AF Ranch
Active member
Considering putting out mineral tubs with IGR. 12 cow/calf pairs + bull............how many tubs should I put out?
Mineral tubs with IGR
- Thread starter AF Ranch
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kyblockhead
Well-known member
1 will work fine. Just position it to fine tune your intake. Closer to water, shade, etc. will increase intake and moving it further from water, shade, etc will decrease intake.
atcjets":689gg67y said:
It won't get rid of the flies completely, but it will cut their numbers - sometimes a little, sometimes a lot - because it is keeping eggs/larvae from hatching and/or maturing.
rk
Well-known member
Not according to the manufacturers of Altosid....research shows won't harm dung beetles.gabby":24mve4g4 said:
My feed store quoted me $17.95 per bag for Altosid or a dollar less per bag if I get a ton. Rabon is $14.95 per bag.
I'm going to spray the cows for flies once a week and use salt mineral blocks. That's what I did for years before I jumped on the bag minerals/fly minerals bandwagon. I've spent a small fortune on it and I can't see where it paid off plus the dung beetles are wiped out.
I'll also give them a bag of all purpose minerals occasionally to supplement the salt mineral blocks.
I'm going to spray the cows for flies once a week and use salt mineral blocks. That's what I did for years before I jumped on the bag minerals/fly minerals bandwagon. I've spent a small fortune on it and I can't see where it paid off plus the dung beetles are wiped out.
I'll also give them a bag of all purpose minerals occasionally to supplement the salt mineral blocks.
rk
Well-known member
Feed a good mineral.....lot more cost-effectuve than salt mineral blocks.gabby":1up2u2y0 said:
Herefordcross
Well-known member
Fly control isn't a one shot kill. You have to hit from a few different directions to have full control; oral tubs, blocks, boluses, etc., backrubs, face flyps, dust bags, etc. Fly tags or spray of some sort on a fairly regular basis. We vaccinate for pinkeye and fly tag everything, in fact the girls 'll go through the chute this week to get fly tagged. Python Magnum , we only do one tag per year so we don't run into resistance pattern.
kyblockhead
Well-known member
The daily cost of Altosid (IGR) is actually a little lower than Rabon. If a Rabon mineral is quoted cheaper than the IGR/Altosid then there is a difference in the mineral formulation.
Data from recent university field work (University of Tennessee stands out most in my mind) indicates that trace mineral availability from forages are actually pretty poor. Forage samples will give the values of the trace minerals in the forage, however, the availability was very low. There are no free lunches. When you consider the improved performance we see in reproduction, growth rates, milk production, etc. in our cattle and many cattle producers haven't kept up with improving their forage program to keep up with the increased nutrition requirements. I have also heard that fertilized forages will improve yields, however, this will alter the pH outside the optimal range for plants to uptake minerals from the soil. [/quote]
Data from recent university field work (University of Tennessee stands out most in my mind) indicates that trace mineral availability from forages are actually pretty poor. Forage samples will give the values of the trace minerals in the forage, however, the availability was very low. There are no free lunches. When you consider the improved performance we see in reproduction, growth rates, milk production, etc. in our cattle and many cattle producers haven't kept up with improving their forage program to keep up with the increased nutrition requirements. I have also heard that fertilized forages will improve yields, however, this will alter the pH outside the optimal range for plants to uptake minerals from the soil. [/quote]
