In this article: Learn why you should be providing baking soda for goats; what it is for and how to feed this supplement to your goats.
Goat nutrition is important. Good nutrition can make a big difference in the health of your goats.
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This means feeding them a correct diet and giving them all of the supplements they need.
In a previous article I talked about giving goats free choice minerals. But there is another supplement that should be offered free choice that is often overlooked by goat owners:
Baking Soda.
The Complete Guide to Baking Soda for Goats
First let’s talk about why your goats need baking soda.
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a digestive aid for goats. It acts as sort of a buffer in the rumen and can help them if the rumen pH gets a little off.
This is similar to you taking a tums when you have heartburn or an antacid when you have indigestion.
If your goat feels a little ill after eating they can self medicate with baking soda to help return the rumen to normal.
Goats actually make sodium bicarbonate as they chew.
So while they are out browsing on weeds or eating their dry stemmy hay, they are chewing a lot. This is why these more natural feed sources don’t often cause a rumen disruption.
But if you are feeding grains or even hay pellets like alfalfa pellets, goats don’t have to chew as much. I know I have a few goats that seem to inhale their grain!
This can sometimes cause a goat’s rumen to become upset
By keeping free choice baking soda in the barn at all times, your goats can help themselves when their rumen pH is out of whack.
How to Feed Baking Soda to Your Goats
To feed baking soda to your goats you can follow many of the tips I outlined in my article on Minerals for Goats.
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Baking soda should be fed free choice.
This means it is available at all times. I like to keep the minerals and baking soda side by side in separate containers.
You can even get a double feeder for just this purpose.
Baking soda should be fed by it self.
Don’t mix the baking soda with the minerals and don’t mix it in with their feed.
Your goats will know when they need it and how much to take. Mixing these things together can change the amounts they take in.
Make sure that you place your baking soda container in a place where your goats can’t stand in it or contaminate it and allow them to use it as they need it.
Check it weekly when you check your mineral levels and refresh and refill as needed.
Your goats may not use baking soda often. But since their rumens can get upset quite easily- from feed changes, eating too much grain, breaking into the chicken feed, etc, having this buffer can help them self medicate and keep problems from escalating even further.
Where Do You Get Baking Soda?
You can use the same stuff you buy at the store if you only have a few goats and they don’t consume a lot.
You can also find larger packages online- like this baking soda from Amazon.
We buy 50 lb bags from our local feed store.
Baking soda has a ton of uses, so we don’t have any trouble using it all.
You May Also Like:
How to Diagnose and Treat Scours in Goats
Why Your Goats Need B Vitamins
8 Nutritional Supplements to Keep On Hand for Your Goats
Hi Sarah..Thank you so much for all the information that you give on goats! I’ve never had goats before and your info has been invaluable. I don’t want to be long winded but here’s my goat story. I have 3 acres around my house and rather than pay $300 to have it mowed I thought it would be brilliant to offer free grazing to get the grass down. Hmmm..I didn’t realize goats really don’t eat pasture grass. The breeder brought over 12 boer goats and they’d be here a month or two. I’ve spent thousands of dollars in vet Bill’s (they were sickly when they came) and redoing my fencing trying to keep them from going over, under and through the fencing I had. It was time for them to go back and he says that they’re going to auction for meat. Nope..I didnt know Boer goats are meat goats. They have names and personalities so I couldn’t let that happen. Needless to say I am now the proud owner of 12 very loving but still beastly goats. I love them and your videos have been a godsend in learning to care for them. Thank you!
I LOVED your POST!!! ♥️🐐
I started, with my husband’s Great Help, a Phenomenal F B Breeder… I have never met!… and Reading on internet & books…. and Fabulous Posts like this!!..
We have four, Nigerian Dwarfs! Dearly loved & spoiled. Thank you, AGAIN!
I just started raising goats and I actually doesn’t have much knowledge about them and now i really thank all these kind of kind feeding informations all over the net…O choose goats because it is not abundance here where I live and I think with a proper care they are more easy to raise and profitable too….thank you so much for information i will read more!😁
Hi Sarah, thanks for the info on goats and baking soda. I have 3 goats, a mini donkey and a steer that are all housed together. If I put the baking soda out on a free feed will it harm the cow or donkey? TIA
I don’t have a reply, but same question. How can I offer free choice minerals to the goats when I have a mini donkey around, who eats everything?
Thanks sarah
I was just wondering! I have three goats, one donkey, one sheep and four mini horses. Will the baking soda hurt any of them?
Thanks For the Information, it Helps
Hi much thanks for the information om benefits of Baking Soda for Goats to assist with scours and challenges of bloat. Question is: can Soda be suitable for Sheep too as free choice too in the barn
I Have goats , sheeps ,and a donkey will bakeing soda hurt them?
Thanks so much with the information and the insight.
I have 60 goats and they dying with signs of swollen stomach smbilizing bloating. Please am requesting on how to get baking soda for goats feed
Thanks for these wonderful down to earth informations.
Thanks so much for the information.