Minerals and Selenium

Back again with an old question.  I recently purchased minerals that were mixed for our general area and is offered free choice in the barn.  There may have been a selenium deficiency issue for settling and retaining pregnancy this past year (actually unexplained).  My hope is that if that was a factor that it will be behind us with the introduction of these new minerals.

This is from the tag.  Does it look like this will meet all needs.  I have selenium to offer separately if needed but am hesitant to do that after reading the tag.  I can, however, remove the minerals completely for a few days and give the selenium goat by goat if that would help.  Given that this is their new mineral offering, what are your thoughts?

Cole Veterinary Service
Meat Goat Breeder Mineral
Free choice mineral for Goats
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Calcium (min) 9.00 %
Calcium (max) 10.80 %
Phosphorus (min) 6.00 %
Sodium (min) 10.7 %
Sodium (max) 12.7 %
Sulfur (max) 0.85 %
Copper (min) 250 ppm
Selenium (min) 90.0 ppm
Vitamin A (min) 160,000 IU/LB

INGREDIENTS
Salt, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Processed Grain By-products, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Mineral Oil, Iron Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Vitamin A Supplement, Artificial Flavor Additive, Vitamin D Supplement, Cobalt Sulfate and Sodium Selenite.

FEEDING DIRECTIONS
Feed free-choice to goats. Consumption should not exceed 0.7 mg Selenium per head per day (0.27
ounce per head por day).

CAUTION: Follow label directions. Do not mix with other feeds containing supplemental selenium.
This feed was produced in a facility participating in the American Feed Industry Association's Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program. Go to www.afia.org for details.
COLVS003 05/2011
PC: OR/015
851407
Manufactured for:
Cole Veterinary Service
18460 Pinehurst Road
Bend, OR 97701
1-541-382-0184
Net Weight 50 lbs (22.7 kg)

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Replies

  • I live in the same state as you, Glenna... not close, but the same state... lol I do the same thing as Emily. 

  • Thank you very much for the responses. 

    You have reinforced what I was going to do initially, give them the selenium separately.  The person who I got it from said she top-dresses with it but also cautioned that it is a heavy metal and possible to overdose on it.  Then reading the tag made me feel uncomfortable about adding it at all.

    So what I will do is give them their minerals for whatever they need and in a week or two, add a small amount of selenium free choice separately - idea being that their systems would already have adjusted to what is in this new mineral mixture.

    I will, however, continue to give them copper every three months as I have been doing.

    Have I ever mentioned how much I love this group?!!

  • I use Sweetlix which has done wonders for my herd but I also got the selenium from Caprine Supply and have that out there as well. Like Deborah's herd they only eat the selenium when they've eaten all the Sweetlix. There's usually a couple of tongue marks in the selenium and one particular doe seems to need it more than the others. If I stay on top of refilling the sweetlix the selenium barely gets touched.

    My boys act like the selenium doesn't exist until my buck starts showing signs of rut. That's the only time I've ever seen him touch the selenium. The wether shows no interest in it at all. 

  • That is nowhere close to enough copper. Goats minerals should have 1500 ppm copper when the source is copper sulfate, which this one is. 

    If you have the selenium from Caprine Supply, that should be offered free choice in a separate dish. The goats will take what they need and leave the rest. My selenium goes down very slowly unless the Sweetlix runs out, then the selenium is gone in no time. I've posted on here in the past about how goats regulate their mineral intake with cafeteria style minerals. The tag says, "Do not mix with other feeds containing supplemental selenium," and that is sound advice. We humans don't know exactly how much a particular goat needs, but they are great at figuring that out on their own.

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