Goat Guts and Baking Soda

A goat's gut is a finely tuned cellulose breakdown factory. This is why they and other ruminants thrive on grass and browse, where if we tried to survive on it, we would starve to death! They...or rather the microbes in their gut...can break down plant chemical structures into more basic components, enabling the animal to absorb the energy and nutrients.

Now...sometimes things can occur that interfere with the happy beneficial bacterial colony. It could be an illness or a stress to the animal, or something the animal ate that throws a monkey wrench into the system. This can be dangerous, and sometimes things can spiral out of control quickly until the animal's life is in danger. It is called acidosis, and it is what it sounds like...a dangerous ph imbalance.

One simple thing that can be done to help prevent this condition is to feed the goats free-choice baking soda. It will neutralize the acid. The goats will only eat as much as they need, and when they need it.

Remember my post on acorns a little while ago? It is a good idea to have free-choice baking soda if your goats are eating falling acorns, to neutralize the tannic acid found in the acorns.

Baking soda is cheap and readily available, and an easy preventative to have on hand. I wish all goat solutions were so easy!