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

[lupinfarm]

That sounds cool too, I have no idea LOL She's emailing me now.

I was horrified to hear people on the EMG forums say that goats love things like marshmellows and frenchfries. I wouldn't even feed myself marshmellows, MY RACCOONS don't even like marshmellows (much to my dismay).

 

[cmjust0]

Yikes..

Depending on what they're fried in, it may be against federal law to feed a goat french fries.

Feeding animal products to ruminants is a big no-no....which, incidentally, is why I kinda go when I see someone talk about using Red Cell on this forum. All kinds of ruminant products in Red Cell...that's why it's only to be used for horses.

Yeah...horses....that's the ticket.


Sorry...I got a little bit off topic there.. Back to the regularly scheduled mineral discussion..

 

[lupinfarm]

We make our own fries and bake them

 

[Roll farms]

Sort of off-topic, but...on the Red Cell...?
Not long after I started w/ goats it was a "no-no" b/c they used animal products in it, and Mad Cow disease was all the rage...
(That's why it says on the jug now, "Contains no beef products")
A few years later my vet told me they'd reformulated it (for that reason) and that it was one of the best things to get anemic and low-copper goats back up to par.
My vet is verrry good at goat medicine, btw.
I've been using it again for about 5 yrs whenever a black-coated doe turns red or one's eyelids go pale, and it does work wonders for us.
Not saying that it's all that and a bag of chips or for everyone, but it's not the devil, either.
It's helped me save lives.
JMHO...not looking for an argument.

 

[freemotion]

Great info. I'd used Red Cell once, many years (....er....decades....) ago with a horse and when I saw what was in it, I was pretty horrified to be feeding that to an herbivore. Glad to know they've changed the formula.

Tonight I looked at my doe...reddish thighs....now I don't know if she is supposed to be all black! Thanks a lot, now I will be obsessing and inspecting her every five minutes! I was leading her across the yard to milk her, and then it was getting dark, and I didn't get a chance to go inspect my truly black pygmy-x.....first thing tomorrow morning.

 

[currycomb]

i use the manna pro goat mineral, a handful in the feed couple times a week. when they were up in barn getting ready for 4-H show, mixed red cell with feed, they loved it, and really blossomed. put a little of the minerals out daily and just a couple goats went wild for the minerals, but after about 4 days they slacked off. plus they were dewormed 3 times in 6weeks, had tapeworms, used liquid panacur, which i can use on my rabbits, foals, and goats. then levasole for the nasty worms, then again 2weeks later. must have done em some good, took grand champion dairy doe, sold 2 does and their kids at fair and 2 more doelings after fair for pretty good money.

 

[onedozenphyllises]

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.

I've noticed this behavior in my goats too and was curious. I did switch brands, though, so I wondered if maybe the new stuff was just more palatable to them. Now you have me thinking.

 

[freemotion]

I raised my free-choice feeders, got tired of cleaning nanny berries out of them, and wondering if the damp was damp or pee! Then I put a step under them that only accomodates one set of feet, not the entire goat, so they would have to be pretty determined and creative to soil it.

But we all know how determined and creative goats can be!

Now they will eat the loose minerals periodically, not just fresh. I glance at it every 2-3 days, and it stays the same for days and then the level goes down suddenly.

The block salt is licked daily, they seem to prefer it, and the loose salt disappears quickly when the weather is very hot. So I provide both, since they can't seem to get enough from the block when it is very hot out.

 

[cmjust0]

Sort of off-topic, but...on the Red Cell...?
Not long after I started w/ goats it was a "no-no" b/c they used animal products in it, and Mad Cow disease was all the rage...
(That's why it says on the jug now, "Contains no beef products")
A few years later my vet told me they'd reformulated it (for that reason) and that it was one of the best things to get anemic and low-copper goats back up to par.

That is excellent information.. I didn't know it was reformulated.

I know they carry it at my local feedmill, so I may have to pick some up next time I'm in there...just to have it on hand, if nothing else.

My vet is verrry good at goat medicine, btw.
I've been using it again for about 5 yrs whenever a black-coated doe turns red or one's eyelids go pale, and it does work wonders for us.
Not saying that it's all that and a bag of chips or for everyone, but it's not the devil, either.
It's helped me save lives.
JMHO...not looking for an argument.

What's your dosage on red cell?

 

[cmjust0]

Just FYI...I noticed that Kent is making an on-label loose mineral for goats .. If you look at the product label, it contains copper, iron, zinc, and manganese sulfates, which should indicate a high level of bioavailability. Plus, it's balanced 2:1, Ca for urinary calculi prevention.

Looks like a good goat mineral to me.