A guide to selecting the best milk replacer

A guide to selecting the best milk replacer for your animals

How do you choose the most suitable product for your goat kids, to realise their genetic potential and get the best return on investment? Quite simply, buy the best milk replacer you can afford.

You get what you pay for . You are rearing valuable animals so it’s worth spending a little more for a higher quality, more digestible product . You will see a return on that investment – extra body weight at weaning has proven to result in better lifetime performance . Remember: • Not all milk replacers are formulated the same, nor made from the same ingredients . In some cases, the same brand will differ from batch to batch . • High digestibility is key; it ensures the animal gets maximum value from the feed, providing them with the protein and energy they need to grow .

When deciding between milk replacers, consider the following: 1. Choose a milk replacer with balanced amino acids

Proteins play an important role in many bodily functions, including formation of muscle and structural tissues and hormones . Each of these proteins are made from a different combination of amino acids .

Having a whole lot of one amino acid is not useful if you do not have enough of the others – the young animal is limited in the amount of protein it can produce and any excess amino acids must be excreted . Not only is this expensive, it contributes to nitrogen loading and can lead to elevated ammonia levels in the shed .

2. Choose a milk replacer that contains highly digestible fat sources

The source of ingredients and the manufacturing processes both play significant roles in milk replacer digestibility . Milk fat, palm fat and coconut oil are all highly digestible while homogenisation of fat also helps to increase fat digestibility, as the very small particles are more easily absorbed from the digestive tract .

3. Ask about vitamins and minerals

A good quality milk replacer will contain added vitamins, micro minerals (like selenium, zinc and copper) and macro minerals (like calcium and phosphorus) with any added vitamins and minerals specifically formulated to complement the nutrients provided by the other ingredients in the milk replacer .

4. Ask about manufacturing

The source of ingredients used in a milk replacer can dramatically affect digestibility . Some processing methods can damage the proteins in milk powders making these less digestible . Often this means these ingredients cannot be used for human food and are diverted for use in milk replacers . Ask your milk replacer supplier about how they source their ingredients and what manufacturing technologies have been used to help ensure high digestibility .

5. Check ease of use

From easy-to-follow instructions on the bag right through to easy mixing and feeding, a milk replacer should be easy to use, no matter what your system . Find out from other farmers how a product has worked for them .

NOTE: Less is sometimes more

It’s tempting to buy a product with a wide range of different additives in the hopes that this will improve the nutritive value of the product . Make sure any additives included in the product are there for a reason, and not to hide the use of poor-quality ingredients .