For the most part, I also believe the average goat will self-regulate on loose mineral and keep itself in pretty good shape.
That said, I've got two goats right now -- a yearling doe and her dam -- which are both copper deficient to the point that their black hair is reddening and they've got really bad fishtails.. The dam was beginning to get inexplicably lame more and more often, and the yearling actually came down with dermatophilosis just a few weeks ago, due -- I suspect -- to a weak immune system.. They both seem to keep a higher parasite load than the others in the herd, also, even though they're wormed on the same schedule.
The interesting thing is that the dam won't consume loose mineral. I have no idea why, but she just won't. You can put it out brand new, straight from the bag, and she might sniff it....but then she just walks away. The yearling isn't much better about it, either...she'll maybe take a swipe of fresh mineral, but backs away pretty quickly. I think there's just something about those two that cause them to dislike loose mineral, so they ignore it whereas the rest of the herd will utilize it periodically and stay in pretty good shape.
BTW...I only recently discovered what the problem was with these two, so I ordered Copasure 12.5 from Jeffers as soon as I figured it out. They came in just the other day, and we taped both goats for weight last night. They'll each be getting measured boluses as soon as I can get the COWPs measured out and in capsules.
That said, I've got two goats right now -- a yearling doe and her dam -- which are both copper deficient to the point that their black hair is reddening and they've got really bad fishtails.. The dam was beginning to get inexplicably lame more and more often, and the yearling actually came down with dermatophilosis just a few weeks ago, due -- I suspect -- to a weak immune system.. They both seem to keep a higher parasite load than the others in the herd, also, even though they're wormed on the same schedule.
The interesting thing is that the dam won't consume loose mineral. I have no idea why, but she just won't. You can put it out brand new, straight from the bag, and she might sniff it....but then she just walks away. The yearling isn't much better about it, either...she'll maybe take a swipe of fresh mineral, but backs away pretty quickly. I think there's just something about those two that cause them to dislike loose mineral, so they ignore it whereas the rest of the herd will utilize it periodically and stay in pretty good shape.
BTW...I only recently discovered what the problem was with these two, so I ordered Copasure 12.5 from Jeffers as soon as I figured it out. They came in just the other day, and we taped both goats for weight last night. They'll each be getting measured boluses as soon as I can get the COWPs measured out and in capsules.
