Goats are browsers, not grazers — they thrive on hay, brush, and weeds, with a little grain and, critically, the right minerals. The one thing new goat keepers get dangerously wrong is copper: goats need lots of it, sheep can't have any, and feeding a goat sheep minerals (or a generic "all-stock" block) causes real deficiency and disease. Get a good goat-specific loose mineral and quality forage in front of them and the rest is easy. Here's the feed and minerals that keep goats genuinely healthy.
Published July 2026 · Updated 4 Jul 2026 · Sourcing verified 4 Jul 2026
In 1958 two farming brothers, Milo and Lamar Bosshardt, lost a season to drought and took out a loan to mine the salt deposit under their own ground — an ancient seabed left by the Sundance Sea and sealed in by volcanic rock. That deposit is still the whole source. The goat mineral is that mined salt, carrying more than sixty naturally occurring trace minerals, then fortified with selenium at 30 ppm plus copper, zinc, cobalt, iodine and vitamins A, D and E. Shipping is free over $30, which puts it within reach of a two-goat backyard herd.
Why mined beats blendedMost minerals are assembled from purchased components and taste like it — goats leave them. This one starts as a single geological deposit with a traceable origin, and palatability is the whole game with free-choice minerals.
See it at Redmond Agriculture →Stan Potratz came back to the family farm in Iowa from England in 1977, found that none of the sheep equipment he had used over there was sold in the States, and imported enough for himself. Neighbours asked where he got it. He and Jean have owned the business ever since. Their goat trace mineral premix is formulated by their own small-ruminant nutritionist and carries added copper with no added molybdenum, plus high zinc and iodine for hoof and reproductive health.
Why the molybdenum line mattersMolybdenum binds copper in the rumen and makes it unavailable. A mineral can list copper on the tag and still leave a goat deficient if it is loaded with molybdenum — and sheep minerals, which many people feed goats by mistake, are copper-poor on purpose because copper accumulates and kills sheep.
See it at Premier1Supplies →A family mill running since 1932 and sold through hundreds of independent farm stores across the Northeast rather than shipped to your door. The goat mineral uses chelated trace minerals — bound to amino acids so more is absorbed instead of passing straight through — at 995 ppm copper and 25 ppm selenium, with vitamin E at 750 IU per pound and XP yeast for rumen function. If you are in New England, the dealer locator is the way in; if you are not, this one is not for you.
Why chelation is worth paying forAn inorganic mineral can read perfectly on the guaranteed analysis and still pass through the animal. Chelated forms are about how much the goat absorbs, which is a different number from how much is in the bag.
See it at Poulin Grain →A small family operation in the Missouri Ozarks that custom-blends organic livestock rations and mineral mixes to order — goats, sheep, poultry, cattle, swine. Certified USDA organic, Ecocert and ICO. Ordering means a phone call and a lead time rather than a cart and a tracking number, which is the trade you make for a ration mixed to your herd instead of to a national average.
Why custom blending exists at allSoil copper and selenium vary enormously by region, and a bagged national mineral is formulated for the average of everywhere. A blender who will adjust to your ground is solving a problem a shelf-stable bag cannot.
See it at Peterson Organic Feeds →Standlee makes premium packaged forage — timothy, alfalfa, orchard grass, and forage pellets/cubes — which matters because forage, not grain, is the actual foundation of a goat's diet. For keepers without their own good hay, or who want consistent, clean, dust-controlled forage year-round, Standlee is the quality standard. Pair it with the right mineral and you've covered 90% of what a goat needs. The unglamorous, essential base done right. Clean, consistent forage anywhere.
Why it mattersForage is the real foundation of goat nutrition, and quality varies wildly. Consistent, clean, premium packaged forage beats whatever dusty hay the feed store had left — especially where good hay is hard to source.
See it at Standlee →If you make genuinely goat-appropriate feed, a copper-correct loose mineral, or quality forage — and you ship it — this spot could be yours. Tell us who you are; no fee, ever.
Add your brand →Goats are browsers — the base of their diet is hay, pasture, and browse (leaves, shrubs, weeds). Supplement with a free-choice loose goat mineral and, for milkers or growing kids, a measured amount of goat grain. Never rely on grain as the main food.
Goats need copper — a lot of it relative to other livestock — and a goat-specific loose mineral supplies it. Copper deficiency causes poor coats, health, and fertility. Loose minerals are absorbed better than a hard block, so most keepers offer them free-choice.
No. Sheep feed and minerals are deliberately low in copper because copper is toxic to sheep — but that same low copper causes deficiency and disease in goats. Always use goat-specific (or goat-safe) minerals, never sheep products.
As little as possible for the goat's needs. Goats are built for forage; too much grain causes bloat, and in males, dangerous urinary calculi. Milkers, pregnant does, and growing kids get measured grain, but hay and browse should always be the foundation.
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