another goat question

[agnes_day]

ok..so i have read that you are supposed to have loose minerals and baking soda for them to have at will..how do i store it? do i dump it in a feeding trough, or what? i am picturing this bowl of baking soda sitting outside getting blown around by the wind.

 

[pinkchick]

Great question! I would like to know too. I just haven't found anything that works well. I just keep finding it dumped all over the ground. Everytime I try to find some way to secure it the little bah bahs find some way to dump it, sleep in it, pooh in it....you know!

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Weve never gave our goats baking soda. But we do keep a mineral bucket with them most of the time. You can pick up a mineral bucket at the local TSC.

 

[agnes_day]

so i just fill it all the way up? im just trying to figure this out..does anyone have any pictures of their goat feeding setup?

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

The mineral bucket we get is solid it comes in the bucket and all you can just set it out with the goats and they lick it till its gone.

 

[redhen]

i have a solid mineral block for mine...they dont eat it at all!..Grr!...but my pig likes it!...

....i think i am going to try the loose minerals next...
also..its not the minerals in the bucket..its a solid hard block type thing...maybe they would like the bucket minerals?...

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Quote:
It is like a mineral block but it comes in a bucket. .

Ill try and take a pic of it.

 

[agnes_day]

ohhhh like those horse ones at the feed store...ok, i think i know what you mean.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

You can use just about any container for minerals as long as it will keep them dry. I have some that are made to hang on a fence or board, and some that are just homemade troughs.

Try to put them high enough so the goats wont step in them.

Keep them filled all the time and the goats will eat what they need.
Loose minerals work better than blocks. They are easier on their teeth. I've never used the ones in a bucket so I dont know their consistancy

Its also probably best to use metal or plastic. I have used wooden ones before, and if they arent kept full, they will often chew the wood. I've had sheep eat completely through the middle of a 1 X 8 wooden trough

 

[helmstead]

http://goatdairylibrary.org/PDFs/Mineral feeder _PVC_.pdf