Marshmellow method for copper?

I was wondering if anyone has ever  used the marshmellow method when giving copasure. Basically I was told to split a marshmellow in half, put the copasure in the middle than sandwich back together and then feed it to the goats.

I have tried finding the gelcaps, but so far I have had no luck locally.

Anyways, what is the dosage for copasure if I do it that way? Thanks!

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  • I dose at 1 gram per 20 pounds, and it is perfectly fine to open the capsule and sprinkle it on the grain. Most goats eat it. I only put a couple tablespoons of grain in the pan, so the goat is licking at the grain, and they "accidentally" pick up the copper. If there is any left when the grain is gone, I sprinkle a little more grain on top of the copper. I use the Copasure and break it up into smaller doses. A capsule size 0 holds 2 grams, and a capsule size 1 holds 1 gram. Yes, capsule sizes get larger as the capsules get smaller, so a capsule size 00 is larger than a 0.

  • I think it's 2 grams for the Nigerians (that's what I've been doing).  I hope if I'm wring, someone else will chime in. 

    I also just found this source for COWP in goat doses.  The 2g capsules have a smaller particle size though, which I'm not sure about.  The goal is to have the copper particles get into the rumen whole, go to the bottom of the rumen and then break down slowly over a number of months so the goats get a continuous release of copper.  

    On the Santa Cruz site it says to give goats under 50 lbs and under 3 months of age the 2g capsule and over 3 months and over 50 lbs the 4g. 

    One great thing about these capsules is you can buy a bottle of 25 for $12 for the 2g and $13 for the 4g.  That's a lot easier than investing all the $ in the Copassure for cattle!  Also, of course, it's already bolused in the proper dose for goats.

  • I wasn't exactly sure of the dose myself, and I think I underdosed. So I am interested in hearing the correct dose from others also

  • Perhaps roses?  My goats will fight each other for roses, really.  Perhaps slit open a rose bud/hip and put the copper in it - would that work?

  • Hi Joan, I sure like the sound of your method better. I tried testing my goats with a marshmellow and they all turned their noses up at it. Oh well, more for me.

    Now that you mentioned molassas I got an idea that just might work. My girls will kill for animal crackers. What I might try is putting some molassas on an animal cracker, putting the copacure on and then sandwiching another animal cracker on top. I bet they would go nuts over it.

    What measurement of copasure do you use for each goat?

  • If you are using the marshmellow method it's a good idea to test if your goats will eat a plain marshmellow first and condition then to it so they will eat it quickly. I tried this method and found out not all goats like marshmellows on their first try. I also recently tried something else that worked on 4 out of 5 goats.

    I took a good handful of grain anf put it in the goat's grain bowl and added a spoon of molassas. Then I added the copasure particles and mixed it up. The molassas made the copasure stick to the grain.  Four of them ate it and I added a little more grain to make sure any that was stuck to the bottm of the bowl was eaten too. One goat only ate half of it before she decided she didnt like it. I think it helps if they are hungry and that what the are getting is something they really want to gobble down. Then it seems they eat it quickly before they realize it's got something they don't like in it.

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