bse,
Why do you only feed this mineral through Nov to Jan? If you have a cow/calf operation, this is a very important mineral. It needs to be fed year round.
http://www.ourcoop.com/productcatalog/Main/PdfViewer.aspx?el=67320
Co-op's Ultimate Cattle Mineral should be fed 12 months out of the year since you want to maintain the reproductive tract of the cow after she calves, and keep the bull's tool in good shape. He can develop problems around his sheath where he has trouble extending himself through the skin because the skin has become dried and damaged. He needs to maintain sperm quality all year long. Any kind of problem that develops that causes him pain, and he will not breed. Any kind of sperm issues, and you could miss a season of calves.
It has 2600 ppm of copper, which is a great amount, but not too high. Copper is what maintains all blood vessels and keeps them pliable to all parts of the body. The blood flow is necessary to maintain in the reproductive tract that she cycles regularly and she will be ready to re-breed on her second heat after calving. It also keeps the blood supply to the uterus of the cow for the growth of the calf.
Blood vessels are important to the feet, and the circulation needs to be maintained for foot health.
Areas that are deficient in selenium are the Northwest, Great Lakes Region,West Coast, Intermountain West, Eastern Seaboard, and the Southeastern US.
The problems you could see in cattle that are not receive selenium in their diets regularly are White Muscle Disease, which affects calves from a few days old, to a few weeks old. Their legs become weak and they will lose their ability to walk, and with a shot of injectable Se, might be given to see if it will help it. But white muscle disease usually kills the calf before it reaches this stage. Some calves are more affected than others, and it attacks their heart and respiratory muscles, and the calf just cannot continue to breathe after it is born, nor can it's heart continue to beat. They die fairly rapidly after they are born. This can be a reason when people find calves that look normal out of the placenta, and are laying there fully formed.
Abortions-calves develop nutritional my degeneration just before they are due to be born and will be born stillborn or dead. This occurs in late term fetuses.
Selenium can cause infertility in your cattle and can mimic diseases such as Trichomonosis.
Cattle have decreased immune response and have higher incidences of common diseases such as Pink eye or foot rot.
Se and Copper both are a cause for cattle to have a dull light hair coat and to look unthrifty. Se deficiency , can mimic parasitic or infectious diseases that are hard to detect.
The recommended dosage of Selenium is 3mg per day, or they want a mixture of 120ppm in a mineral mix.
I looked at the Co-op mineral chart for the selenium. I need to call them on the mineral formula at the big office! It says that it is 30 ppm selenium, but it has it listed as a yeast, and then states it as chelated, which means the molecules will be absorbed by the intestinal walls as it passes through the cows digestive system.
I have not had any trouble with white muscle disease, and I have always fed this mineral, but I am just now catching that dosage. I have been more impressed with the fact that the minerals were chelated and organic so they could be absorbed. With Tennessee being low on Selenium, and I do have a high content of clover, that is something I do need to consider, as clover does not carry Se.
All of these minerals nutrient and vitamins are passed to the calf while the cow carries the calf for the nine months she is carrying it.
Increased levels of zinc in cattle supplements were found to significantly increase daily gain in cattle.
I decided to look up what else zinc deficiencies caused, and it stated that it caused reduced tesicualr growth also.
Here is the site of other problems it causes:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9791&page=69
If you look at the Supreme minerals, it is a good mineral , but I am not sure about how much of the mineral the cattle are actually absorbing because we do not know the source that it is coming from. It states on the sheet that all of the minerals in the Ultimate are organic or chelated.
While she is carrying the calf all year long, she is usually feeding another and both are pulling a great supply of nutrients from her body. If the nutrients are being pulled out and she is not able to replace the correct amount, then the calf inside will suffer.
The Ultimate has a much higher level of all of the nutrients except for salt and calcium. It is showing that it has more of the nutrients and less levels of calcium and salt filler. They will consume as much salt as they need, gaining the nutrients and calcium along with it.
I will make a note and call LaVernge about the Mineral if anyone is interested in knowing about the selenium content in the mix. I will post it here when I find out about it.
I feel that this is the best Mineral in this area to purchase. And I would not cut down after breeding season as the cattle need these nutrients all year long
