I'm currently at my wit's end with my goats' mineral feeder. I use the one featured at the right of this page. It worked ok when I had just the adult goats. But since the kids have come, it's become a toy for them as well as a source of competition between the Mamas. It gets knocked down like every other day, and today I saw that one of the kids (most likely the oldest, Kip) had pooped in it. The kids' mothers head butt each other around it to insure that they and their kid have exclusive access to it. Minerals are too expensive for them to be wasting them this way.
Anyone have any suggestions for a better way to do it? Would simply adding another feeder help?
And just for fun, here's a couple of pics of Ezra at 6 days old.
Replies
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Glad to hear you're ok. Car trouble is such a pain! And that picture is lovely, it gives me a peaceful feeling.
I have to forage for my goats too, we have some really tall trees with branches too high for them for the most part. The ones that were low enough were cleared out by them long ago. And our woods are so dense right now that I can't be the goatherd without shredding my legs and arms!
Glad to know I'm not the only one that kisses my goats. *blush* ;-)
Naomi D'Andrea said:
Thanks, Julieanne and Deborah. Thanks for your concern--we're all fine, just a hassle with the car. Lots to be thankful for.
Your situation sounds similar to mine. Daughter's goats get a lot of browse, only eating their hay if they are desperate. (We forage for them--not willing to set up self-serve in the woods right now, since we're abundant in poison ivy--and we kiss them on the lips. :)
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Naomi, I'm sorry about your accident, I hope you're ok!
Just an observation on my does in milk; they seem to prefer browse over just about anything these days. They will "yell" at me for browse even when they have plenty of hay. Especially tree leaves from large trees. I'm guessing it must give them lots of nutrient-dense calories since we're at the peak of summer. And on the milk stand, they go for the alfalfa pellets and BOSS before the grain. I'm wondering if it would be ok to cut back the grain. I hate to change anything because their milk tastes sooo good right now.
Rejoining the discussion rather late (got rear-ended this week so had other stuff on the front burner), but I really want to get things right. I read a ton of options before getting the goats, and it seemed like the literature I respected kept stressing that browse is the best food for goats, and wethers shouldn't have commercial feed at all.
I was so excited to think that if that's the case, our wooded lot would allow us to give our goats the very best kind of food for their adaptations. If the issue is that our soil doesn't provide enough minerals in our browse, and the wether shouldn't have feed, what should he have? Is our feeding method still legitimate, as long as we're okay with giving tons of mineral
Thanks again for any thoughts, everyone!
That would explain why you are needing so much copper. A professor at Texas A&M who studies goat nutrition told me that milkers should have a goat feed with at least 35 ppm copper in it. If your goats are not getting that, then they have to find copper in other places. One reason we had a problem with copper deficiency years ago is because we were using a goat feed that had only 10 ppm copper in it. What you're describing has even less than that.
Naomi D'Andrea said:
Deborah, I forgot to respond to your question about goat feed. They eat mainly honeysuckle, tree trimmings, and grass hay. Each morning they get a treat of a little sunflower seed and kitchen scraps--and now that the doe has kidded, a little tub (about 2.5 cups) of chaffhaye.
Ok, thanks for the copper warning. This June 1st was the first 2-month spacing, and I wasn't sure of going that frequent myself. It's just hard to know whether conditions are better, and hair is just taking a while to regrow, or it's not having the full effect that we want. We have both sulfur and iron--yes, from our well.
We have been using a mineral mix called Concept-Aid Goat, manufactured by BioZyme. It's what our local feed store carries in a 50lb bag. Now that you're asking and I'm answering, I feel abashed that for all the care I take about what's in our food, I would still just assume that minerals are minerals. (I DID know to check that it's just for goats, and not sheep, at least!)
Incidentally, dear Willow and I, through a miscommunication, let their minerals completely run out last night. So we did an emergency run to Tractor Supply this morning (feed store is closed on Sundays) and purchased the little bag of Manna Pro that they carry. Because of your questioning, I dug out the old mineral label and am surprised to see things like HFCS and artificial flavoring, soybean meal and other perplexing ingredients.
Back when I bought the first supplies, I was overwhelmed with information. I thought I was doing great to check for copper content! Thanks for helping me refine my care of the goats!
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