× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! This table tracks the amount of each mineral, in ounces, that I have either put into the mineral buffet feeders or into the small jars I keep at the farthest feeder from the barn. Over time, this will indicate overall consumption levels but does not itself indicate how much was consumed in a given time because they still have to consume the ounces I’ve indicated here. These are the numbers for May. The total will not be updated until the end of the month but I will input the data at the end of each week where I have anything to track.
Category: Goats
Mineral Buffet Consumption Totals for April 2022
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! This is the beginning of a project to track exact totals of the individual minerals my herd is consuming in the mineral buffet. We began April with 12 does, 4 bucks and 21 kids. Kids go home this month, so we end April with 12 does, 4 bucks and 8 kids. We also have 6 hair sheep ewes and 3 lambs consuming mineral from the buffet. We have two feeders and all animals are rotationally accessing them both, so I’m putting total consumption here without differentiating between groups. Also in April, I refilled the mineral feeder that had not been in use for a bit. I fill small containers and store Read More
Mineral Buffet Feeder Tutorial
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! One of the biggest hurdles to getting started with mineral buffet is figuring out how to feed it without loss from waste or water. I don’t know about your goats, but mine are poo basketball pros and if there’s a way to reach the feeders, they’re finding it. Enter this feeder we built in about 2 hours with $150 in materials, though that was las year and prices have gone up a bit. I’m a big fan of cattle panels and have used them for everything from hay feeders to shelters. You can do so much with such a simple tool! For this mineral buffet feeder tutorial, you’ll need*:
Mineral Buffet for Goats
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! Mineral buffet for our goats all started because of 16 dead kids. For eight years, we had raised goats on a dry lot with free choice alfalfa, locally sourced loose minerals and no live born kid losses. Zero. Then we had the wonderful fortune of buying our own farm 30 miles away on 9 lush acres with a year-round creek and everything we dreamed of. Like a good goat owner, I religiously gave copper bolus and Bo-Se shots, because we’re in a “deficient” area. It worked well for us at our old house and since we were still mapping deficient, I didn’t give it a second thought. Giving copper and Bo-Se Read More
Natural Coccidiosis Prevention and Treatment for Goats
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! When the veterinary feed directive took effect some years ago, it made the conventional coccidiosis preventive we used available only by vet prescription. “No problem,” I thought, because I’d always wanted to find a natural coccidiosis prevention protocol for my goats and this was a perfect nudge in that direction. Sometimes those things we feel are harmful can lead to blessings we’d never have been able to attain otherwise. Now, in 2022, we’ve been using a combination of herbal remedies for several years and I feel the results have been consistent enough to be able to share my protocol with you. You can use the treatment protocol at the end of Read More
Water Hemlock and Goats: Toxicity, Symptoms, Prevention
× Looking for minerals and goat supplies? Head over to our shop at GoatCare.com! In early spring when things are just starting to green up, watch out for water hemlock. It is a horrendous and unforgettable way to lose a goat. I read a fascinating university publication a couple of years ago after we buried our 2nd goat and started to put the pieces together. It was from 1920 and they tested various feeding methods of water hemlock to sheep to learn about toxicity. If you’re interested in this topic enough to read 23 pages or so, I highly recommend The Poison Parsnip Or Water Hemlock, available for free on Google Books. In earliest spring, water hemlock is one of the first plants to grow. Read More