Pretty good article on mineral use

[Anonymous]

This is an easy read and simple for anyone to understand. I tried getting a buddy who has a few head to understand the importance of minerals. He feels that the red blocks are good enough. But he cant figure out why his group is poor do ers and some dont breed back.


http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2004 ... T311.shtml

 

[expensive hobby]

OK Hook. I'm gonna admit that my mineral routine is less than ideal. I guess that this is because its all dutch to me. I don't really understand it all. Normally I find myself feeding out a variety of blocks with no real goal in mind, probably out of ease. I'm thinking to get away from this bad practice and start feeding loose mineral with the small amt of winter grain that I feed out. I do not really know of a good way to do free choice loose mineral except for those clumsy feeders. Should I be going that route or can I get away with adding them to their feed. Then, what mineral/product do I use?

 

[Anonymous]

Me, i adked some of the locals and the ext agent what the best one to use for my area was.
Then i built one of the Dun mineral feeder ls using a 55 gallon poly drum.
Ever since them the animals are doing better, breed back easier, and the calves are energetic.
Now granted this is only going into my second year of using loose mineral. But i can see a huge difference.
Like i told my friend this afternoon. If youre gonna skrimp on anything dont let it be the minerals

 

[angus9259]

Over the past 15 years I've used nothing, loose mineral, salt blocks, and tubs and various combinations of the aforementioned. Have never noticed a lick of difference in anything except in my pocket book. Didn't have breedback problems before, don't have them now. Didn't have grass tet before, don't have it now, didn't have pinkeye before and I DO have it now!! I wonder if they're getting pinkey from the mineral??? Kinda like vaccines. I never vaccinated for anything before and never had blackleg, BVD, calf scours or abortion sprees. Since I started vaccinating I've not had blackleg, BVD, calf scours or abortion sprees.

That said, I still use crystalyx tubs (spent $6,000 on them this year - 35% of what I spend on hay a year) - high mag in spring, fly control in summer, and bovatec in winter all because they are supposed to be doing something. And they say the angus breed has a good PR group!

 

[Anonymous]

Can't help ya there. Wet year?
Chances are that you are in an area though that has a balanced mineral naturally. Dont know.

 

[kenny thomas]

Over the past 15 years I've used nothing, loose mineral, salt blocks, and tubs and various combinations of the aforementioned. Have never noticed a lick of difference in anything except in my pocket book. Didn't have breedback problems before, don't have them now. Didn't have grass tet before, don't have it now, didn't have pinkeye before and I DO have it now!! I wonder if they're getting pinkey from the mineral??? Kinda like vaccines. I never vaccinated for anything before and never had blackleg, BVD, calf scours or abortion sprees. Since I started vaccinating I've not had blackleg, BVD, calf scours or abortion sprees.

That said, I still use crystalyx tubs (spent $6,000 on them this year - 35% of what I spend on hay a year) - high mag in spring, fly control in summer, and bovatec in winter all because they are supposed to be doing something. And they say the angus breed has a good PR group!

According to what type of Chrystalyx tubs you are using you may have one of the best mineral programs there is.

 

[Nesikep]

I just started using a 9/18 mineral supplement and I'll see what difference it makes come next fall, the loose mineral has about 5x more copper than the "red block", high selenium and high phosphorus... Our blood tests showed deficiencies in all 3 of these minerals. I had one cow not breed back this summer, and the week after I fed this loose mineral she bred back and held. I may switch to a 1:1 C/P ratio once I get the phosphorus deficiency resolved. I'll also see what my breedback rate is next year, we've been pretty good (according to the vet we should only be concerned if +20% don't breed back) at about 80% on the first cycle and 95% overall, maybe next year will be 90 on the first round and 100 overall.. time will tell

 

[regolith]

I just started using a 9/18 mineral supplement and I'll see what difference it makes come next fall, the loose mineral has about 5x more copper than the "red block", high selenium and high phosphorus... Our blood tests showed deficiencies in all 3 of these minerals. I had one cow not breed back this summer, and the week after I fed this loose mineral she bred back and held. I may switch to a 1:1 C/P ratio once I get the phosphorus deficiency resolved. I'll also see what my breedback rate is next year, we've been pretty good (according to the vet we should only be concerned if +20% don't breed back) at about 80% on the first cycle and 95% overall, maybe next year will be 90 on the first round and 100 overall.. time will tell

Unless your vet is presuming on a 3 week mating length - he's dead wrong.
I've heard tales of dairies with 20% MT after 12 weeks mating year after year... they have problems. One I heard of was doing his own AI and lacked the ability to find the cervix. The farm I was on last year usually ran to 15% MT, boss said it was mineral, vet said at the start of mating it was too late to rectify (blood tests were good but they say they still see results supplementing with good blood tests). 15% is the upper side of normal for a seasonal calving dairy. I normally expect 7 - 8%. (btw, I think the vet who said it was too late was probably wrong as well.)

 

[regolith]

I should stop using new Zealand jargon: MT = Empty = Open

Good article hook, about halfway through reading it now.

 

[TexasBred]

Over the past 15 years I've used nothing, loose mineral, salt blocks, and tubs and various combinations of the aforementioned. Have never noticed a lick of difference in anything except in my pocket book. Didn't have breedback problems before, don't have them now. Didn't have grass tet before, don't have it now, didn't have pinkeye before and I DO have it now!! I wonder if they're getting pinkey from the mineral??? Kinda like vaccines. I never vaccinated for anything before and never had blackleg, BVD, calf scours or abortion sprees. Since I started vaccinating I've not had blackleg, BVD, calf scours or abortion sprees.
That said, I still use crystalyx tubs (spent $6,000 on them this year - 35% of what I spend on hay a year) - high mag in spring, fly control in summer, and bovatec in winter all because they are supposed to be doing something. And they say the angus breed has a good PR group!

That's what's suppose to happen. ;-)

 

[RD-Sam]

I have been using loose mineral and have seen a huge improvement in the herd, all of the cattle are in better condition than prior years before loose mineral use, and they are raising much larger calves, as much as 250 pounds larger.

I see the same results with them consuming more mineral in bad forage periods, in fact they are consuming allot right now, vs. some periods hardly any. Good quality grass and hay, quality mineral, and vaccinations are the key to seeing improvements in the cattle and making a profit. ;-)

 

[Nesikep]

RD-Sam, Wow, those are impressive results!.. I'm looking forward more and more to what my blood test cow could do with a good diet of minerals... she raised a 740 lb steer in 205 days, and he's now 940 (270ish days)