Mineral Program

[chambero]

Sorry for my ignorance, why no salt blocks? My father in-law loves them.

We're in the same boat on salt blocks.  Short story is most cattle don't really need it and if put out with mineral can negatively impact proper intake in both directions.  The yellow salt blocks with Iodine in them are especially discouraged unless you know you need iodine.  The way it was explained to me was that excess iodine will react with other minerals in the cows body and make compounds that that cow can't utilize, effectively creating additional defiiciencies.

Short story, if ornery old men insist on it - feed plain white salt blocks.  Otherwise, just feed mineral supplements - most of which are just fine.

 

[txshowmom]

Crystalyx  Crystal-Phos

http://www.crystalyx.com/beef/crystalphos.cfm

 

[Hilltop]

Cargill Right Now mineral. Onyx.

We have switched to this now also. Fed some Emerald at calving time. Our calves seem to be more vigorous at birth but may just be the year.
We switched because the last two years we have had terrible luck with embryo and AI'ing. Three years ago my wife AI'd 14 and we had 12 calves.
Who knows if it is semen, the year , feed, or just mother nature!!
The price of the Onyx is no more than other brands and we had had numerous people tell us they think it is the best mineral out there.
We will strart breeding in aprox. 1 week so guess we will know in a few months.

 

[blackcows]

Don't add salt???????  anyone who feeds a mineral that is 10% salt and cost $30 a bag ($1200/ton or $.60/lb) is feeding awfully high priced salt. If your mineral is 10% salt then every ton of mineral would have 200lbs. salt in it at a cost of $.60/lb or $120.  On the other hand you can buy salt at $100/ton or $.05/lb.  That same 200lbs. of salt would only cost $10.   

You aren't making a fair comparison.  Based on your math you would have to assume that each and every ingredient in the mineral cost the same and that is not the case.  As a whole the mineral cost .60 a pound but if you took the salt out of the mineral you wouldn't expect that the price would decrease by $110 a ton.  I think Amaferm cost about $4 to 5 a pound as an ingredient, if you replaced the salt with Amaferm in the mineral you couldn't assume it would only cost $120, it would be closer to $900.

Mike

 

[lightnin4]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. Are there any ingredients that are key to have in the mineral? I know I've heard selenium several times. Is that put standard into all mineral mixes? Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with me 

Whatever brand you choose look for one with chelated minerals.  This is the most usable form.  As far as key ingredients, alot depends on your soils.  If your soils are deficient in certain minerals, then you need to make sure those are in the mineral you feed to your cows.  In Tennessee there have been several studies showing selenium deficiencies in our soils so selenium is highly recommended here.

 

[aj]

We live in a copper defecient area so we use a higher copper deal. I like the crystalx super-mag tubs in the spring to prevent grass tetnaus problems. It is probably a bit of over kill but it seems like our grass goes from brown to green in a instant. I think the super-mag tubs are 12% protein also. Per pound the super mag product is similar to mineral. However they probably consume at least twice as much. But I know that they are consuming it.

 

[AAOK]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. Are there any ingredients that are key to have in the mineral? I know I've heard selenium several times. Is that put standard into all mineral mixes? Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with me 

Whatever brand you choose look for one with chelated minerals.  This is the most usable form.  As far as key ingredients, alot depends on your soils.  If your soils are deficient in certain minerals, then you need to make sure those are in the mineral you feed to your cows.  In Tennessee there have been several studies showing selenium deficiencies in our soils so selenium is highly recommended here.

A quality Mineral such as ADM will chelate in the stomachs, so don't waste the extra money to pay for Chelants.  Chelants, are chemicals that form soluble, complex molecules with certain metal ions, inactivating the ions so that they cannot normally react with other elements or ions to produce precipitates or scale.

 

[Ag Man]

If you have alot of red haired calves in your black cattle  (not genetically influenced) the nutrena "colored" feeds are the highest in copper that I can find.   It has been proven that low copper can cause the red cast to the hair.  We have been feeding it and have just about eliminated the problem.

 

[AAOK]

Sorry for my ignorance, why no salt blocks? My father in-law loves them.

We're in the same boat on salt blocks.  Short story is most cattle don't really need it and if put out with mineral can negatively impact proper intake in both directions.  The yellow salt blocks with Iodine in them are especially discouraged unless you know you need iodine.  The way it was explained to me was that excess iodine will react with other minerals in the cows body and make compounds that that cow can't utilize, effectively creating additional defiiciencies.

Short story, if ornery old men insist on it - feed plain white salt blocks.  Otherwise, just feed mineral supplements - most of which are just fine.

Good post Chambero!  Been away from the board for a while.  Thanks for setting this straight.

 

[AAOK]

ADM/Moormans, Vigortone, or Vita Ferm.  Buy one medicated with Aureomycin if possible, Loose,and fed free choice.  Never add salt or use salt blocks.

Why do you want one with aureomycin? Milk increase? Disease prevention?... I have always seen it as an option but didn't know if the cost is worth it.

Trace amounts of aureomycin will squelch the low level infections you would normally miss in both the cows and their calves.  Of course, it will also do a great job keeping Anaplasmosis in check.

 

[aj]

Doesn't areo help prevent pink eye and foot rot also?

 

[CAB]

Picked up some Purina wind & Rain today. $14.95 per bag. Cah ratio 2:1.

 

[aj]

CAB.....man thats pretty cheap. Is that a booking price? I think mineral is very hard to compare against each other. They all have different absorbtion rates. The cheap high mag mineral here is about 17$ a bag. There are all kinds of choices for mineral especially if you you try the fly controll additives. Seems like the trick on the fly controll stuff is the proper consumption. The one popular mineral for rebreeding time around here used to be the 12-12-12 mineral. It was certainly higher priced.

 

[Rocky Hill Simmental]

I use Purina Wind & Rain mineral. Lately I've been using it with Aureomycin and fly control. It seems to be working well.

 

[CAB]

CAB.....man thats pretty cheap. Is that a booking price? I think mineral is very hard to compare against each other. They all have different absorbtion rates. The cheap high mag mineral here is about 17$ a bag. There are all kinds of choices for mineral especially if you you try the fly controll additives. Seems like the trick on the fly controll stuff is the proper consumption. The one popular mineral for rebreeding time around here used to be the 12-12-12 mineral. It was certainly higher priced.

That was $1.00 cheaper per bag than normal, but no I just walk in & pick it up @ a local feed dealer here in town. I had been feeding 2 other minerals previously and 1 day grabbed all 3 tags to compare the 3 & the Purina Wind & Rain was cheaper by 6to 7 dollars per bag and evaluated better than both contenders. It was a no brainer to pick which one to feed. I do also have sweet Mg blocks out right now. As stated in a previous post, depending what part of the country that you're located in will determine some of the elements that you may need to look for. Se. is a good example of an element that is needed it certain parts of the country. Brent