What brand of block was it? The blocks are tasty (I think they have molasses in them), and they are cheaper, but they don't contain all of the minerals that goats need
Loose minerals vs mineral block
Just wanted to share, as you may know I'm in waiting for my doe & kid, she is due 2morrow! I prior had bought a mineral block (large size like salt block for horses) from a local farm/feed store. I got concerned with all the comments about the minerals being needed loose, so purchased a bag from TS of loose..well last wknd noticed mice have been knawing on the block, so I thot I'd better get it covered
So today I started to chop it up with hammer & chisel layed on top of plastic. It crumbled beautifully so decided to put into bucket to keep rodents out of it..
Here is my pics,
I pd $16 for block (got almost 2 5gal buckets full)
I pd $33 (due to shipping) for loose minerals & got 3/4 of bucket
I also notice a dramatic difference in smell
Block is much sweeter smell
Just wanted to share...I think I plan to see what my new goats prefer, but honestly the way prices have/continues to increase I will prob stick to block & just break it up, it took me about 45min..thats worth it to me!
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So today I started to chop it up with hammer & chisel layed on top of plastic. It crumbled beautifully so decided to put into bucket to keep rodents out of it..
Here is my pics,
I pd $16 for block (got almost 2 5gal buckets full)
I pd $33 (due to shipping) for loose minerals & got 3/4 of bucket
I also notice a dramatic difference in smell
Block is much sweeter smell
Just wanted to share...I think I plan to see what my new goats prefer, but honestly the way prices have/continues to increase I will prob stick to block & just break it up, it took me about 45min..thats worth it to me!
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Something that helped me was to look at the guaranteed analysis for the minerals I was comparing side by side, and note down any differences. Even different mineral products made by the same company will have different mineral ratios. You just have to figure out what works best for you, and keep an eye out for signs of mineral deficiency. 
100% agree with this! And in theory one would think that is just fantasist because they would consume more……at least that was my thinking when I was using blocks. But when I looked at the guarantee analysis I was spending SO MUCH money for hardly any good minerals in it. So I would just check out some labelsThey will prefer the block. With all the molasses, it is like eating candy. They will choose candy over broccoli.
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Ok so that is actually a protein block. A mineral block will not have protein in it. What this block is for is, to add protein. The blocks and tubs are huge for cattle people when pastures are not that great. They can still get the roughage from grazing and meet their protein demand threw the block. You can leave it out for them , myself I use the tubs, but it is NOT going to come close to meeting any mineral demand. If you look at a bag of grain you will see that there are minerals listed. But that bag of feed is not used for the mineral content.
So you can put that out for them if you want but make sure you leave loose minerals out too. Yes they are going to consume the block way faster then the minerals, the same as they would feed over the minerals
So you can put that out for them if you want but make sure you leave loose minerals out too. Yes they are going to consume the block way faster then the minerals, the same as they would feed over the minerals
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