mineral storage...

[pets4me]

I found a feed store that offered loose mineral...only thing though it isn't brand name like sweetlix or right now onyx. It is a bulk mixture sold in 20 kg bags...about 40 pounds. I only have two goats so I amagine this will last a long time. How long will it last if I keep it dry?

Also there was 1000 ( forgot the measurment term) of copper...will this be enough?

How do you guys keep the goats from tipping over the container holding the mineral. I have tried bolting it to the side of the stall, but they try to climb up on it and get dirt in it from their hooves. If I offered it to them as I was cleaning their stall everyday and then remove it when I was done, would that be enough for them to get what they need?

thanks for your help

 

[lupinfarm]

I have my minerals in a shallow tote box, they too came in a 40lb bag, Purina dairy cow minerals because we can't get goat minerals here.

My only suggestion would be to build one of those pipe mineral feeders, I'm going to because right now I have my mineral feeder outside in their pen so it doesn't get trampled on and I'd rather I had it inside.

 

[cmjust0]

I found a feed store that offered loose mineral...only thing though it isn't brand name like sweetlix or right now onyx. It is a bulk mixture sold in 20 kg bags...about 40 pounds. I only have two goats so I amagine this will last a long time. How long will it last if I keep it dry?

Most mineral is designed to be consumed at like 0.25oz to 0.5oz per day, per head.. Even assuming your two eat 0.5oz/day each, that's still only an ounce a day.. There are 640oz in 40lbs...so, not quite two years.

I'm not sure how good mineral will be after two years, but let's put it this way....I'd set it out free choice and refresh it often, even if they tend to soil it a lot. If you have to dump mineral a lot and wind up using 4x the amount you would have, you're still only buying a bag every 6mo.....which is about the longest I'd personally go between fresh bags anyway.

Granted, I have no reason to believe that mineral's any less potent after 6mo or anything like that, but.....well, there are some 'palatability' components to any mineral which I would imagine are starting to get a lil' bit funky after 6mo..

Also there was 1000 ( forgot the measurment term) of copper...will this be enough?

Probably ppm...parts per million...and it depends entirely upon the level of copper deficiency/insufficiency that's in the local forage.

How do you guys keep the goats from tipping over the container holding the mineral. I have tried bolting it to the side of the stall, but they try to climb up on it and get dirt in it from their hooves. If I offered it to them as I was cleaning their stall everyday and then remove it when I was done, would that be enough for them to get what they need?

We have an over-the-fence feeder thingy, and they soil the mineral from time to time. We just dump it and put new mineral out when this happens. Our mineral is $15 for a 50lb bag, and when you're only putting out a few ounces at a time, it's just not that big of a deal to have to dump it and start clean from time to time.

BTW...putting out only a few ounces at a time will encourage consumption. Like almost everything else....grain, hay, water....mineral gets stale, too!

 

[ksalvagno]

I have 3 goats together and I put out a couple tablespoons full of mineral. When they eat that, I give them a couple more tablespoons full. It goes pretty quick that way and I have very little waste. I use one of those mineral feeders that has the 2 areas to put stuff in. It can be nailed or screwed into the wall.

 

[pets4me]

thanks for the great info....

 

[kstaven]

Air tight container in a cool place will help with with palatability issue and keep the mineral supplement fresh longer.