I will be getting 2 goats at the end of the month & I bought a trace mineral block (like I use for the horses) for them. Is this the right kind or does it contain copper? If I need special loose minerals for goats where do I find them? The feed store doesn't seem to have them, but there are not many goats in the area. Thanks!

-- Debbie in IL (debbie@fli-soft.com), April 12, 2002

Answers

Hi, I don't know about the horse mineral blocks, but we had always used the goat/sheep minerals for our goats. The folks who had raised goats for years told us when we started out that cattle minerals have too much copper & some other things,( I can't remember what they were now- must be old age :(, that goats don't do well having in their diet. We got ours at the feed mill, you might want to ask for sheep minerals since some places don't do much for goats. We used the loose minerals but I think they can purchased as blocks too. Do you have a Farm & Fleet, Fleet Farm, Tractor Supply or MFS in the area ? Most of them either have them or can order them for you. I would think that in IL there should be places that carry the sheep minerals since there's alot of farms still there but if you can't find any place e- mail me and I'll try to locate some dealers in your area. Good Luck, have fun with your new friends. Goats are great!! Blessings, Kathy

-- Kathy (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), April 12, 2002.

I personally like the loose minerals- Purina 12-12 (for horses)is what I use. For my mineral feeder I use PVC from the plumbing section. A "Y", a plug to plug off the bottom, a long piece of PVC for one side of the "Y", the goats lick out of the other side of the "Y" and a cap for the top. I am using 2" pvc. It works.

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), April 12, 2002.

Anything that says Sheep and goat is formulated for the sheep, who have so much slower metabolimis that they need many less ppm of most vitamins and minerals. I would bet that most goats on sheep minerals and sheep feeds are vitamin and mineral defficient and it explains all the kidding problems, breeding problems, infant mortality and huge problems with worms folks have. An animal in nutritional stress is an animal with a weakend immune system. I use the 12 12 Purina cattle minerals in the country blue bag, it has a large amount of copper in it which my breed of Nubians need. This is a question Debbie that you need to have answered from a breeding of your breed in your State. With Texas so large it is question that needs to be answered in that persons part of the state. I also am not a fan of mineral blocks, I don't want my girls chewing on the blocks, and blocks that last several years are not being utilized like they need to be. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

I can find minerals at my local feed store. Please be sure to get only minerals for goats they have just the right formula. If you use a block the goats can break a tooth on it and it does not have the right formula.

I have found an excellent place for goat supplies is www.caprinesupply.com They have minerals and since you have only two goats the cost would not be that much. They ship promply and are reliable. I bought a hanging mineral feeder and notice that the waste was much less.

-- Carole Kington (kington@duo-county.com), April 12, 2002.

Hi Deb..LOL I just went through this last week. I ended up buying a mineral block from Blains farm and fleet that is just for goats. They do not seem to be having a hard time..I believe it may be softer than some blocks. I have three does and a buck working on it..It looks to be 1/3 to 1/2 gone already! I am very new to goats though..just thought I would share and thought I would tell you I found a mineral block just for goats.

-- Sher in Ia. (riverdobbers@webtv.net), April 12, 2002.

Thank you all for the responses. After doing some checking it seems the goat minerals are substantially different in content from the horse blocks. Since I can't seem to find what I need in the feed stores around here I think I will just order online. I don't want to be taking chances with the goats health. I think I have everything else I need, but will probably have other questions. Thanks for the help!

-- Debbie in IL (debbie@fli-soft.com), April 12, 2002.

Vicki is right the 12-12 is for Cattle! gosh, must have started thinking about horses because of Debbie's post

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), April 12, 2002.

hoegger supply is also a good place to order goat stuff. www.hoeggersupply.com i think something similar, anyway. the prices for hoegger and caprine seem to be close, so is shipping, i think. have fun-what breed??? ask the person you are getting the goats from what they use, where they get it, what vet they use, etc. i'd bet the local cooperative extension has a few names of breeders in your area.

-- laura (okgoatgal@hoymail.com), April 12, 2002.

Order Golden Blend minerals from them not from Hoeggers, it is way to expensive! Purina makes 12 12 in horse and cattle minerals, since my donkeys prefer the block I can now use the cattle minerals. I look for tags with more than 700 ppm of copper in them, during winter some of the loose cattle minerals will be over 1000. With only minimal amounts of copper in our grain, this works the best for us. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

for information about minerals

http://www.goatworld.com/articles/minerals-and-micronutrients.pdf

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), April 14, 2002.

The best minerals I have used is the 2:1 mix from Springbriar, you can order it from www.springbriar.com Its a complete mix specially formulated for goats.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 14, 2002.