go nuts over fresh cat food, but not over left out cat food.

The appeal of the mineral is gone when left too long?

 

[cmjust0]

As I'm sure we all know, goats can be extremely picky when they want to be. Thinking back, I know I've seen them sniff around at mineral just like they sniff around and balk at a feed pan someone just sneezed at or put a hoof in for 0.038 seconds...they're done with it. If it's the least bit contaminated, they're finished. They may even balk at that feed pan next time around, too, if you don't wash it out.

I guess I never really associated that with loose mineral left out too long, mostly because I never thought much about mineral beyond "they have mineral." What are the chances, in all the time it sits out in most folks' barns, that an errant goat wouldn't back right up to it and get a few pee dribbles in there? What are the chances it wouldn't get stepped or sneezed or spit in?

Nill. Zilch. Zip. Nada. It's gonna happen, likely sooner than later.

Question is...do mineral makers design their product to be set out fresh every day like feed and water, or do they design it to be set out to be soiled and subsequently used only when the animal feels it's absolutely necessary for survival?

I dunno.. Something tells me it's probably a goldilocks deal where you have to consider your individual goats, your soil, your baled and fresh forages, your bagged feeding arrangements, blah blah blah.

Ya know...more good ol' regular goat stuff.

ETA: What I do know is that if your mineral formula is heavy on inextricably bound compounds, it probably doesn't matter how much or how often, because they're not getting what they need either way.

 

[lupinfarm]

I think it really is a "if they feel they need it they will take it" your feed, hay, forage, soil, all should be taken into account and I know that horse nutrionists take all that into consideration when planning for minerals and supplements for horses, why not for goats? Because we don't think of it. Everyones land, feed, pasture, and hay is different. Mine might contain more copper than yours, or yours than mine which could ultimately affect the amount of minerals the goats feel they need.

If it helps, most all goat farmers and sheep farmers near to me it seems use the block because their goats and sheep are out 24/7 365 and the block doesn't melt randomly or get mysteriously hard (because it already is LOL). I'm almost certain I saw a goat block at TSC once, hmm..

I spoke to a goat breeder from the Caldeon area who is sending me instructions and pictures of a loose mineral feeder she made for her goats She breeds myotonic goats and pygmies!

 

[cmjust0]

The mineral feeder wouldn't happen to be a plastic drum with a head hole in one side and an eye bolt for a hanger at the top edge of the opposite side, would it?

If not...that's another good one.

The thing can basically rotate 360*, and the wind catches the head hole and pushes it around to the other side, out of the weather.. Also, since the eye bolt is connected opposite the head hole, the entire thing is tipped such that the head hole is always sorta cocked downward which keeps vertical rain from filling it up.

It's pure genius, really, which should make it pretty clear that it's NOT my idea.