mineral question

[rws]

whats it mean when cattle seem to quit eating loose mineral, ive had 50lb out for over a month and they arnt eating much of it, its in a barrel out of the weather, shouldnt they be eating more, or is it they dont really need as much, i also have out a trase mineral with selenium block, right now i have 13 cows 8 calves, should i try a different mineral or will they eat what i got when they need it
thanks

 

[Crowderfarms]

Just out of curiosity, what brand are you feeding? What's the ingredients?

 

[Anonymous]

whats it mean when cattle seem to quit eating loose mineral, ive had 50lb out for over a month and they arnt eating much of it, its in a barrel out of the weather, shouldnt they be eating more, or is it they dont really need as much, i also have out a trase mineral with selenium block, right now i have 13 cows 8 calves, should i try a different mineral or will they eat what i got when they need it
thanks

If it is available and they are not eating it - they do not want it.

Not a big deal. Ours pig out at times and leave it at other times.

Bez'

 

[Stocker Steve]

Intake is variable...

If the mineral gets wet - intake goes way down.
If the salt content in the mineral goes up - intake goes up.

I am looking at a custom mix for next year. Any tips on doing custom mixes right?

 

[msscamp]

whats it mean when cattle seem to quit eating loose mineral, ive had 50lb out for over a month and they arnt eating much of it, its in a barrel out of the weather, shouldnt they be eating more, or is it they dont really need as much, i also have out a trase mineral with selenium block, right now i have 13 cows 8 calves, should i try a different mineral or will they eat what i got when they need it
thanks

Excluding taste/liking it issues, I would say you are putting out way too much at one time. We have 35 pairs and they go through a 50 pound bag of mineral about every month and a half (give or take a week or two). You have about a 3 month supply in your feeders assuming they like it.

 

[Beefy]

they either dont need it right now or it got wet and/or hard.

 

[Susie David]

We mix ours in with the grain otherwise they try to eat around it...haven't tasted it myself but jugging by the cows they really don't like the taste....course I don't care much for alfalfa either although the dog eats it. Are you talking about the tubs?
Dave Mc

 

[El_Putzo]

whats it mean when cattle seem to quit eating loose mineral, ive had 50lb out for over a month and they arnt eating much of it, its in a barrel out of the weather, shouldnt they be eating more, or is it they dont really need as much, i also have out a trase mineral with selenium block, right now i have 13 cows 8 calves, should i try a different mineral or will they eat what i got when they need it
thanks

Excluding taste/liking it issues, I would say you are putting out way too much at one time. We have 35 pairs and they go through a 50 pound bag of mineral about every month and a half (give or take a week or two). You have about a 3 month supply in your feeders assuming they like it.

I guess it probably depends on your mineral, but the one we use recommends 4 ounces per cow per day. So, for our 81 cows, that's about a bag every 2.5 days. Sometimes they eat more, sometimes less. It's funny though, in the recent months, during the drought, you would think they'd need more minerals since the dried up grass obviously doesn't have great nutritional value, but they seemed to eat less now than in the spring when the pasture is lush.

Just a side note, we got a little relief from the drought last weekend. A 4 day rain measuring 4.9 inches. The creeks are still pretty dry though, as it all soaked in. It's raining again right now, and they're calling for more on saturday and next week!!

 

[Rustler9]

From what I've noticed with our cows they will only eat a small amount anyway. They will eat what they want and then walk away. Your cows probably don't need much right now or they would be eating it.

 

[MikeC]

From what I've noticed with our cows they will only eat a small amount anyway. They will eat what they want and then walk away. Your cows probably don't need much right now or they would be eating it.

Too much phosphorus in a mineral will cause them to eat less than what they need. It is very bitter and unpalatable. My mineral consultant advised me to drop the phos. content percentage and they will eat more lbs. I did and it helped the bred %'s.
Also, placing mineral next to the water supply will increase consumption.
In a perfect world, each cow should intake mineral each and every day according to the mineral needs left lacking from the forage analysis. Without a forage analysis and a consumption estimate we have no idea of how much that should be.

