*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that by clicking through and purchasing products, I will get paid a commission at no additional cost to you.
*Disclaimer: This article is not intended to replace the advice of a veterinarian. I am not a veterinarian or herbalist. Please do your own research before making any changes to your herd management practices.
Before reading this article I recommend reading: How to Spot Mineral Imbalances in Goats & Find the Cause if you’re not already familiar with the signs of deficiencies and toxicities {and their causes} in your herd.
Not too long ago, I noticed Ginger’s tail was looking a little “fishy” (you can read more about her story in the link above). She didn’t have an obvious fishtail, but the hair at the end of her tail was thinning enough to catch my attention. I decided to increase her minerals to a small handful of the mix each day. She started out ravenous for it for the first few weeks, and gradually wanted less. Eventually, she got to where she’d take a few licks and move on. Phew! I was getting worried that this was going to get spendy!
To my amazement, after those three weeks, she already had a half-inch of blackish fur in her undercoat! Her tail grew back in nicely too. Yes!
Here’s her new coat coming in. Maybe I should have chosen a different name…huh?
Now that we can see our mineral mix is working for us, let’s talk about some things that are worth considering before giving supplements to your herd!
Synthetic vs. whole food
Synthetic vitamins and minerals can be tricky. I’ve seen way too many people with horror stories of accidentally killing their goats with their use. Sure I’ve seen a lot of good too, but I’ve never seen such problems when people are using plant sources. There may be a time and place to use synthetic vitamins, such as when a goat’s life is at stake and nutrient correction needs to be immediate. I hope to avoid that situation entirely by providing a broad spectrum of whole-food minerals proactively.
Whole-food plant sources have the co-factors that work together to allow the body to utilize vitamins and minerals better. This allows nutrients to build up slower, and are usually eliminated faster, so there is less risk of toxicity. Offering minerals in isolation without their co-factors and natural antagonists could easily create toxicities.
I love the idea of a self-sufficient, passive, mineralizing system of pasture! Not there yet, but learning how to use herbs that I buy will naturally help me figure out what to plant in the future. Nice!
Salt licks?
I don’t use a salt lick blocks. In order for my goats to get the minerals needed they would have to get way too much salt. Their tongues are different from a cow’s so they aren’t as proficient at licking a block. I offer free-choice crushed sea salt on its own to boost trace minerals a bit and provide sodium chloride. It took them a long while, but they finally started eating a little now and then. They never touch the big solid salt rock I put out for them a year a go…except to move it out of the way to get to their alfalfa pellets.
Check your soil before you wreck your goats
Selenium has a narrow margin of safety. If your soil is alkali-based, this will allow plants to absorb levels of selenium that are toxic to goats. The mere presence of plants such as certain types of Astragalus, also called locoweed, may actually indicate high levels of soil-based selenium. To find more information on concentrations of selenium and other minerals in your area, contact your local agricultural extension agent.
If you still haven’t checked out the list of symptoms of deficiency & toxicity of selenium, copper, and zinc, the most commonly deficient minerals in goats, click HERE. I can’t stress enough the importance of getting an idea of your herds mineral status {and why} before making any adjustments to your program.
Mineral interactions
It is important to be aware of not only the nutrient content of the herbs you are using but the antagonist interactions between minerals as well. Before you add a mineral that may already be high, it would be wise to make sure your herd isn’t just too high in the antagonist of that mineral. The same can be said the other way around. If your herd is high in a mineral they may be lacking antagonistic minerals. The small time investment it takes to learn these things is sure to make you a goat superhero!
What’s in the water?
As you assess your goat herd’s nutritional needs, consider what’s in their water. Is it high in calcium, sulfur, or iron? These things are antagonistic to copper. For example, our water happens to be high in calcium so I suspect that is one reason our herd needs more copper. When I find a good water filter that removes calcium from the spigot without causing the water pressure to drop, I’ll be sure and let you know. If you know of one, please comment!
Caution with bucks
An imbalance of calcium and phosphorus in a goat’s diet can cause excruciatingly painful and deadly urinary calculi, otherwise known as kidney stones. Even though it’s called “calculi”, it’s really too much phosphorus in relation to calcium that’s the problem. Grains (including corn) or grain-based concentrated feed are usually the sources of too much phosphorus. This condition is common in bucks while not so much for does.
Feed regimen
Some types of commercial feed are fortified with vitamins and minerals, so herds on this feed may need less supplementation. I mix my own grains to avoid synthetic vitamins and minerals, so I need to be more vigilant about mineral supplementation, or offering a broad range of the right forage.
Our goats live on 3 small pastures that provide the bulk of their feed about 10 months out of the year. They munch on African sumac, moringa, and orange trees, but other than that they don’t have much browse yet.
All of our goats get a few cups of alfalfa pellets per day, a little less in the summer, a little more in the winter when pasture wanes.
The milkers get about a cup of grains and extra alfalfa pellets.
Where I buy
I buy most of the herbs I use at www.mountainroseherbs.com. Buying in bulk saves quite a lot of money so I usually do a big order twice a year. I always buy organic to avoid irradiation.
