FPR Hawthorn's Forget-me-not and her dam ZNK Capers Jr enjoying the mineral buffet.
Back in 2015, we got our very first goats. I did research on basic care and housing, so we felt we were doing everything right. I bred the goats later that year but at about 2 months along in pregnancy, our doe had a miscarriage. It was very surprising to us, and we were not sure what was going on or why it happened. After talking with seasoned goat owners about what happened, we concluded that the goats were copper deficient. They showed signs of dull hair, fish tail, and overall poor appearance. After more research, I discovered the goats needed a loose mineral because mineral blocks were not adequate. Once I had loose minerals out for the goats, I saw their coats start to look better and their overall health. I bred them again and this time had no issues and had healthy kids. Over the years I tried assorted brands of loose minerals as I learned more about which minerals are most needed and the quality of them. Each loose mineral I tried was for six months to years before I might try something else of better quality, to give them time to work.
             Minerals play a significant role in the health of livestock and each species needs different amounts of each. Formulated loose minerals are great for an easy fix that will get the animal by. However, they are a generalized mix and are not specific to each farm’s location or to each animal’s need. Having a loose mixed mineral is ok but, for example, what if the animal needs more copper and less sulfur? The animal cannot pick through the loose minerals and only ingest copper, instead, the animal will stop ingesting the mineral mix all together, so they do not ingest too much sulfur. This is how they become depleted of certain minerals. Though some may disagree, I feel the animals know what they need and know when they have had enough. There has been research done to show this to be true.
             Another key factor is how and when the minerals are digested. Certain minerals can be ingested pure while others need a carrier. There can be chemical reactions that take place in the stomach, which can render the minerals useless to the animal. So even though the animal is ingesting the minerals, they may not be absorbing them into the body to keep the animal healthy. Having a carrier with the mineral will help prevent any chemical reactions and helps the mineral be absorbed properly. Research brought us to a company called Free Choice Enterprises (FCE). They have been in business for over 50 years and sell the mineral buffet system. The buffet system has each mineral separate so there is no mix. They sell a twenty-mineral system, which is the one we purchased. We had to purchase the mineral buffet with another farm to make it more affordable, splitting the cost. We feel that variety is best, especially since the livestock know what they need. Most of you may know the tragedy we had with our goats and our well water. Basically, our well water was super high in iron which was depleting our goats of essential minerals that kept them healthy. We needed a water filter and a better mineral setup that would help us understand what the goats were depleted in.
             Once we got our mineral buffet system, we set it up for our doe herd first. We wanted to see if it would help them and if they would know what they needed. It was amazing to watch each doe go one by one to each mineral and smell or taste it before deciding if that is what they needed. We had a variety of ages and pregnant or nursing Doe’s in the group, so each doe needed something different. After the first week, we started to see they were going after Zinc, Sulfur, Potassium, and Alkaline Neutralizer. Within another week, the goats had switched to Cobalt, Copper, Sulfur, and Sodium. They eventually seemed to level out on most of the minerals but for many months, they were really ingesting Zinc, Copper, Phosphorus, and Sodium. Sometimes we would fill those four minerals multiple times a week! We knew the goats were very depleted because of our well water, so it was expected they would ingest so much of certain minerals to become healthy again. The idea of the mineral buffet is that once their body is leveled out, they will ingest lesser amounts of each to stay healthy. This will also change throughout the year as forage changes and cycles in the goat’s change. From breeding to pregnancy and birth to nursing.
             When we first started the mineral buffet, we took notes and photos of the herd and of our worse off Doe’s. This would help us compare how the herd was doing and how long it would take to notice changes. At about the three-week mark, we started to see weight gain and the Doe’s were starting to shed their dead coats. Six weeks along, we noticed the milk production of the nursing Doe’s had gone up. By three months, the doe herd had completely shed out their old coats and were slick and shiny. They were in great body condition and their weight was perfect. Another change we noticed was that the goats started playing again, which made us so happy! We were so glad to see the doe herd was feeling better. Another thing I noticed, which took a while to see, was the goats were going through less feed. We feed our goats grass hay and they get whatever forage is available, which is not much here in Arizona. For 38 Doe’s and kids, we are going through only about 90lbs of hay a day compared to more than double that before. I feel it is because they were trying to eat enough food, to ingest minerals from the hay, but now, they are getting the minerals they need and do not need as much food.
             Finally, we were able to get the bucks their mineral buffet setup, about three months after the doe herd. It took a while because we had to save up the money for materials and then build a shelter that was big enough and weather resistant. It was at that moment that I realized our doe herd was looking amazing while our bucks were still thin and had poor coats. This confirmed that the mineral buffet was doing its job. We got the buffet setup for the bucks, and they immediately went after the Copper, Phosphorus, and Molybdenum. It did not take them as long to level out, I am thinking because they do not have as much strain on their body as the doe herd does. By three weeks, they started shedding their old coat and gaining weight. They were in full health and playing again after about six weeks.
FPR Bear's Bazooka before the buffet, as he started gaining weight, and now you almost can't recognize him!
             The way we set up the mineral buffet was in the animal’s shelter. We used heavy duty plastic containers because metal will react with certain minerals and other minerals will stain or eat away at the wood over time. We made sure the minerals were out of direct contact with the weather. One thing we noticed was with high humidity, certain minerals would clump but the goats will still ingest them. We have also had a few in the buck pen filled with water but once dry, they break apart and the goats still ingest them. This is nice because there is no waste. The height we put the mineral buckets at was right where the adult goats can put their nose in with no problems. We added a board about the halfway mark so the kids would have something to stand on to reach the minerals, which keeps them from jumping in the buckets. It is rare we have to remove any debris out of the mineral buckets and so far, it is working. We have been using the mineral buffet system for about 8 months now. The wonderful thing about the mineral buffet system is that it is meant for all livestock! From goats, cows, and horses to rabbits, pigs and alpacas and everything in-between.
             The minerals from Free Choice Enterprises have made a dramatic difference to our herd. I have shared our story and the progress of the herd as much as I can. I feel it has really helped more people learn of the importance of minerals in the health of livestock. I found so many people that want to try the mineral buffet system but were deterred by the initial cost. FCE sells minerals in 25lb increments or larger, but you must buy all twenty minerals. It is important to have all the minerals available because it is hard to know what specific minerals are needed for each animal. The most expensive part of this journey is the initial setup, after that, it is just maintaining your stock. I believe the cost for quality and the health of our herd is most important. Having larger bags of minerals is great for the large-scale farmers but can make it difficult for the smaller farmers. Because of our confidence in the mineral buffet system, Fish or Price Ranch is proud to announce we are now working with Free Choice Enterprises. At our ranch, we are repackaging into smaller portions and offering them to the public to make it more affordable. If you are interested in following our mineral buffet journey, you can check out our YouTube Channel or on Facebook. We keep updates of the mineral buffet and how our herd is responding. We also look forward to trying the setup for more of our livestock to see how it may help them. Follow along as we near our first kidding season with the mineral buffet and see what it will do for the kids and their growth!
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