Kelp and Minerals

I wrote this for school.

Kelp and Minerals

There are many advantages of feeding kelp and minerals to your farm animals. Animals need vitamins to be healthy just as like we humans do. Their bodies can get what they need by eating kelp and minerals rather than only hay and grain.

Kelp contains iodine which is needed to avoid iodine deficiency which can be the cause of a messed up thyroid or goiters.

Kelp also has many different vitamins and amino acids that will help to keep your animals healthy, fit, and strong. Kelp also gives animals a nice shine to their coats.

Minerals are needed to keep your animals healthy, they are full of vitamins and other essentials such as Calcium, Potassium, Zinc, Iron, etc.

When buying minerals for your animals (in blocks or loose) make sure to buy what is specific to the animal you have.  Goat minerals, for instance, could kill sheep. Goats need a much higher percentage of Copper than sheep do, so the amount of copper in goat’s minerals is much too high for sheep. It goes the other way too. Sheep or “sheep and goat” minerals could make goats sick by not giving them enough copper.

Any minerals for sheep or goats would not have enough of anything for cows and cattle. Cattle are a much bigger animal and require much more to maintain a healthy level.

If your animals are in Milk, Kelp and Minerals will increase production and if nursing the babies drinking milk from a mother on kelp and minerals will be stronger and healthier.

           Johanna E, Howland January, 2012