Goat Mineral Buffets: Are They the Best?

Goat Mineral Buffets: Are They the Best?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

When it comes to providing a good goat mineral, some producers are experimenting with “mineral buffets,” but do they work?

A formulated goat mineral is just that — percentages calculated for a specific dietary profile. Commercially available formulas are created by nutritionists to balance the nutritional needs with the typical feed ration of the intended species. Typical feed for goats isn’t easily defined. Some producers feed commercially produced pelleted diets with a controlled nutritional analysis, some feed hay, and some have available pasture.

The nutritional profile of hay (and pasture) can vary based on the plant variety, the soil it was grown in, when and how it was harvested, and many other factors. When producers deviate from the typical feed ration, either intentionally with other dietary supplements or unintentionally, such as with an abnormal water or hay profile, mineral imbalances can occur.

Selecting the appropriate supplement depends on the producer’s knowledge and experience. In cattle and horses, the variety of mineral supplement formulas is extensive. It’s simplified a bit by designating supplements for an animal’s age and stage of growth, level of performance, and pasture condition.  

What’s in a goat mineral?

That’s not the case for goats. While several formulations of goat mineral are available, none describe the circumstances under which they’re best indicated. As a result, some producers are experimenting with “cafeteria-style minerals” or “mineral buffets,” which allow goats to self-select the ration of each mineral.

The concept has been the subject of many studies since the 1960s that have concluded that the system of self-selection was, for the most part, ineffective. Despite those conclusions, others maintain that the studies were flawed and the system works.  

One of the most cited proponents of the mineral buffet is R.J. Holliday, DVM, a veterinary consultant for one of the buffet systems. Holliday states, “I have been involved with the concept of self-feeding individual minerals for over 50 years, as a veterinarian, as a livestock owner, and as an industry consultant. In my experience, it works most of the time — but not always. When it doesn’t seem to work, it’s common to find water problems or gross nutritional imbalances of protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.”

Does a goat mineral buffet correct dificiencies?

Having minerals available to select won’t necessarily resolve mineral deficiencies. Animals must consume not only the mineral they need but also the right amount of “synergist” — another mineral or vitamin.

Their bodies require vitamin E to properly metabolize selenium and fat to store vitamin E properly, so without the proper amount of fat, selenium supplementation is ineffective. Foodstuffs that add fat to the diet typically add phosphorus, which is a synergist to many minerals, but when not properly balanced with calcium, may contribute to urinary calculi.

Antagonists to nutrition must also be considered. Iron interferes with the absorption of calcium, calcium interferes with zinc, sulfur interferes with copper, and the list goes on. Antagonists can be introduced knowingly, with a supplement, or unknowingly, through a hay or water profile.

goat-mineral
Credit: Dr. David Watts

Is Food Wisdom Wise Enough?

Fred Provenza, author of the book Nourishment, is one of the champions behind research pointing to nutritional wisdom in animals, specifically his observations of goats. He’s shown that animals foraging diverse plant stands will self-select various plants to meet their nutritional needs, end even self-medicate by consuming plants they don’t normally eat.

The science of self-medication in animals is called zoopharmacognosy — zoo “animal,” pharma “drug,” and gnosy “knowing.” He writes: “Animals eat to correct, not prevent, deficiencies. When animal diets are adequate in nutrients, animals usually continue to eat the same foods. If animals are deficient in nutrients, they seek new foods.”

Nutritional wisdom

Animals have nutritional wisdom, but it’s predominately learned — not instinctual — and dependent on complex factors, including the interaction with the plant itself. Positive neural feedback occurs when an animal associates its sense of well-being with what it has consumed, and negative feedback teaches aversion — or avoidance of a particular food. It associates this with taste.  

Goats, like humans, can taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. The importance of taste allows the selection of food based on its constituents, in accord with pleasure (hedonic factors) and with the body tissues metabolic need for specific substances (homeostatic factors). Each flavor is associated with a nutritional aspect:

  • sweet = carbohydrates
  • sour = ripeness or spoilage
  • salt = water regulation
  • bitter = possible poison
  • umami = protein

With plants, many chemical compounds exist that can quickly offer this feedback. Some plants even alter themselves chemically, becoming bitter or unpalatable to prevent overgrazing. Nitrogen content in vegetation plays a crucial role in nutrition and diet selection since nitrogen is a limiting element for herbivores. Secondary metabolites — such as alkaloids, essences, terpenes, and tannins — can be potentially toxic or anti-nutritive, resulting in the avoidance of plants presenting higher levels of these compounds.

Other studies have shown, even in humans, that the formation of nutritional preferences and knowledge begins in the womb with taste — in the profile of the amniotic fluid — which changes with the mother’s diet. This information is further communicated to offspring through the composition of the mother’s milk, whose flavor also changes with diet. Food preferences aren’t only chemical but also social. Herbivores learn from experienced foragers what to eat and what not to eat.

Minerals exist in plants in varying amounts and are limited by the amount of plant matter the goat will ingest. The limiting element is removed when the minerals are extracted from plant matter for supplements. Some minerals are needed in trace amounts, so salt is used in formulas as a limiting factor. The ratio of minerals to salt is balanced so the animal will consume the intended amount of minerals in the proper proportions. Flavor and texture also contribute to consumption. Magnesium is bitter and avoided but essential for cattle on early fresh forage, so supplements high in magnesium mask the flavor to encourage intake.

What’s in a Flavor?

The individual minerals in buffets are mixed with salt. How is the unique flavor perceived? Once the need for salt is satisfied, what driver exists to encourage a goat to select a variety of minerals?

While Fred Provenza advocates for animal nutritional wisdom, he also cautions, “Given the design of most mineral cafeteria trials, animals may have been more confused than educated about the value of minerals, making it difficult for them to consume minerals in expected amounts. Sodium was often mixed with every mineral.  

Many minerals are required in minute amounts, so researchers mixed minerals with salt to limit intake. Unfortunately, animals only require a limited amount of sodium daily, which may have encouraged or limited the intake of other minerals. Also, given the flavor of sodium, the minerals probably tasted similar. Animals discriminate among foods by flavor. If the minerals tasted similar, animals couldn’t associate feedback from the mineral with its flavor.”

Factors and Faults

Another factor that can influence the consumption of any goat mineral is location. Consumption of salt generally increases if a water source is nearby. Herd dynamics can alter consumption if goats lower in the hierarchy are bullied or prevented from accessing minerals. Ease of access can also influence preference. Biomechanics — limits to visibility while eating or positional discomfort — can alter consumption, particularly in prey animals. Some buffets have rows of minerals placed at different heights, and the position of minerals can also be a factor in selection.

Success in mineral supplementation depends on animals having a typical diet, minerals in a usable state, and a producer who can recognize signs of nutritional deficiencies. While goats have demonstrated nutritional wisdom when given opportunities to forage a diversity of feedstuffs, it hasn’t been established that this wisdom applies to balancing individual trace elements removed from natural sources, particularly if blended with salt.


KAREN KOPF and her husband Dale own Kopf Canyon Ranch in Troy, Idaho. They enjoy “goating” together and helping others goat. You can learn more about them at Kopf Canyon Ranch on Facebook or kikogoats.org.


SOURCES:

  • Provenza, Fred. (2018). Nourshiment. Chelsea Green Publishing.
  • Mennella, J.A. (Oct. 2006). Development of food preferences:
  • Lessons learned from longitudinal and experimental studies. Food quality and preference, 17(7-8), 635–637.
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j. foodqual.2006.01.008

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