I am looking to get some goat minerals shipped in so that I have them on hand before I get my kids. Does this look like a good mineral? Is there anything that I would need to add to this? How much mineral would say, 3 growing kids go through in a month if given free choice? I want to make sure I have enough.
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I've used Mana Pro minerals for years. The fact that they use a lot of chelate minerals (organic, natural as opposed to synthetic) accounts for the lower levels of some of them, because chelate minerals can be fed at levels around 33% less because they're better absorbed than synthetic forms. We do have high iron in our well water, so use COWP about 3 times a year, and have had trouble with zinc deficiency so provide a supplement for that, but no other problems with mineral issues. I personally really like the Mana Pro minerals. I've never had a selenium issue, but that may depend of where you live, or where your hay/grain were grown.
Kitty said:
is NOT, Judy. sorry! I've been running ragged lately... might not have typed that clearly.
The land I'm moving to has never been farmed. It is just recently cleared of forest. I believe the soil is quite thin and poor for growing though, so I'll be improving it with cover crops and compost over time. I'll actually be growing my vegetables and animal feed in raised boxes of compost/peat/moss and vermiculite, though...
I've been giving my goats Manna Pro loose minerals from the start. They're thriving on it and the varied diet they get. I ordered the Sweetlix because it seemed superior, but then had to return it as I explained above. I've decided to just stick with the Manna Pro since it seems to be working. As they say, your results may vary, but I do think that if you have access to browse from fairly unspoiled land, the goats can get a good deal of their nutrition needs met from it.
Getting nutrients from food sources is always preferable, for humans and animals. A lot does depend on what kind of minerals are in the soil and water in your area. Most soils these days are deficient in minerals, it just depends on what and how much. Getting your soil and water tested helps.
OK taking another tack on this...
If I can't find a mineral that's high enough in copper/selenium, say. Can I boost these minerals in the diet by feeding foods rich in copper and selenium. Or does this depend on the amount of copper and selenium naturally occurring in the soil x_x. And how would I convert between ppm and mg? It's easy to find info about foods high in copper and selenium, but it's listed in mg.
Sadly I cannot get the sweetlix :/ Unless someone knows of a company who will ship to Canada, I haven't been able to find one.
The only other option I can find is Shur-Gain because there's a dealer about 2 hours from where I'll be living. However, the Shur-Gain site does not appear to list the ingredients anywhere that I can find :/
Manna Pro looks to have salt in it as well, and lower copper content than you'll want for your goats... Also MUCH lower selenium...
Here is the link to their website, and this is the nutritional info:
http://www.mannapro.com/products/goat/goat-mineral/nutritional-info...
and I'll put the Sweet Lix image here too, so you can compare more easily.
MANNA PRO
SWEETLIX
The sweetlix minerals do not ship to Canada from anywhere that I can find :/
The only goat minerals I can find on amazon.ca is manna pro, and very annoyingly only a picture of the front of the bag, with no ingredients list. Anyone know about this mineral?
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