Mineral Requirements of Sheep and Goats

Mineral Requirements of Sheep

Table 1. Macromineral Requirements (Percentage of diet dry matter)
Nutrient	Requirement
Sodium	0.09-0.18
Chlorine	—
Calcium	0.20-0.82
Phosphorus	0.16-0.38
Magnesium	0.12-0.18
Potassium	0.50-0.80
Sulfur	0.14-0.26

Table 2. Micromineral Requirement and Maximum Tolerable Levels (ppm, mg/kg of diet dry matter)a
Nutrient	Requirement	Maximum Tolerable Level
Iodine	0.10-0.80^a	50
Iron	30-50	500
Copper	7-11^b	25^c
Molybdenum	0.5	10^c
Cobalt	0.1-0.2	10
Manganese	20-40	1,000
Zinc	20-33	750
Selenium	0.1-0.2	2
Fluorine	—	60-150

^aHigh level for pregnancy and lactation in diets not containing goitrogens; should be increased if diets contain goitrogens.
^bRequirement when dietary Mo concentrations are ‹1 mg/kg DM. See text for requirements under other circumstances.
^cLower levels may be toxic under some circumstances. See text.

Source: Nutrient Requirements of Sheep, Sixth Revised Edition, (1985)

Mineral Requirements of Goats

The National Research Council has publications available on the mineral requirements for goats:

Contents of the book are available free on-line. The book only lists calcium and phosphorus values in the tables. Other minerals are mainly based on sheep and cattle values. There is some discussion on individual minerals.

Lastly, you can use mineral requirements of sheep as a guideline.

Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension: Sheep and goats

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