Free choice minerals

We are planning to bring our first livestock onto our farm this year.  It'll be a small handful of katahdin or katahdin mix sheep.  I wan to set them up for success, but also not invest too much into things that they may not actually need.  I would eventually like to be able to offer free choice minerals, but as we will just be learning about pasture rotation and training the sheep that we aren't terrifying monsters, I want to try to keep things simple.  It seems like the priorities are a salt blend with selenium, and maybe a kelp meal.  I figure that should theoretically start covering our bases, and I can add complexity in the future.  From what I've read, mineral blocks aren't ideal as the animals can wear down their teeth trying to chew off bits of salt, plus there's the negative of the weight of hauling 50lb blocks of salt around my hilly pastures, versus a smaller mineral feeder.  Do I need to consider adding other minerals at the outset, or are these likely to cover my bases?

None of the local farm stores I'm looking at (tractor supply, rural king) carry loose selenium salts (ideally it'd be something like redmond selenium 90, but I'm not married to any one brand), and I can't find anywhere that carries kelp meal (ideally something like thorvin Icelandic kelp meal, but once again, beggars can't be choosers)  that doesn't charge like $70 for shipping.  

Since I'm new to this, I'm hoping that I'm just missing something and someone has some advice.  Thanks!

Biggest issue with sheep is they can't tolerate the amount of copper that most other livestock requires.  So you need to get a sheep specific mineral blend that includes selenium.  That will be better than trying to DIY a blend, at least when you're just starting out.  A loose mineral given free choice is what you want.  A sturdy bin sized based on the number of sheep you'll get that you can pour a bit of minerals into is fine.  You might want to either cover it somehow so the minerals don't get wet when it rains.  Or just put in roughly what they'll consume in a day if it's wet (and excess when it's dry weather).  

Edit to add:  Something like this is what you want for now.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dumor-sheep-mineral-feed-50-lb-1591775?store=1953&cid=Shopping-Google-Organic_Feed-Product-1591775&cid=Shopping-Google-LOB-Local_Feed&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_campaign=LOB&utm_content=Local_Feed&gclid=CjwKCAjwj42UBhAAEiwACIhADrm3Sv5vnf1ea2OR5Or9GqAmHzDywwrcnipAphRr2uUhxIp8mK6QTRoCewAQAvD_BwE

Andrew Mayflower wrote:Biggest issue with sheep is they can't tolerate the amount of copper that most other livestock requires.  So you need to get a sheep specific mineral blend that includes selenium.  That will be better than trying to DIY a blend, at least when you're just starting out.  A loose mineral given free choice is what you want.  A sturdy bin sized based on the number of sheep you'll get that you can pour a bit of minerals into is fine.  You might want to either cover it somehow so the minerals don't get wet when it rains.  Or just put in roughly what they'll consume in a day if it's wet (and excess when it's dry weather).  

Edit to add:  Something like this is what you want for now.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dumor-sheep-mineral-feed-50-lb-1591775?store=1953&cid=Shopping-Google-Organic_Feed-Product-1591775&cid=Shopping-Google-LOB-Local_Feed&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_campaign=LOB&utm_content=Local_Feed&gclid=CjwKCAjwj42UBhAAEiwACIhADrm3Sv5vnf1ea2OR5Or9GqAmHzDywwrcnipAphRr2uUhxIp8mK6QTRoCewAQAvD_BwE

Thanks. It doesn't appear as though that mineral doesn't have all that much selenium in it.  I'm aware of the constraints of copper, however, perhaps incorrectly, I am most concerned with ensuring that the sheep have access to as much selenium as they might want.  It seems like 21ppm isn't all that much.

Re: the feeder, I'm planning to get one of those small mineral feeder bins and mount a mudflap over the top of them so the sheep can lift it to get to what's inside, but it should keep most of the rain off of them.

Laurel Jones wrote:

Andrew Mayflower wrote:Biggest issue with sheep is they can't tolerate the amount of copper that most other livestock requires.  So you need to get a sheep specific mineral blend that includes selenium.  That will be better than trying to DIY a blend, at least when you're just starting out.  A loose mineral given free choice is what you want.  A sturdy bin sized based on the number of sheep you'll get that you can pour a bit of minerals into is fine.  You might want to either cover it somehow so the minerals don't get wet when it rains.  Or just put in roughly what they'll consume in a day if it's wet (and excess when it's dry weather).  

Edit to add:  Something like this is what you want for now.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dumor-sheep-mineral-feed-50-lb-1591775?store=1953&cid=Shopping-Google-Organic_Feed-Product-1591775&cid=Shopping-Google-LOB-Local_Feed&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_campaign=LOB&utm_content=Local_Feed&gclid=CjwKCAjwj42UBhAAEiwACIhADrm3Sv5vnf1ea2OR5Or9GqAmHzDywwrcnipAphRr2uUhxIp8mK6QTRoCewAQAvD_BwE

Thanks. It doesn't appear as though that mineral doesn't have all that much selenium in it.  I'm aware of the constraints of copper, however, perhaps incorrectly, I am most concerned with ensuring that the sheep have access to as much selenium as they might want.  It seems like 21ppm isn't all that much.

Re: the feeder, I'm planning to get one of those small mineral feeder bins and mount a mudflap over the top of them so the sheep can lift it to get to what's inside, but it should keep most of the rain off of them.

I don't think they need THAT much selenium.  It's just as bad to give them too much as too little.  More than 0.7mg per head per day can lead to selenium toxicity.

https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2013/jun/increased-selenium-dosage-boosts-growth-and-immunity-lambs#:~:text=A%20challenge%20is%20that%20the,per%20beef%20cattle%20per%20day.

First do a soil test so you know what your soil lacks/is high in. With that you can get a suitable mineral mix/tub or pellet to supplement their grazing. Even a standard for the area mineral lick will cover the basics to start with. Free choice is a somewhat tricky thing. Some will tell you that animals only rightly dose pure salt and nothing else, some will say they'll know it all. Keep the basics covered and keep an eye on how much they eat, flavor/smell will impact how much of something will be eaten below or above what is needed/healthy (just like children in a candy store).

I cover the basics with a bit of pellet to get them penned up for daily checkup and a generic licktub (with more copper given my sheepbreed). Rest depends on lambs or not, bodycondition and general health.

Note that while supplying extra minerals is wise, it will not fix the lack of in your soil. For that you need to add specific fertilizers. Get advice, because that tends to be a multi year project.