# Loose Minerals or Mineral Block??



## 3 goats and a girl

:whatgoat: 
I was wondering what your choice of feeding minerals are. Do you prefer a mineral block or loose minerals? My goaties have a mineral block but im looking for any suggestions of what type and brand you all use. Thanks!


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## ptgoats45

Loose minerals are better IMO. Goats have such soft tongues they usually can't lick enough off of a block to get the right amount of minerals, also most blocks are made with tons of salt to burn their tongues to limit how much they take in. I feed my goats a cattle mineral made by MFA, it is their Breeder 12 Mineral. It has 10% salt, 1700 ppm copper, 8950 ppm Zinc and 35 ppm selenium, along with all the other essentials. Goats need copper and selenium, but zinc is also great for immunity.

Most of the goat minerals I have seen have way too much salt and the goats do not like them. Manna Pro makes a good mineral, but it only comes in 8 lb bags and is pretty expensive. The main thing is to find a mix that has different types of each mineral, especially chelated. You also want a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio.


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## toth boer goats

Loose salt and minerals is best...goats don't do well with the blocks... :wink:


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## naturalgoats

In my opinion and that of every goat person I have ever talked to and everything I have read the loose minerals are the way to go. I'm feeding Onyx right now... but it comes in 50 lb bags... I've also done Manna Pro and Southern States. Just make sure it is for goats/some cow minerals. "sheep and goat" minerals are generally far too low in copper because sheep can be poisoned by copper. I'm nor sure about horse minerals... but I'd stick with a goat/cow. and as said previously make sure you have a 2:1 Ca.

good luck!
M.


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## .:Linz:.

I use loose minerals - MannaPro right now but the girls don't seem to like it that much so I'm going to look into switching when it's gone - I think it might have a tad too much salt for their taste.


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## Tinyhoovesontheheart

I have both but it seems but goats like the block much better and go throught much faster i use the Purina goat mineral block and my bucks especially love it, but I think I go throught it so fast because the sparrows help themselves to it as well. :wink:


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## ptgoats45

Goats will go through the block because it has a ton of molasses in it and molasses is tasty  Some blocks also have grain products in them also to encourage consumption, but then add the salt to slow them down. Just take a look at the ingredients section on the label, it is usually just below the nutrition part that lists how much of certain things there are.

The main problem with molasses is that it is high in iron and iron is an antagonist to copper, which means too much of it and the goats can not absorb copper. Even with the high copper content in my goats' minerals I still had to bolus them to combat their copper deficiency.


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## freedomstarfarm

Loose Minerals!! 
Mineral blocks are too hard for them to consume the needed amounts. 

I use Cargill Right Now Onyx (cow mineral) and really like it. 
I also like Sweetlix Meat Maker but find it clumps quickly in the humidity we have here. 
I liked the Manna Pro goat mineral but it only came in little bags and I went thru too much. 
Purinna goat mineral is ok but high in sodium so I mix it with the Onyx. 

TinyHooves Purinna does not make a solid mineral block tha I can find online. They make a suppliment block that is like a huge soft pellet of food with molasses. I have used them a few times as a treat but it is not a significant mineral source. The mineral amounts in it are low. My goats gobble it right up as I am sure most would but it does not supply what they need.


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## luvmyherd

I just started using the loose minerals. I really like the blocks and my goats would actually bite them. But I like the loose as I can be sure each girl is getting the right amount. MannaPro is what my feed store carries. They like it okay but I may go looking around before this bag runs out.


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## Steve

I use the blocks from Tractor supply,Dumor makes them,they are about $11 each.They are not the rock hard mineral block.The goats love it and eat it up,i have not seen any problems with them except dont let them get wet.


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## freedomstarfarm

Here is a comparison of a supplement block (both the Dumor and the Purinna block were basically the same)
v loose minerals (I used The Sweetlix Meat Maker mineral for this comparison. 

------------------------ Block ------------ Sweetlix
Calcium: ----------- 3.2-4.2 ------- 14-16.8
Posphorus: --------- 1 -------------- 8
Copper: ------------ 50-55ppm ------- 1750-1810ppm
Iodine : ------------ 10 ----------- 450 ppm
Selenium:---------- 1-1.1 ------------ 50ppm


So you can see how drastic the difference is between a supplement block and actual minerals. Now if you were using a actual mineral block it would be hard like a salt lick and they would not be able to take bites out of it. It would be better, more comparable to the loose minerals but the goat could not consume enough.


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## Steve

good comparison data


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## 3 goats and a girl

Thanks for everyones suggestions and tips. Next time i go and buy minerals Im going to look more closely at the ingredients Thanks again!


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## Burns Branch Boers

I have a block and it just sits out there. The loose is the best IMO. I have used the manna pro in the past and that went just fine. I got Cargill right now onyx this past summer. I found my goats don't consume a significant amount of this mineral-but I do feel that it is the best one for them. I am planning on getting mineral feeders to leave in my stalls-so they always have free choice and maybe it will help even more. 

I used to put some out in a bowl-but I found out our barn cat thought it was cat litter :hair: :laugh:


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## luvmyherd

Burns Branch Boers said:


> I used to put some out in a bowl-but I found out our barn cat thought it was cat litter


 :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL: :slapfloor: :ROFL: :slapfloor:


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## freedomstarfarm

Burns Branch Boers said:


> I used to put some out in a bowl-but I found out our barn cat thought it was cat litter


 :laugh: Oh those cats!


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## J.O.Y. Farm

Loose Minerales! I use Blue Seal Min-A-Mix I useed to use Manna Pro but like Blue seal better!


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## rkl4570

I use loose minerals, Purina Mills Goat minerals. They love them!!!


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## Lynn Lahr

Just purchased a big of Manna Pro Goat Minerals - the blocks from TSC were not working out so good for us. Glad to hear that I made a good choice by choosing loose minerals. Question: The directions say:"FEED MANNA PRO GOAT MINERAL AT THE RATE OF ¼ TO ½ OUNCE PER GOAT PER DAY. " Can someone out there tell me, how do I measure this properly? I haven't opened the bag yet, maybe there is a scoop in there? I feel like this is a dumb question amd I should know how to figure it out but I cant!!! Thank you


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## ksalvagno

Just feed free choice


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## Lynn Lahr

Got it, found a conversion chart. 
5 Ounces = 1 Tablespoon
.25 Ounces = 1/2 Tablespoon
Or I guess I could do free choice, thanks for the quick reply! I want to make sure they are each getting the correct amount amd feeing them the way I have been (one big metal bowl) is like a feeding frenzy. Three goats 2 Nubian wethers and a female Saane/Nigerian Dwarf mix all close in age (6 mths+ old) Little female is trying to dominate and one of the boys is intimidated by her...thanks for the help.


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## Suzanne_Tyler

It's best to give it free choice, they know what they need.


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