# How Flaxseed Can Benifit You and Your Goats



## Hollybrook

*General Health*

Flaxseed is loaded with beneficial polyunsaturated alpha-linolenic acid, flaxseed has almost 3X as much omega-3 fatty acid as it does omega-6 making it unique among other oilseeds such as soybeans, cottonseed, corn and sunflowers. Omega 3 lowers risk of heart disease, stroke, autoimmune diease such as lupus and certain types of cancer.

*Enhance Embryo Survival & Reprocution*

Canadian researchers fed a group of Holstein's flaxseed and another soybeans (rich in omega-6 fatty acids) from calving through 50 days of pregnancy. When they looked at embryo mortality they found 0% embryo death in the flaxseed-fed group versus 8% embryo mortality for cows fed soybeans. A closer look found flaxseed-fed cows had larger follicles. Corpus luteum diameters were significantly greater in cows fed flaxseed versus those fed soy. Dr. Charlie Staples, at the University of Florida found that omega-3 fat sources such as flaxseed produced larger Corpus Luteum's and a larger dominant follicle in lactating dairy cows, both are positive for reproduction.

*Selenium*

Since flax is grown in fields with higher levels of selenium, Flaxseed contains a greater amont of selenium than other feeds.

*Founder/Laminitis*

The affects of Omega 3 & 5 on the body as an antinflamitory and an aid in treating and suppressing autoimmune disease such as athritis and lupis there is some specualtion feeding flaxseed will aid in treating aniamls with laminitis.


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## NubianSoaps.com

Dave does it have any info at all on how much would need to be fed to get benefits of it?


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## Hollybrook

I believe 10-15% we are using 20% Flaxseed additive to our ration I got most of my information at this link http://www.ameriflax.com/UserFiles/Image/DairyIndustry_Volume1.pdf. It unbelievably inexpensive $32.50/50 lb bag and it food grade too!

Merry Christmas Ya'll!!!!!


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## Hollybrook

Charts and info comparing nutrient values as livestock feed for Soy, Flax, Cottonseed and Sunflower from North Dakota State Univeristy.

[attachment deleted by admin]


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## buckrun

Dave- that is not cheap at 20% of ration.
I would suggest you eat the flax yourself rather than try to get extra alpha linoleic acids in your milk. We take flax oil and that is very inexpensive but something that costs that much will never see the inside of my goat! Keep us posted and please figure cost per gallon as you produce it. 
Lee

Comparison Charts
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/beef/as1283w.htm


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## Ashley

The consumption of free choice forage will get your ALA, Omega 3's, CLA, carotenes and the list goes on. 

That said, I expect the flax would still have some benefit in just a handful or so a day. It does for us humans right? 

You have to be careful with flax because it oxidizes readily and become rancid.


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## Hollybrook

Lee yes and no our 12% ration cost $0.17/lb. adding 20% flaxseed boost my cost to $0.30/lb. premix dairy feed cost between $0.26-$0.32/lb. in our area, sure Cotton Seed & Soy Meal are cheaper by Protien/Wt./Price ratio but weight in the health benifits and a 10% reproduction improvement and Flax its a no brainer so far. 

Ashley ground flaxseed or linseed meal will become rancid very quickly but whole seed wont and Im fiding our goats are able to eat and digest easily, Im already noticing a differnce in milk.


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## Ziggy

Sorry but that is ridiculously expensive. $3/lb is $150 per 50 pound bag. I'd hate to think of the cost per gallon of milk produced if my feed costs were that high. 

Are you sure that is the correct cost?


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## Ashley

Hollybrook said:


> Lee yes and no our 12% ration cost $1.70/lb. adding 20% flaxseed boost my cost to $3.00/lb. premix dairy feed cost between $2.60-$3.20/lb. in our area, sure Cotton Seed & Soy Meal are cheaper by Protien/Wt./Price ratio but weight in the health benifits and a 10% reproduction improvement and Flax its a no brainer so far.
> 
> Ashley ground flaxseed or linseed meal will become rancid very quickly but whole seed wont and Im fiding our goats are able to eat and digest easily, Im already noticing a differnce in milk.


Well, it will, just not nearly as quickly.

Maybe those prices are per $25 lbs? But then it seems too cheap.


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## Hollybrook

Oops maybe I should have taken my shoes off when doing my Cipher-en 

It should state....

our 12% ration cost $0.17/lb. adding 20% flaxseed boost my cost to $0.30/lb. premix dairy feed cost between $0.26-$0.32/lb. in our area I originally posted at 100 lbs but changed my post to per pound didn't move the decimal point far enough new kids on the ground sleep deprivation setting in.