When starting out, I bought pre-mixed herbs. Kop-Sel from Fir Meadow LLC seemed to work when combined with equal parts kelp, and after adding lots of sesame seeds to further boost copper.
I’ve seen a lot of people agree that Dr. Christopher’s (affiliate link) Vitalerbs has made obvious visible improvements in their herd’s health. I used a bag of Vitalerbs on my 3 goats and felt my herd was in better condition by the time the bag was empty. I eventually decided that it was cheaper to make my own, but for those who just don’t have time to do all that, this is a great option.
How I make our vitamin and mineral blend
I’m not a certified herbalist. I’ve taken a few classes and read some books, but I am by no means an herbal expert. Do your research and consult with a veterinarian that knows about herbs before trying this yourself. Vitamins and minerals can be tricky with all of their antagonists and environmental factors that make each farm different. Your water, land, feed, or whatever may be very different from mine and cause your herd to require different things. I’m just sharing what is working for us.
This mix has a broad range of vitamins and minerals. Since copper, selenium, and zinc are the most common deficiencies in goats, I’ll focus on those, but the mix has quite a lot more to offer.
How I choose my plants
- I look for SYMPTOMS OF TOXICITY or DEFICIENCY in my herd and determine what ANTAGONISTS or LACK OF ANTAGONISTS might be the cause. I make adjustments to those things first to avoid spending more money on herbs than necessary. For example, if my herd is showing signs of zinc deficiency, I would consider filtering the calcium, etc. from the water. Here’s that article again in case you missed it:
How to Spot Mineral Imbalances in Goats & Find the Cause
- I make sure to start with a strong base of several herbs and seeds that are high in what is lacking.
- I omit anything that has medicinal qualities that may not be desirable to the best of my knowledge.
- If there is a bred doe in my herd, I omit the plants that have an “*” next to them.
- If I can find plants that are easy to grow in our area, bonus! They will help the goats deal with our climate. Plus it gets me one step closer to establishing those plants in the pasture. I like to dream big.
- After narrowing my ingredients down to about 10 from the list below, I add rosehips, mixing equal parts of each EXCEPT cayenne pepper. I use a half part of cayenne pepper when part of 10 ingredients. Chaparral can be toxic in higher doses. I’m not sure what the highest safe dose is, so if you attempt something like this and don’t have as many ingredients, you may want to consider using less chaparral.
- To round out the mineral mix, I offer kelp free-choice separately. It is a source of 60 minerals and elements including iodine and 12 vitamins. If I don’t see improvements within 2 weeks, I increase sesame or pumpkin seeds- whichever I have on hand.
Remember: if you attempt something like this, use ingredients marked with an “*” with caution for bred does, and only if you know how to safely formulate them into the mix. Otherwise, don’t use them and just use the ones that are not marked.
I do not know if this herbal mineral mix is safe for bucks (male goats).
Sources of copper
- Brigham tea*
- burdock root*
- chaparral* (Even if my does are not bred, I rotate this in and out to give the liver a break)
- skullcap
- comfrey (use common comfrey NOT wild comfrey)
- chickweed
- marshmallow (may also increase milk production)
- pumpkin seed (also high in ZINC)
- nettles
- cayenne pepper (source of B vitamins)
- lobelia*
- sesame seeds (I use un-hulled brown or black)
Sources of selenium
- milk thistle seed
- pumpkin seed
- marshmallow
- red raspberry leaf (may help prepare the uterus for labor and increase milk production)
- nettles
- cayenne pepper (source of B vitamins)
- lobelia*
- catnip* (emmenagogue)
Vitamin C
- rosehips: I make sure to provide some whole food vitamin C (not ascorbic acid!) to support connective tissue and immune strength. Goats can produce their own vitamin C to some extent, but they would be getting more in their diet in their natural environment.
At first, I had to limit the goats to a handful of this mix per day. Eventually, they did simmer down to a few licks. I’m not sure I would risk offering this free-choice until you are confident that they have caught up on their nutrients and will only take a small amount each day. If they just keep on wanting to scarf as much as possible down, it may be wise to offer the sesame seeds and/or pumpkin seeds separate.
It’s wonderful to see that all the extra effort of providing our own whole-food minerals is working! It sure isn’t the easiest or cheapest route yet, but it definitely is empowering to gain the knowledge needed to be self-sufficient someday. And someday when the pastures are established with self-reproducing browse with all the right minerals for my goats to pick and choose from, I will have happily worked myself out of a job.
So there you have it! A peek into my holistic herd management program.
If you enjoyed this read, or have some productive criticism for me, you can help me grow and continue to produce quality articles by commenting and sharing away to your heart’s content! I hope you enjoyed your time in the grove. Scroll on down to sign up for my newsletter to see what other gems spring from this provident living experiment. I hope to see you back here at Orange Grove Road real soon!
This post is provided for discussion purposes only and is not meant to replace the services of a qualified herbalist or veterinarian.
Thank you for this explanation! 🙂
You are so welcome!
Thank you for this post. We have 5 dairy goats and 2 bucks.
This is very helpful as we have always been told that the goat blocks were safe. 😕
Going to give this a try.
What do you recommend for a supplement for bucks?
