There is nothing wrong with the idea of having it available on the milk stand, per se, but you would still need a free choice baking soda holder available to the goats 24/7. The goats need access to the baking soda when their rumen is feeling a little off, and that is not likely to happen while they are on the milk stand.
Julieanne Cook said:
I saw a Youtube video from someone who attached a small cup to the side of a grain feeder on the milk stand. They put the baking soda in the cup so the does had access to it when they eat their grain as they're being milked. That way they got some baking soda when they ate grain if they need it, rather than having it in a free feeder. I thought that was kinda clever.
I saw a Youtube video from someone who attached a small cup to the side of a grain feeder on the milk stand. They put the baking soda in the cup so the does had access to it when they eat their grain as they're being milked. That way they got some baking soda when they ate grain if they need it, rather than having it in a free feeder. I thought that was kinda clever.
Eek, what an awful thing to happen. I'm so sorry that you had to experience that. Since I didn't want to experience that as well, I took her sweater off a couple of hours ago and figured that she would be fine in the barn without it. I could only imagine myself worrying about it all night had I not removed it.
I hadn't thought about getting collars for them, but if I do, I'll keep that in mind.
She doesn't really need a sweater, definitely not at 51 degrees. The other thing is that she could get it caught on something and get hurt or even die. I never would have thought of that possibility except that it happened here. Just a couple of months ago, we had two newborns that were not able to maintain their body temperature, and they kept losing their sucking instinct, so we put little coats on them. Two days later, one was dead. Somehow her mother got her hind leg stuck in the kid's coat. We have no idea how long she'd been dragging around her dead baby when we found her in the morning. It was really sad.
On a similar note, if you get collars for them, it's best to get the plastic chain break-away collars so they can't hang themselves or break their necks if the collar gets stuck on a gate or in a tree. It's kind of annoying how many of those collars I have to buy because they break them, but it is MUCH better than the alternative.
I think we don't have anything like bears or mountain lions. Not sure about wolves. We probably have coyotes, owls, hawks, and *maybe* raccoons, but I'm not quite sure about that. The girls' fence is 6 feet tall everywhere except the gate, which is 4" tall. Good to know about the 10lbs. I'm thinking I'll weigh her this weekend. Tonight's overnight low is 51, so I think we'll be good pretty soon here to have them sleep outdoors once Willow (the 13 day old) is 10lbs, especially since she has a new sweater. ;)
For predators like owls, hawks, and raccoons, they are pretty safe after about 10 pounds. If, however, you have something like coyotes, wolves, bears, or mountain lions, they are never really safe. And I can't forget one group member down in Florida who lost a an adult doe to an alligator a couple of years ago! Good fencing usually protects them from everything but mountain lions, who are exceptionally good jumpers. There was a rumor that one was traveling through our area a couple of years ago, and I swear the whole family heard it scream in our woods on evening during dinner. Thankfully we never lost any goats to it.
Oh, no worries, bear away. Lol. We aren't planning on keeping them in the barn at night any longer than we need to. I remember hearing in this morning's webinar that kids should weigh at least 10 lbs before we can be less worried about predators--did i hear that right? Anyway, we have a very nice fenced area for our virls, covered on 3 sides and half of the top of the pen. Lots of shade and good wind block, and plenty of available sunshine when the sun is out. :)
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a wood floor for goats is not going to last long. The urine is going to cause it break down in a few years. When we moved out here, our first chicken coop had a wood floor. It was pretty much gone after 5-6 years, and chickens don't even have separate urine to keep the floor that wet.
There is no problem with using baking soda for odor control. However, most people use barn lime (NOT construction lime) or another name-brand deodorizer for barns.
Kristi Stone said:
I'm interested in this too, but for wider reasons. I was previously using DE in my rabbit hutch tray (to deal with ammonia odor between cleanings), but recently switched to baking soda topped with pine shavings. Both worked well, but I switched because I was concerned with the dust from the DE possibly being breathed by the rabbits and all that. Anyway, I didn't figure it was a big deal since the rabbits weren't coming into contact with it, but I also considered using it this morning when I cleaned out the indoor goat pen (wood floor). The thick layer of shavings works well enough, but there were a few spots where it was still wet, plus I thought the baking soda would deal with any odor. I didn't use it, but I was curious as to whether it would be a bad choice for the goats.
Acid is vital for proper digestion of food into component parts. Minerals like calcium and iron require stomach acid to aid absorption. Continuous use of baking soda with or after meals can prevent the proper breakdown of food and lead to poor assimilation of calcium, which is vital for healthy bones.
This probably explains how this topic got blown out of proportions. I recently saw someone ranting about this on Facebook, too. So, this is why you should NOT simply sprinkle baking soda on your goat's grain, as I've heard a few people do because they don't want to use a mineral feeder. When you have baking soda available free choice, it won't get used very often. If you see that your goats are going through the baking soda really fast, then you might have a dietary problem that needs fixing. Typically goats don't need baking soda unless they're consuming grain. I actually don't keep baking soda available for my bucks because they don't eat grain at all. It's the grain that most commonly causes a digestive upset in goats, and if they're consuming it daily, you probably need to cut back on the grain.
However, with humans, there is also a problem if they have indigestion after every meal, so simply taking baking soda or antacids is just covering up a symptom of a bigger problem.
