If you’re kidding in February, January is when conventional goat wisdom says to reach for the copper bolus gun and the Bo-Se.
For years, I did exactly that. Every six months, timed around breeding and kidding. Copper boluses. Selenium injections. It felt responsible. It felt like what good goat keepers do.
I haven’t done it in nearly five years.
And my goats have never been healthier.
The Twice-Yearly Ritual
Let me paint the picture of what pre-kidding prep used to look like at my farm.
First, I’d calculate copper doses – 1 gram per 22 pounds of body weight for each doe. Then I’d gather my supplies: copper rods, peanut butter, bread, and a healthy dose of determination. (Don’t forget the uber sensitive gram scale!)
My preferred method was to spread peanut butter on a small piece of bread, sprinkle the weighed copper rods on top, and fold it into a little sandwich. Most goats would take it willingly – they love peanut butter.
For the stubborn ones, I’d scrape the peanut butter back up and wipe it directly into their mouths. A little wrestling, a lot of patience, but it worked. Mostly foolproof.
Then came the Bo-Se injections. More wrestling. More stress – for them and for me.
I did this every January and July like clockwork. It was just part of goat keeping.
The Problem I Didn’t See
Here’s what I eventually realized: the twice-yearly supplementation cycle exists because goats build up deficiencies over time.
We let them get depleted. Then we swoop in with emergency supplementation. Then they slowly deplete again. Then we swoop in again.
Deplete, fix. Deplete, fix. Deplete, fix.
I was solving a problem I’d helped create – or at least, a problem I was allowing to happen by not providing consistent access to what they needed.
What Changed Everything
When I switched to the mineral buffet system, I kept waiting for the moment I’d need to intervene.
I watched for the dull coats that signal copper deficiency. I looked for the white muscle disease that comes from selenium depletion. I braced for difficult kiddings and weak kids.
They never came.
Because when goats have constant access to the minerals they need, they don’t build up deficiencies in the first place. They self-regulate. They take what they need, when they need it, in the amounts their bodies are asking for.
The crisis moments stopped happening because we stopped creating the conditions for crisis.
What I Do Now (Almost Nothing)
My pre-kidding prep these days is almost embarrassingly simple.
I watch. That’s it.
I watch consumption patterns. If a doe is suddenly hitting the copper harder than usual, I notice and stay curious. If selenium consumption spikes across the herd, I pay attention to what might be stressing them.
But I’m not intervening. I’m not calculating doses and scheduling bolus days. I’m just observing and making sure the buffet stays stocked.
The goats are doing the work of balancing themselves. My job is to provide options and stay out of the way.
But What About [Specific Concern]?
I know what some of you are thinking:
“What if they don’t eat enough copper?”
Then they’ll eat more tomorrow. Or next week. The buffet is always there. Unlike a bolus that dumps a large dose all at once (and can actually cause toxicity if miscalculated), the buffet allows for gradual, consistent intake that matches what their bodies actually want.
“What about does with higher needs during pregnancy?”
They self-adjust. I’ve watched does increase their mineral consumption as pregnancy progresses – especially selenium and the vitamin blends. They know they need more. They take more.
“What if they’re deficient to start?”
This is where patience comes in. A severely deficient goat transitioning to the buffet might take weeks or months to fully rebalance. But they will rebalance – and then they’ll maintain that balance themselves going forward.
“Isn’t this just… lazy?”
I used to wonder this too. Isn’t doing less somehow irresponsible?
But then I thought about it differently: what’s more responsible – wrestling goats twice a year to force-dose minerals on our schedule, or providing constant access and trusting them to manage their own needs?
The second option isn’t lazy. It’s a different philosophy of animal husbandry altogether.
For Those Still Bolusing
If you’re reading this and still on the bolus/injection schedule, I’m not here to tell you you’re doing it wrong.
That system works. I used it for years and had healthy goats. If it’s working for you and your herd, there’s no mandate to change.
But if part of you is exhausted by the cycle – the calculating, the wrestling, the scheduling, the worry about whether you timed it right – I want you to know there’s another way.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to trust your goats more and intervene less, the buffet has been that for me.
I don’t miss January bolusing. I don’t miss the peanut butter sandwiches or the mental load of tracking who got what and when.
I just have goats who are balanced. And that feels like freedom.
The mineral buffet has been a game changer in my own herd. As I write this, we’re entering our fifth year on it and my goats have genuinely never been healthier. I’m navigating a move, a divorce and a whole heck of a lot of stress this year, while my goats are just…being healthy enough I can forget about them. I can’t tell you how much of a relief that has been. Check out the buffet here.