Hi Janet you are so welcome and thanks for your comment! Honestly I need to do more research on safely making a mineral mix for bucks. Currently I’m not sure how to get a good phosphorus to calcium ratio to make sure it won’t cause urinary calculi, which can be deadly. For now I just give the boys copper bolus rods squished in a banana.
Thank you responding to me.
Our bucks love bananas. How do you do what you said: copper bolus rods in a banana?
I would really like to get rid of our goat blocks. I am very interested in this DIY minerals for goats. Feed stores have minerals in a powder form; it’s in a orange bag I believe? But our goats won’t eat it…at all.
Its my pleasure! I honestly get giddy about having people to talk about this stuff with. I cut a few inches of banana, leaving the peel on, cut it in half, scoop out a little hole in the each piece, open the copper bolus capsule and pour it in and put the banana back together. Sometimes it falls apart in which case I give up and just squish it all together and my goats still love it. 😆 Except Marmee, that silly goat doesn’t like bananas so I just mix the content of the opened copper bolus capsule with peanut butter and roll it in flour or sesame seeds or something like that to make a ball. That seems to be just the ticket for her. Perhaps you’ve inspired me to make a little video 🤔
Well, this is very helpful information. And I, too, love chatting with people about goats. We have had a lot of health issues requiring some vet farm calls for our vet 🙁
So, I just want to keep everyone as healthy as possible.
Do you grow your own herbs? Or just purchase them? We are trying to get a herb garden started, indoors. Our chickens got us started on our herb journey.
And videos are very helpful, for me :;
Oh yes nutrition is so powerful! I grow as much as I can keep up with and buy the rest. Right now I’m growing oregano, basil (at the end of it’s season), lavender,thyme, mint, rosemary, moringa trees (powerful multivitamin type nutrient dense leaves and pods). It’s also turning the corner to orange season and we use the peels to boost vitamin C and phytonutrients. The rest I mostly buy from mountain rose herbs. Each year I try to add a little more 🙂
Wow……. amazing.
I just planted our first indoor herb garden. Yes, it is a bit late. But, better late than never.
I think my only worry will be “how much” or “not enough”.
We have one doe in milk. Five are not. And 2 bucks ( one is a wether). Last year, one of our does caught pneumonia. And had a blood clot that landed in one of her teats and that teat fell off. We do not want to go thru that ever again.
We have had goats for 8 years. Our vet does try and do everything with vitamins, etc. But we would rather not need a vet at all.
Wow……. amazing.
I just planted our first indoor herb garden. Yes, it is a bit late. But, better late than never.
I think my only worry will be “how much” or “not enough”.
We have one doe in milk. Five are not. And 2 bucks ( one is a wether). Last year, one of our does caught pneumonia. And had a blood clot that landed in one of her teats and that teat fell off. We do not want to go thru that ever again.
We have had goats for 8 years. Our vet does try and do everything with vitamins, etc. But we would rather not need a vet at all.
I would love to have some indoor herbs someday! I keep trying and failing. But I refuse to give up. I‘ve even considered a cinnamon tree in my living room but feel I better wait until I’ve mastered the basics 😊.
Wow that must have been pretty shocking to see that happen to your doe! I’ve had goats for about 8 years now too! Never heard of that happening but still learning more all the time.
We learn something new everyday, right? 🙂
And two years ago, our other doe had a huge buckling, We almost lost both of them. He was about 10 to 12 lbs. And stuck! We had to wait for over an hour until our vet got up here! Whew! Boy, we did learn a lot that day.
I had never heard of raspberry herbs for a goat to ease her delivery!!
Thank you so much for sharing your information. Homesteading is a lot of work BUT very awesome in the end…whether, it’s gardening or working with our animals 🙂
Yes indeed! And thank you so much for the comments and encouragement. I especially need that right now.
Yeah I’ve been with a friend at 3am as we hopelessly watched her doe die as the vet had to euthanize her due to a kid that was stuck way too long. Absolutely devastating. I don’t ever want anyone to have to go through that awful experience.
Thank you for reminding me why I love to do this work, so others can be spared the heartache.
Take care and I hope to chat again sometime!
🙁
Oh my goodness….that’s terrible! (tears)……
It was definitely a learning experience. And like I said….. we learned a lot.
We are milking thru this year. It’s been going good. Really need some good ideas on keeping her healthy.
Looking forward to new ideas.
Blessings to you all
Yeah so many times we’ve seen heartache on the farm and I felt really discouraged, but looking back the experience gained has been a blessing. I’m learning that we bond where our broken edges are, so hard times can bring unexpected blessings.
Thanks for your input I’m starting to feel excited to write again!
AWESOME……… keep writing and sharing……:) 🙂
❤️
Hello! Fantastic article! I’m having a hard time finding whole food information for goats. I understand the benefits for humans and assume that it should work well for animals as well. Could you give a “recipe” for how you put your herbs together, as I’m totally new to this. I assume from the long lists that you don’t use all the herbs listed? Thank you!
Just re-read your article, I see the “recipe” is listed above! Thanks 🙂
Awe thank you for the kind words and I’m glad you found the recipe!