Actual cost of Flaxseed is $32.50/50#, Cotton Seed Meal $38/50# and Soy is $42/50# bag

That's Good Lookin Zig thanks!!

Dave


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## BrokenHalterFarm

For anyone interested in feeding flaxseed , i've been feeding it to my horses for quite a few years. At the very most we've ever fed has been 1 CUP a day per 1,000lb horse.
I fed a half cup of flaxseed to the rescue buck in my avatar. He's 100% today.


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## dragonlair

I buy organic Flax seed by the 50 pound bag at the local health food store. I grind it up for me, the horses and the dogs. The chickens and goats get it in seed form. I just sprinkle some on top of the food/cereal. At that low of a "dose" it probably isn't doing a huge amount of good, but the goat, horses and dogs coats look nice and my hair has thickened.


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## natty threads

I've seen as little as 1/4 c a day make a big difference in horses' bloom.

Flax is on my list of things to add to the ration.

Thank-you for posting this info.


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## Laverne

I got a bag at Costco and havn't used it yet. My goats are now going to have flax seeds added.


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## Hollybrook

Jenifer did you grind the flax for your horse? Im seeing some in Hanks poo but it not many whole seed and when I sweeze it the shell pops off easily and its yellow like it germinating the goat are digesting it fine thier getting more seed than he is and no seeds in goat berrys.

Laverne how much was your bag at Costco?


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## buckrun

Whew...ya'll is a jus a wearin me out. Here is the party pooper's version.

Well that is all nice and good but ya know....this tweaking the goat ration thing could suck up your life. I don't know how many animals you are responsible for but here we need to keep it fairly simple.
I have tried so many different feed things and mixed and added and dressed and top dressed and formulated and mixed and hauled and analyzed and mixed and did I say hauled and mixed? Well ya know...milk is pretty darn much still just milk when you are milking a bunch daily and selling it cheap.

I guess if you have a very few home milkers or some pets or some companions you can spend the time and the brain power and the money but if you are milking goats to make them pay for themselves as part of a sustainable farm and you are still spending time and energy making a living elsewhere....a dab of this and a cup of that and a dash of something else can just really suck up your whole life. I love taking great care of my animals and nutrition is my hobby so I am not naysaying the benefits-they are well known- but ya know we started out milking on whole grain in the 70's and mutated this several times and guess what...they still do super fine on just grain- a good mineral and grass and browse.

If you really kept some records...everything you spend on your goats and count the return as only the milk you sell...you are drinking some pretty pricey stuff if you do everything everyone ever thought of that was good for livestock.

We are not at liberty to pour any additional premium resources down our animals. They get lots of garden treats and we plant good forage for them but flax...naw...that is just over the top here. It's like sunflower- sure they love it but it is mostly fat and fiber - easily done with corn. And beet pulp- sure they really love it but it is mostly fiber with a small boost of calcium- easily done with alfalfa. Flax is giving you a boost in one fatty acid-any vegetable source oil has this nutrient and exactly how much does it boost the nutrition level in the milk? And what is that worth beyond what a seed oil from whole grain will give you. Feeding all grain is feeding quite a bit of seed oil which contains galactagouges as does the yeast in all feed mixes and our friendly alfalfa. 10% reproduction improvement from what? This is assuming you are not doing so well beforehand as we have multiples on very simple feed regime. Cattle in dairy lots don't do so well. They are not talking about pampered pet goats.

20% of ration here would be 1.2 pounds per animal that means a bag every 2 days. An additional SIX THOUSAND dollars a year? whew....nope- no can do. That would mean producing and selling another 1000 gallons of milk just to boost their alpha linoleic acid levels. I know there are northern tier states that mfg feeds with the meal as an ingredient and perhaps that would be more cost effective but doubtfully once you add transport to the southern states with diesel fuel up again!

Look forward to the updates and I hope you will do some serious bookkeeping and tell me how much you would have to sell your milk for. Fun to talk about for sure.


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## Ziggy

Lee - doing the math - you only have about 20 goats?


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## NubianSoaps.com

I also didn't want to be the party pooper, but agree with Lee, than of course being old broads perhap that's the difference. I have found very little in the way of extras that really in the end does much, most of it is fluff. My thought was more in the vein of 10% increase in reproduction. I can get one more kid most of the time with the use of one bo-se shot  Now do I use flax seed for myself, absolutely, but I am a single stomached animal...I also do not believe for a second that we are manipulating qualities in the milk by what we feed our goats, and before I spent more than $6000 on my herd in additions, having 26 animals here right now, I would be doing some blood and milk testing to prove my hypothesis. 

I also didn't write this to stop the conversation. And honestly don't have time to read the links or do any research into this.


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## supermom

Lee....I appreciate your practical analysis on feed!


