Baking Soda for Goats

Goats are natural foragers who live on mountain tops grazing here and there on brush, twigs, bushes, and bramble. When you take a goat out of this habitat and try to feed it grass pasture, grain, and alfalfa, the goat's digestive system will need some help adapting to this artificial diet. One helpful tool that will help balance your goat's rumen and help prevent bloat is baking soda for goats.

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I am not a veterinarian, this is only an example of what we do with our animals. Please consult your vet before making any health decisions with your animals.

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Understanding the goat rumen

In order to learn why baking soda helps a goat's digestive system, it's important to understand how the digestive system of your goat works.

Goat digestive tract anatomy drawing illustration

In my post The Goat Digestive Tract I go over the functions of the complete digestive tract in detail. I really recommend reading that post in its entirety. It will help you to understand what your goat needs to eat, and why. But for the purposes of this post, I'm going to point out the importance of keeping the pH in the rumen balanced.

The normal pH level for a goat's rumen is around 6.5

It can range from 5.5 - 7.5 safely before the goat starts to experience digestive distress.

Understanding how the goat rumen can become unbalanced

When a goat eats food similar to its natural diet (shrubs, dried leaves, bushy plants etc.) these foods require a lot of chewing. When the goat chews it mixes its food with saliva. Saliva is naturally alkaline in pH.

As the food moves into the rumen, bacteria in the rumen begin to consume the food into smaller particles. As the bacteria consume, they produce gas and acid. This acid production lowers the pH of the rumen. But when saliva (which is alkaline) is produced when chewing, and in cud chewing, it brings those acidity levels back down.

The problem happens when goats overdo it on foods like grains, corn, alfalfa pellets or fresh grass. Or if they get into foods that they're not supposed to eat like chicken feed. Our goats are obsessed with grain and will do almost anything to get to the grain bucket when they get the chance. The problem is that they will overeat these foods if not rationed out by us. These foods also require very little chewing.

So when the goat overeats, all that food moves into the rumen quickly and the bacteria go crazy feasting! They begin consuming the grain and start producing tons of gasses and bubbles. They also produce a lot of acids. Without the goat's saliva being mixed and chewed into the grain, there is nothing to combat the acid in the goat's rumen. If left unchecked, the goat will bloat.

Why is baking soda important to goat health?

Baking soda or Sodium Bicarbonate is alkaline and has a pH of about 8.5.

When the goat consumes baking soda, it is much like when you or I take an antacid for heartburn relief.

Goats are able to self-medicate when baking soda is given free choice. If they feel that their stomachs are upset after a meal, they can take a little baking soda and it will balance out their rumen.

How does baking soda help prevent bloat?

Baking soda also works to consolidate tiny bubbles, made by bacteria, into larger bubbles that the goat can burp up. Rather than foam which the goat cannot burp up. The accumulation of these tiny bubbles is what causes frothy bloat (which I plan to go into detail about in a future post.) Baking soda is not a cure for bloat, but it can help to prevent a goat from getting bloated in mild cases of overeating.

How to feed baking soda to goats

We have our mineral buckets and our feed buckets on the outside of the goat fencing in the barn. The goats have to put their heads through to eat. This helps keep their food and mineral buckets clean and easily accessible. It also helps to prevent bullying while eating.

We feed our goats baking soda in a 2-chamber mineral feeder bucket. I fill it with a cup or two of baking soda next to their goat-specific mineral. They have access to this baking soda at all times. You don't have to worry about them eating too much. Goats are smart and know their bodies (except when it comes to grain). They will only lick up what they need, and they know how often they need it. Sometimes our goats will go through the baking soda faster than other times. Just check the amount each time you feed your goats and make sure they have enough.

Baking soda should be placed in a spot where it won't get soiled, wet, or pooped in. If moisture gets in, it tends to clump. Make sure it's clean.

Whenever feeding supplements like baking soda or minerals, it's important to provide fresh, clean water at all times so the goat can flush out excess sodium.