Selenium with pregnant does

Hi Bruce!

I personally do not feed my does grain at all during the firs 4 months of gestation. I do start gradually introducing it during the last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy to add some concentrated nutrition in to their system as their rumen begins to have less volume from growing kids. This routine works well for my crew in maintaining a good body condition during pregnancy and producing kids that are not too big or too small at birth.
Some producers give their does a BoSe injection routinely 30 days before kidding. I used to do that but this year I timed my mineral levels to be done during pregnany and was shocked with how high some of the girls' selenium levels were. I was so glad I tested before injecting.
Even though your area is low, they may not need selenium if they are getting a good loose goat mineral. I would switch to SweetLix MeatMaker or Purina Goat Mineral. Blocks are not best for goats because they have soft tongues which makes it difficult for them to consume efficiently. The other thing about blocks is that most of them have too few minerals in them.
You may want to consider switching them to alfalfa hay as that will give them a protein boost and the extra calcium needed for growing fetuses :)

I hope you have time to visit the links that Abby sent. Lots of great info there!

~Tammy

Replies

Tammy Gallagher March 8, 2024 at 4:01pm

Hi Bruce!

I personally do not feed my does grain at all during the firs 4 months of gestation. I do start gradually introducing it during the last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy to add some concentrated nutrition in to their system as their rumen begins to have less volume from growing kids. This routine works well for my crew in maintaining a good body condition during pregnancy and producing kids that are not too big or too small at birth.
Some producers give their does a BoSe injection routinely 30 days before kidding. I used to do that but this year I timed my mineral levels to be done during pregnany and was shocked with how high some of the girls' selenium levels were. I was so glad I tested before injecting.
Even though your area is low, they may not need selenium if they are getting a good loose goat mineral. I would switch to SweetLix MeatMaker or Purina Goat Mineral. Blocks are not best for goats because they have soft tongues which makes it difficult for them to consume efficiently. The other thing about blocks is that most of them have too few minerals in them.
You may want to consider switching them to alfalfa hay as that will give them a protein boost and the extra calcium needed for growing fetuses :)

I hope you have time to visit the links that Abby sent. Lots of great info there!

~Tammy
Thrifty Homesteader Team March 7, 2024 at 8:42pm

I already informed Deborah about your questions. In the meantime, check out these following articles.

https://thriftyhomesteader.com/goats-selenium/

https://thriftyhomesteader.com/selenium-deficiency-and-toxicity-in-...

https://thriftyhomesteader.com/what-do-goats-eat-it-depends/

https://thriftyhomesteader.com/do-goats-need-grain-during-pregnancy/

Goats and Selenium Deficiency

When goats don't have enough selenium, does may have trouble getting pregnant, are more likely to have problems giving birth.

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