| Author | Message | ||
     Don S. (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 172.161.196.35 Rating: N/A |
TKX for the valuable info. I will pass it on to my friend. I learned more also. Especially about the high sulfur or calcium in drinking water blocking the copper absorbtion. He is located in the Texas hill country where water usually contains much calcium minerals and sometimes sulphur especially from the shallow wells. Also iron perhaps from metal piping can inhibit absorbtion as your linked article states. I did not realize that copper played such an important role in the reproduction cycle. I been using the Meatmaker Sweetlix mineral for my herd and eliminated some minor problems that were showing up in the past. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1042 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141  Rating: |
I sorry to say they are very wrong. And many feed makers still cling to the belief that goats are "hairy sheep" and their dietary requirements are the same. I raise pygmies and even one of our foremost breeders (Whirlwind Farms), our Health, Education and Research Chair, Kay Orlando (who is a veterinarian and long time pygmy goat breeder) and our former HER Chair, Maxine Kinne, (see her website for many articles about pygmy goats at www.kinne.net) advocate extra copper for pygmies, meat goats and goats with dark skin (such as most nubians and Nigerian Dwarves). Farms that have high sulfur or calcium (these block copper absorption) in their water may also need to have more copper in their feed or minerals to offset this. On a personal note, about 10 years ago I had the kidding season from hell (and a very sick and parasitized herd of pygmies). After testing several live goats and a couple of dead ones it was determined that the herd was very copper deficient, and I was using a horse mineral which has more copper than sheep minerals. When I switched to a beef cattle mineral (only one I could find with the right calcium to phosphorus and enough copper) all of those problems completely disappeared. The same summer many veterinary authorities started to advocate that goats were not hairy sheep (we all know that) and that they actually need as much copper and sometimes more copper than even cattle. Meat breeds with heavier muscling and bone (a pygmy is essentially a miniature meat goat in this respect) and breeds with dark colored skin often seemed to need a bit more. Look for light colored rings around the eyes (for pygmies this will be rings lighter and wider than normal), "sunburnt" coats where black is reddish and grays may look slightly brown, formally tan caramel goats will turn nearly white, hair may be missing from the tips of the tails. Normal goat hair DOES NOT FADE in the sun. These are signs of copper deficiency. Here is a good article to start you off: http://www.kinne.net/cu-def.htm And there are links to 3 more articles at the bottom of that one. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 70.226.74.180 Rating: N/A |
I contacted Kent Feeds and they told me for pygymys to use Sheep Ration Minerals . Why is that Pygmys require less coper than other goats Al  | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 1041 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 71.111.216.141 Rating: N/A |
A mineral safe for sheep is not adequate for goats, especially meat breeds. It won't have enough copper and copper is vital for diseaes and parasite resistnace, good reproductive health and good skin, hooves and hair. Look for a mineral with 900 to 1800 ppm copper, a loose mineral or a soft "goat block" is best. Purina, Golden Blend and Sweet Lix all make good goat minerals that seem to be widely available. A beef cattle loose mineral is often a good substitute but be sure to read the label to be sure it has what goats need. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Don S. (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From: 172.128.175.113 Rating: N/A |
My friend has several Boer goats about 6 months age, both wethers and nannys appear to have the outer layers of their horns peeling off. Although the condition does not appear to bother them, it looks bad.  They have full time access to a loose sheep & goat mineral. Could this condition be from the absence of a mineral which is not in the combo sheep/goat mix? Or does anyone have any ideas on what else could be causing this? Thx for any suggestions |
