We're new to this lifestyle business and we got ourselves a 6-month old Saanen wethered kid. While reading up on goat care, I read some articles where they mentioned that goats need to get baking soda to help with digestion. Is this true?
Thanks for all the interesting comments and clips!
Hmmm, that's interesting. We have been doing goats for 20 years now and have not heard of that treatment, and have not needed to give it . It is used as a treatment for ruminants, which goats are, if they have eaten too much sweet food such as meal/ Sweet, carbohydrate-y food to a gut that is not used to it can cause the bugs in the rumen to have a party and produce too much acid too quickly for the digestive system to handle it. If the goat is fed plenty of long grass or hay, and a small amount of fruit (say, 2 apples) or meal (about a cupful) at a time there should be no problems. But if you were changing feed from pasture to fruit/meal/balage then increase the new food gradually while you diminish the existing feed.
In NZ, selenium and copper insufficiencies are a big problem, selenium especially if you are in a selenium deficient area, which most of NZ is. Much of USA has too much selenium, so there it's deficiency is not much mentioned. Cobalt and vitamin B12 (they are closely associated) deficiency can also be problem. Selenium is very poisonous in excess .
- hence the question 
But the one even suggested to give it freely, scattered over the hay! 
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