Ammonium chloride is a mineral that can be used for many purposes. Ammonium chloride is a compound used primarily in the production of fertilizers, explosives, and dyes. It has an extremely wide range of applications across many industries.
Ammonium chloride helps maintain healthy teeth by preventing tartar buildup, which is common in all animals with teeth.
Ammonium chloride also assists in controlling diarrhea or constipation as well as often being the solution to issues related to milk fever and mastitis.
Ammonium chloride can be found in everything from household cleaners to rocket fuel. It’s also sometimes added to livestock feed for its ability to improve digestion and nutrient absorption rates. Whether you’re raising goats or not, it might be worth looking into how ammonium chloride could benefit your animals.
Do Goats need Ammonia Chloride?
Goats may not necessarily need ammonium chloride, but it can help with a number of ailments. Although it’s not recommended that goats consume ammonium chloride in large quantities, it can be helpful in maintaining overall health.
Ammonium chloride is important for the proper functioning of a goat’s body. Bladder stones in goats can occur due to an improper diet.
Ammonia chloride for goats helps change the pH level of its urine to help prevents excess minerals from crystallizing into stones. It might be helpful to give your goat ammonium chloride for diarrhea if they are suffering from an infection, parasites or if their feed is improperly balanced.
It’s also possible that goats with milk fever will produce more milk when given ammonium chloride. This could be beneficial for lactating mothers who are not producing enough milk.
How much ammonium chloride should goats have?
Goats do not need ammonium chloride added to their feed directly unless there is a specific ailment that could benefit from its use.
So when thinking of the Ammonium Chloride dose for goats, it is important that goat owners who choose to add this product to their animal’s diet that they do so carefully as to not overdo it.
How much ammonium chloride does a goat need? There is no recommended dosage for this product, as it all depends on the ailment and the needs of the goat itself
Some people recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon per 60 pounds of weight, twice daily. This should be given for no more than ten days unless prescribed by a veterinarian.
Ammonium chloride is considered to be safe in small doses because it’s basically just salt that is also found naturally in tissues, the digestive tract, the liver, and several other organs of all animals.
Is Ammonium Chloride harmful to goats?
Ammonium chloride is not dangerous in small doses and it’s often present in milk and cheese anyway.
However, goats should never be given large amounts of ammonium chloride or other mineral supplements for an extended period of time unless recommended by a veterinarian.
It should also never be mixed with antacids, as the salts in ammonium chloride can affect the potency of the antacid medication.
Does ammonium chloride prevent urinary calculi?
There has been no proven evidence that ammonium chloride will prevent urinary calculi formation in goats. Although it is used to control and/or prevent milk fever and mastitis, this does not mean that it will definitely help with the prevention of urinary calculi.
Ammonium chloride does, however, change the pH level of an animal’s urine, which is believed to help prevent calcium carbonate nucleation in the bladder. Ammonium chloride at 0.5 percent of the total diet consumed usually also helps acidify urine.
The normal level of acidity required to prevent urinary calculi formation in goats is 6.0 – 6.5 pH units.
However, ammonium chloride should not be added to the diet directly because it can cause digestive upset that could result in diarrhea. It’s better to give it with a source of water or to mix it into molasses and feed it to the goats as licks instead.
Ammonium chloride is found naturally in potatoes, cabbage, and apples so you do not need to add it to your goat’s diet unless recommended by a veterinarian.
What are the side effects of ammonium chloride?
Ammonium chloride is often used as a salt substitute in livestock feed. It can be found in many commercial feeds, but it’s also easy to buy online or at local farm supply stores.
There are some risks involved with using ammonium chloride and understanding how it affects goats and what precautions to take is very important if you choose to use it.
Ammonium chloride can lower the pH level of an animal’s body, which could cause problems with respiration, difficulty breathing, and even death in high enough dosage
- Nausea
- Metabolic acidosis.
- Breathing difficulties
- Rash.
- EEG abnormalities.
- Vomiting
- Seizures.
- Mental confusion.
- Abdominal pain
- Irritability.
- Diarrhea
- Drowsiness.
- Lethargy.
- Abnormal heart rhythm.
These side effects can be more pronounced in very young, very old, or pregnant goats and this is why it’s important to use ammonium chloride carefully.
If you notice any of these symptoms in your goat, it is recommended that you seek immediate veterinary attention.
