Mineral Consumption?

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I was putting reciets in the computer yesterday and noticed that the cattle were eating;

1bag of mineral and 1bag of salt/ 25 head/ month

IS that high, low, average?
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Outrigger2":7vksfnx2 said:
that seems low, but i put out about 1700#-2500#/ month

I was keeping the numbers small for easy math.... :D

IF you feed 2500#.... divide that by 40#(how much is in one of my bags).... and then X by 25 (head / bag)... you would have around 1,500 head.... if my math is right and your cattle consume the same as myne. :D
 
i have around 400. they slow their consumption down to about 500# during the winter due to mineral in the feed
 
you can't go by that.... minerals can set in a feeder for what seem's like day's and all of a sudden be consumed over night. right now mine are going at it like hot cakes. just depends on their needs. i dont feed regular salt and minerals . given the choice cattle will naturaly go after strait salt and wind up deficient . get a good free choice mineral that works best for you
 
Cattle know when they are deficient and will consume minerals accordingly so even though you think the consumption is low, as long as you have it in the feeder free choice everything should be fine.
 
Angus In Texas":3cm9b19r said:
Cattle know when they are deficient and will consume minerals accordingly so even though you think the consumption is low, as long as you have it in the feeder free choice everything should be fine.
I have to chime in on this......cattle do not have "nutritional wisdom". It's a myth that if cattle are not eating mineral they don't need it.
I've seen cattle with access to mineral that is not palatable. That mineral is changed out for a good, palatable mineral and consumption goes up dramatically.
Palatability is critical, and some minerals are just not very palatable.
 
How do you find which one is more palatable??? IS there and ingredient to look for??? Do you put two side by side and see which one gets eaten more or what???

DO I need some of these people who talk to their cows to ask myne or what? :lol:

I think I need to get a lable and let some of yall look at it to get some opinions. :)
 
I have a small group of bull calves that were weaned a few weeks ago & they are eating as much as I put into the feeder every day for some reason. I've been hesitant to just fill it up so I give them a couple scoops every morning. I also got them a straight salt block in case that is what they were after, but they don't seem to be licking that at all. They just want to chow on my expensive minerals for whatever reason.
Kind of strange though.
 
Brute 23":g0rg3vgy said:
How do you find which one is more palatable??? IS there and ingredient to look for??? Do you put two side by side and see which one gets eaten more or what???

DO I need some of these people who talk to their cows to ask myne or what? :lol:

I think I need to get a lable and let some of yall look at it to get some opinions. :)

I do know that a mineral with too much phosphorus is not palatable. It's bitter.
 
Most all the minerals I've ever fed say they should consume around 4 ounces a day per head. But like ALACOWMAN said this can vary. The calves should be eating it too so don't forget to figure them in for some.
 
MikeC":1e9rhn9k said:
Brute 23":1e9rhn9k said:
How do you find which one is more palatable??? IS there and ingredient to look for??? Do you put two side by side and see which one gets eaten more or what???

DO I need some of these people who talk to their cows to ask myne or what? :lol:

I think I need to get a lable and let some of yall look at it to get some opinions. :)

I do know that a mineral with too much phosphorus is not palatable. It's bitter.
Same is true with high Copper Concentration mixes.Take away the Salt, and just continue to feed a free choice Mineral.There's usually plenty of Salt in the free choice brands. Read the label, you'll see different amounts, depending on brands/prices.
 
Brute 23":38i8e32u said:
How do you find which one is more palatable??? IS there and ingredient to look for??? Do you put two side by side and see which one gets eaten more or what???

DO I need some of these people who talk to their cows to ask myne or what? :lol:

I think I need to get a lable and let some of yall look at it to get some opinions. :)

You might want to consider simply talking to your feed store people. Unpalatable minerals don't usually sell very well, and they will be aware of this and can point you in the appropriate direction, as well as help you choose a mineral that will fulfill your needs.
 
When we find a brand of minerals that the cows eat well we don;t change brands unless the old one becomes unavailable. If I'm having to change I'll get a couple of bags of the new stuff and feed one bag. If they eat it ok I'll try the other of the 2. If they eat it then I'll lay in a supply and keep feeding it. If they don;t eat the first one I take the second bag back to the dealers and trade it off for another brand.
 
some weeks are they will eat more than others. its all free choice mineral. as far as taste. i don't know what you could do about that. too much mineral could also have detrimental effects. the cows will know when they need mineral
 
Outrigger2":24mpta7v said:
some weeks are they will eat more than others. its all free choice mineral. as far as taste. i don't know what you could do about that. too much mineral could also have detrimental effects. the cows will know when they need mineral
There can be a big difference in palatability from one free choice mineral to another.
 
Why are you feeding one bag of mineral and 1 bag of salt?

Why not just a good free choice mineral. They will get all of their salt from that.
 
I would like to know what some of the manufacturers put in the minerals to make it more palitable. It seems the higher the price the more they eat. I bought some last year and don't remember the brand. It had 4 types for different times of year, color coded. It was expensive over twice the price of what I am using now. I put 1/2 a bag in the feeder and a bull started eating it. I went out next morning and it was gone and Bull had huge gut for a few days. Maybe waterbelly. I think he ate the whole 25 lbs. Rest of cows ate other 25lbs that day. Stuff I am using now goes very slowly. I think finding a mineral to be happy with is very tough. I think it is a racket.
 

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