# Bran Mash



## hammerithot (May 31, 2010)

In the endurance horse world, in the last few years there's been an uproar on "don't feed bran!" I don't know if there is specific research, but the angle is that bran (rice and wheat) is high in phosphorous and blocks the absorption of other minerals if not appropriately balanced with a calcium source. Feeding alfalfa is supposed to fix this.

Well, my goats loooooove bran mash! So much so that I've started preparing them a small mash with wheat bran, a touch of rice bran (high fat), and a little grain every morning and evening to get them back in their pen. They have free choice alfalfa hay and pellets. The question, then, is this: Does anyone else use bran? Is there any evidence of problems from feeding bran?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Mine also love bran, mine also love rice hulls (very high in fat), mine love an milk gangbusters on day old bread and you certainly can't fault their condition  Mine also love cottonseed meal. It's tough when you have to use more expensive products like soybean meal insead of cottonseed meal because of the pesticide issue, but then there are so many antisoy people also. You can't feed bakery products, as was found out by a farm who was selling grass fed milk, then a customer was allowed to put a blurb on his advertisement that she saw him feeding bakery products (I was appalled that this was allowed because it could just as well have been another dairy person stateing this trying to hurt his business.

But actual harm in any of the above, it's doubtful when the diet is mostly alfalfa based, the 'grain' part of the diet isn't as a big of a deal, it's when poor quality alfalfa or grass hays are fed, that the 'grain' portion of the diet gets such undo importance. Consistancy is key of course. Vicki


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## IXEL (May 17, 2010)

We did used to feed it to an old horse to keep weight on him, and he loved it!


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

I have some Wheat Germ Oil from TSC - how much do you think that you can safely give a goat. I have one that is thin due to having a uterine infection after kidding. She had quads and one was dead on arrival. We treated her successfully and she is now over the problem but still thin from being sick after kidding.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

No clue Tim. Time and a normal consistant diet is the only thing that works in putting on weight saftely. In using oil as fat, you do have to start out slowly, maybe a tablespoon a milking, adding more each week, watch her poop, it will quickly tell you when you can't give her more. Vicki


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