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## Hollybrook

Weather u have 2 or 2000 goats if you mix your own ration (COBS) your looking at 10-12% CP your going to need a booster to get to that 14-18% With all the bad rumors about Cottonseed and Soy, Flaxseed is cost effective healthy alternative. Studies show the benifits of flax pass into the meat, milk and eggs. You have to listen to your customers why would anyone drive 3 hrs and pay $10/gallon for your milk? Where's Eli?


Lee your not a pooper just being pratical nothing wrong with that! 


20 goats eating 4lbs of ration w/ 20% flax at 300 day laction would cost $3120*

20 Goats eating 4lbs of ration w/15% Soy at 300 day lactation would cost $3024

20 Goats eating 4lbs of ration w/20% Cottonseed Meal at 300 day lactation would cost $3264*

*plus grains Corn Oats Barley


Soy is the cheapest

Flax is the healthiest

Cottonseed is the best tasting

COBB Feeders pick your poison


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## buckrun

We don't go over 12% here Dave. 
You keep saying grain is bad- how are you getting that high of protein? 
Goats are not designed for high protein altho they use it in dairies- and they also use up their animals.


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## Ziggy

Trying to understand this.



> We don't go over 12% here Dave.


Are you saying feeding an 18-20% Alfalfa hay is wrong/bad for the goats? Or does this just refer to grain.


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## Ashley

> Flax is giving you a boost in one fatty acid-any vegetable source oil has this nutrient and exactly how much does it boost the nutrition level in the milk?


I'm a little confused about this? Omega threes aren't found in corn oil or sunflower/safflower. I guess it is in soy though? But not in the kind of ratio like you get in flax.

I just won't feed soy or corn because of the GMO's. They are going to go to GMO alfalfa and I'm not sure what I'll do then because I don't want to feed it. That's the main reason I stick to oats, I would feed some corn if I could get real corn. If I had equipment I would grow corn for my goats though.


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## Ashley

I have also been wondering about protein in forage and protein in grain. I know they are not hte same to the goat and would love some conversation about this. Part of it is that grain protein is more bypass protein, right? Would love info because of this cow we bought. She is getting 6 lbs of a 16 percent pellet and 3 lbs of a 12 percent grain twice a day. I would like to slowly get her off these and put her on a hay/alfalfa pellets/oats diet plus excellent minerals like my goats are on. So wondering how that works with the main protein being alfalfa instead of grain.


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## buckrun

I meant a soy or cottonseed boosted ration is too much protein for MY GOATS.
We just don't do it. The only goats I ever foundered were on high protein.

I would say that high levels of omega 3's are not essential for goats since most of the natural sources of this nutrient are flesh. I don't know many fish eating goats. Flax and walnuts are a couple of exceptions and how much of that has been available to ruminants historically?
Goats are not people. The omega 6's are their normal source of polyunsaturated fats.

Ashley about your question- that is right and I should have said that all veg oils have this group of nutrients. The polyunsaturated fats.


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## Hollybrook

Corn Wheat Meddling & Rice 12% Plus 20% Flaxseed makes it 14%

Alfalfa 16%


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## Ashley

Well, I thought goats made omega 3's from forage right? I mean, they have it in their milk and like you say their flesh. 

So I can see the argument that since we feed more grain than goats would normally get, and most grains have a lot of the omega 6's and not much omega 3's, it could imbalance their fatty acids in their body. 

Something to look into.


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## NubianSoaps.com

You have to listen to your customers why would anyone drive 3 hrs and pay $10/gallon for your milk?.....

It's called marketing.

And Lee, plenty of goats are eating fish and feather meal all over Texas


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## dragonlair

I have a small herd (12 total right now) and use the milk for myself and my animals. I enjoy messing around with different feeds, deciding what to add and how much for each animal. Each one of my many animals gets their own formula of the types I buy all the time -commercially prepared feeds, flax seed, lose minerals, kelp, baking soda, BOSS, hay and alfalfa pellets, hay, imported browse, native whole oats, corn and beet pulp are what I keep on hand and what I make my rations out of. And yes, I spend a lot of time mixing feeds, since I do feed out 3-4 times a day and my back porch looks like a feed mill because of all the feed and supplements I have all over the place.

But, I have no life outside my animals (other than my job) so this is how I keep my brain functioning! If I had a goat dairy and a lot of goats again, you can bet I would keep it very simple! I sure did when I had the commercial cow dairy and had an equal number of does who helped the cows fill the bulk tank.


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## Raspberry

*Flaxseed*

Why is flaxseed listed as a poisonous plant, yet folks are feeding the seed and or oil to the goats with great affects?

Puzzled


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## Ashley

I understand the cyanides it contains are broken down in digestion unless fed in excessive quantities.


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