 

[plbcattle]

i went throught the same thing. I used purina and another stockade mineral. my cows wouldn't touch it. I started feeding the right now with fly control and they love it. I would try another brand, the more they eat the better. I think cows need minerals every day. the land and feed can only produce so much. I'm not promoting right now minerals it might just be they want something else. I feed around 100-125lbs per month to about 100 momma cows

 

[msscamp]

whats it mean when cattle seem to quit eating loose mineral, ive had 50lb out for over a month and they arnt eating much of it, its in a barrel out of the weather, shouldnt they be eating more, or is it they dont really need as much, i also have out a trase mineral with selenium block, right now i have 13 cows 8 calves, should i try a different mineral or will they eat what i got when they need it
thanks

Excluding taste/liking it issues, I would say you are putting out way too much at one time. We have 35 pairs and they go through a 50 pound bag of mineral about every month and a half (give or take a week or two). You have about a 3 month supply in your feeders assuming they like it.

I guess it probably depends on your mineral, but the one we use recommends 4 ounces per cow per day. So, for our 81 cows, that's about a bag every 2.5 days. Sometimes they eat more, sometimes less. It's funny though, in the recent months, during the drought, you would think they'd need more minerals since the dried up grass obviously doesn't have great nutritional value, but they seemed to eat less now than in the spring when the pasture is lush.

Just a side note, we got a little relief from the drought last weekend. A 4 day rain measuring 4.9 inches. The creeks are still pretty dry though, as it all soaked in. It's raining again right now, and they're calling for more on saturday and next week!!

I'm sorry, I should have included in my post that we don't have enough grass to support the cows so they are supplemented with ground hay, beet pulp, and corn silage when we can get it. When they were on straight pasture, they would go through a 50 lb bag of mineral mixed with salt about every week or so.

 

[Stocker Steve]

From what I've noticed with our cows they will only eat a small amount anyway. They will eat what they want and then walk away. Your cows probably don't need much right now or they would be eating it.

Too much phosphorus in a mineral will cause them to eat less than what they need. It is very bitter and unpalatable. My mineral consultant advised me to drop the phos. content percentage and they will eat more lbs. I did and it helped the bred %'s.
Also, placing mineral next to the water supply will increase consumption.
In a perfect world, each cow should intake mineral each and every day according to the mineral needs left lacking from the forage analysis. Without a forage analysis and a consumption estimate we have no idea of how much that should be.

Any tips on setting up a custom mix?

 

[Dee]

Most companies can do a custom mix for you. I have been pleased with Form-A-Feed minerals. I usually have a nutrionalist come out, take feed samples of what I have (hay, alfalfa, silage, etc) set up a feed ration and a mineral program to go with it. It will depend on what you are feeding as to what they require for minerals. Silage is very low in calcium, bred cows and growing calves will need that in their mineral. It's also low in phos, but you could add #4 of gluten for the cows and not need to add phos to your mineral program. So I would get a nutrionalist out, it's free if you purchase their minerals usually.

 

[MikeC]

From what I've noticed with our cows they will only eat a small amount anyway. They will eat what they want and then walk away. Your cows probably don't need much right now or they would be eating it.

Too much phosphorus in a mineral will cause them to eat less than what they need. It is very bitter and unpalatable. My mineral consultant advised me to drop the phos. content percentage and they will eat more lbs. I did and it helped the bred %'s.
Also, placing mineral next to the water supply will increase consumption.
In a perfect world, each cow should intake mineral each and every day according to the mineral needs left lacking from the forage analysis. Without a forage analysis and a consumption estimate we have no idea of how much that should be.

Any tips on setting up a custom mix?

I use Vigortone. The rep will come and take a forage sample during different seasons for different needs. I think it's Vigortone.com to find a dealer.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Thanks for the tips. I think I am providing too much phosphorus. I will hunt down a feed rep and get it right.

 

[Crowderfarms]

Thanks for the tips. I think I am providing too much phosphorus. I will hunt down a feed rep and get it right.

In your area, you may want to check with Hubbard Feeds. They are in Mankato(sp) Mn.