Pat Coleby was ahead of her time and she did great things for the livestock herds of Australia. She revolutionized natural livestock care in her own country and folks across the world have gained valuable, health building insights as well. I’ve referenced her work in my natural lice protocol and feel like she’s one of the greats in the natural community. With that said, when it comes to Pat Coleby minerals and their implementation in the United States, I have some concerns and want to break them down in this article. My intention is to present solid reasoning, sources and information to help you make the best decision possible for your own herds.
What are Pat Coleby Minerals?
In her book, Natural Goat Care (aff), Pat Coleby details a mineral buffet system that involves feeding free choice minerals in their pure, undiluted states to allow animals to self select what they need. I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the mineral buffet concept, placing my trust in my animals to listen to their bodies and consume what they need and on the surface, this system sounds like a cost effective way to do exactly that. To use the Pat Coleby minerals method, you simply source a select number of individual minerals and put them in separate feeders, allowing animals to sample from them as needed.
I’ve been using a different style of mineral buffet for going on two years now and passionately believe that allowing animals to self select individual minerals is the solution to mineral balance. When we step out of the way and let our animals, unadulterated by mainstream “education,” follow their tastes to consume minerals–with no taste enhancers added–they will achieve their own balance. This concept works because minerals they are deficient in taste appealing to them and when they’ve reached satiety, those same minerals no longer taste appealing. You can find a lot of content about that on my blog so I’ll leave it at that for this article, except to say my own experience has convinced me that I will never go back to a blended mineral for my livestock. Continue reading “Pat Coleby Minerals: Feeding Undiluted Minerals for Goats”