# 7 month old kids not eating minerals



## Mt.goatguy (Dec 2, 2011)

I noticed today that my PVC "automatic" mineral feeder is still full after almost 4 months.
Purina goat minerals are being ignored.
What to do?
Possibly start adding a little to the hay if yes how much?
Or get some different minerals?
any information would be helpful.

Thanks


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## aurora1957 (Mar 28, 2011)

I put up a PVC mineral feeder this week and thought to myself "They will have to have a long, narrow nose to get to that". You might try to figure out how their snout fits into it.
I have heard of (Oberhasli dairy) goats preferring that brand, I just can't get it locally, I have wanted to switch to it.
You might try filling the PVC mineral feeder with kelp and seeing if they eat that out of it. My goats LOVE kelp.
aurora1957


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## Mt.goatguy (Dec 2, 2011)

They sure can get peanuts out of it....Ha haw 
anyway I have started adding a pinch of the minerals over their hay and that seems to have the added benefit of them eating more of the fines that end up in the bottom catch pan under the hay but maybe that is just my imagination.
Since I am very new to this I have decided to stop worrying so much and trust that they actually know when they need the minerals. The guy at the feed store assured me that they know what they need he also got me to buy a small plain block of salt which they now also have access to.

Sure would like to hear from anyone who has been at this long enough to know what has actually worked for them over a number of years...the feed store guy does not own any goats although he wears a nice hat and looks like he knows what he is talking about.

Thanks


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

The minerals I feed are mix 50 / 50 with kelp meal and Hogger's supply Golden Blend Goat minerals. The minerals have a lot of selenium in it. My goats love kelp but I felt it did not have enough selenium. The hay in my area of north Idaho is selenium deficient so I mix the 2. I am a novice but read a lot and talked to experts. This is something I invented on my own. My boys turned out beautifully large and healthy for the Oberhasli breed. Hogger's also has a bolt on the wall mineral dispenser that works great. 
IdahoNancy


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

My goat really likes his horse mineral block. Apparently I found out on these forums that some goats don't eat their minerals if offered in block form, but Cuzco seems to love his that way. He turned up his nose when I offered the powdered minerals mixed specifically for goats (and here I thought I was being an extra-good goat owner!). 

Unlike Idahonancy, we live in a selenium-rich area, so in the summer months I only offer Cuzco the white salt block (which he gets year-round). It took me about three years to figure out that selenium overload was causing Cuzco to go bald every summer (selenium toxicity actually killed one of my horses two years ago). Since most places in the U.S. don't have an over-abundance of selenium, it's impossible to find minerals mixes that don't contain it. So I supplemented his diet with hay to cut down on his consumption of selenium-rich weeds, and I removed the trace minerals entirely during the summer months. On this diet, Cuzco finally started keeping his coat through the summer. Tricky things, those minerals!


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