I'm interested in this too, but for wider reasons. I was previously using DE in my rabbit hutch tray (to deal with ammonia odor between cleanings), but recently switched to baking soda topped with pine shavings. Both worked well, but I switched because I was concerned with the dust from the DE possibly being breathed by the rabbits and all that. Anyway, I didn't figure it was a big deal since the rabbits weren't coming into contact with it, but I also considered using it this morning when I cleaned out the indoor goat pen (wood floor). The thick layer of shavings works well enough, but there were a few spots where it was still wet, plus I thought the baking soda would deal with any odor. I didn't use it, but I was curious as to whether it would be a bad choice for the goats.
Replies
There is nothing wrong with the idea of having it available on the milk stand, per se, but you would still need a free choice baking soda holder available to the goats 24/7. The goats need access to the baking soda when their rumen is feeling a little off, and that is not likely to happen while they are on the milk stand.
Julieanne Cook said:
I saw a Youtube video from someone who attached a small cup to the side of a grain feeder on the milk stand. They put the baking soda in the cup so the does had access to it when they eat their grain as they're being milked. That way they got some baking soda when they ate grain if they need it, rather than having it in a free feeder. I thought that was kinda clever.
Eek, what an awful thing to happen. I'm so sorry that you had to experience that. Since I didn't want to experience that as well, I took her sweater off a couple of hours ago and figured that she would be fine in the barn without it. I could only imagine myself worrying about it all night had I not removed it.
I hadn't thought about getting collars for them, but if I do, I'll keep that in mind.
She doesn't really need a sweater, definitely not at 51 degrees. The other thing is that she could get it caught on something and get hurt or even die. I never would have thought of that possibility except that it happened here. Just a couple of months ago, we had two newborns that were not able to maintain their body temperature, and they kept losing their sucking instinct, so we put little coats on them. Two days later, one was dead. Somehow her mother got her hind leg stuck in the kid's coat. We have no idea how long she'd been dragging around her dead baby when we found her in the morning. It was really sad.
On a similar note, if you get collars for them, it's best to get the plastic chain break-away collars so they can't hang themselves or break their necks if the collar gets stuck on a gate or in a tree. It's kind of annoying how many of those collars I have to buy because they break them, but it is MUCH better than the alternative.
Oh wow---an alligator! Amazing.
I think we don't have anything like bears or mountain lions. Not sure about wolves. We probably have coyotes, owls, hawks, and *maybe* raccoons, but I'm not quite sure about that. The girls' fence is 6 feet tall everywhere except the gate, which is 4" tall. Good to know about the 10lbs. I'm thinking I'll weigh her this weekend. Tonight's overnight low is 51, so I think we'll be good pretty soon here to have them sleep outdoors once Willow (the 13 day old) is 10lbs, especially since she has a new sweater. ;)
For predators like owls, hawks, and raccoons, they are pretty safe after about 10 pounds. If, however, you have something like coyotes, wolves, bears, or mountain lions, they are never really safe. And I can't forget one group member down in Florida who lost a an adult doe to an alligator a couple of years ago! Good fencing usually protects them from everything but mountain lions, who are exceptionally good jumpers. There was a rumor that one was traveling through our area a couple of years ago, and I swear the whole family heard it scream in our woods on evening during dinner. Thankfully we never lost any goats to it.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a wood floor for goats is not going to last long. The urine is going to cause it break down in a few years. When we moved out here, our first chicken coop had a wood floor. It was pretty much gone after 5-6 years, and chickens don't even have separate urine to keep the floor that wet.
There is no problem with using baking soda for odor control. However, most people use barn lime (NOT construction lime) or another name-brand deodorizer for barns.
Kristi Stone said:
I just went to our friend Google and found this:
on this page: http://www.healthy-living-coach.com/baking-soda-remedies.html
This probably explains how this topic got blown out of proportions. I recently saw someone ranting about this on Facebook, too. So, this is why you should NOT simply sprinkle baking soda on your goat's grain, as I've heard a few people do because they don't want to use a mineral feeder. When you have baking soda available free choice, it won't get used very often. If you see that your goats are going through the baking soda really fast, then you might have a dietary problem that needs fixing. Typically goats don't need baking soda unless they're consuming grain. I actually don't keep baking soda available for my bucks because they don't eat grain at all. It's the grain that most commonly causes a digestive upset in goats, and if they're consuming it daily, you probably need to cut back on the grain.
However, with humans, there is also a problem if they have indigestion after every meal, so simply taking baking soda or antacids is just covering up a symptom of a bigger problem.
I'm interested in this too, but for wider reasons. I was previously using DE in my rabbit hutch tray (to deal with ammonia odor between cleanings), but recently switched to baking soda topped with pine shavings. Both worked well, but I switched because I was concerned with the dust from the DE possibly being breathed by the rabbits and all that. Anyway, I didn't figure it was a big deal since the rabbits weren't coming into contact with it, but I also considered using it this morning when I cleaned out the indoor goat pen (wood floor). The thick layer of shavings works well enough, but there were a few spots where it was still wet, plus I thought the baking soda would deal with any odor. I didn't use it, but I was curious as to whether it would be a bad choice for the goats.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next