Mineral Provider to heifers/steers

[DEA]

I realize there are alot of different mineral providers out there (calf manna, showbloom, etc.)  But is there one particular that you recommend or had success with for show steers and another for show heifers?  Comparing costs among providers, how much difference "really" is there between the high cost minerals versus lower cost?  Just looking for the best "bang for the buck" as the saying goes. 

 

[shortyjock89]

We feed VitaFerm granules to everything,  basically free choice.  The calves love the stuff, and we never have trouble with vitamin or mineral deficiency (sp).  We've found that  you get what you pay for with everything in the cattle business, including mineral.

 

[pigguy]

Ok vitaferm has a new product called sure champ i have heard it is pretty good. Calf manna i sbetter then showbloom.  we are feeding sunglo mineral right now since it is about 5 dollars cheaper and im a dealer. i am liking it so far.

 

[red]

just remeber that a mineral program is different than Show Bloom.You still need to feed minerals w/ theose feed supplements.

Red

 

[fluffer]

I have had a lot of luck with the sure champ myself.  The cattle love it too.

 

[DEA]

I am curious as to why you said Calf Manna is better than Showbloom? is it better for steers/heifers or does it not matter?

Also, for example, if you fed a sunglo/surechamp/vita ferm,etc along with a show bloom or calf manna, would this not be (over the long run) contradictory to each other and not very cost effective?  If I am off base with this thinking, please tell me.  I am trying to be more cost effective and learn from people who know more about this area than I do.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Also, if you have a show say in July, how/when do you change your mineral program/supplements from what you do over the winter?

 

[CAB]

  If you will look @ your tag off of your feed supp. You should be able to get your ration balanced with a supplement. For example, if you are feeding a 500 lb calf 5 lbs of grain & 1ilb/ day of a protien supplement, and free choice grass hay or limited hay, your ration should be balanced for the calves. Does everybody out there feed additional mineral to cattle that are being hand fed or self fed a ration? I am just curious I guess because this comes up quite often. In the above example, the lb of supplement would supply all of the required minerals that are short in the rest of the diet. By feeding this in the ration, every calf would get the daily requirements. Cab

 

[red]

I always provide a free choice mineral no matter what ration they are on. I guess I figure some may need something extra or our area may be lacking in something.
I keep w/ the same mineral program for all times of the year. I think some areas can use different minerals depending on their forages. Especially areas that have Fescue or grass Tetney problems.

Red

 

[CAB]

  There are going to be some big changes coming with the advent of the all of the ethonal plants springing up & all of the by-products being fed. We are all going to have to be aware of different shortages and surpluses of the new products. I don't think alot of us are very well educated or informed as to what cattle needs are and tend to over feed because of it. The feed sales people surely aren't going to tell you that you don't need their mineral, but it takes time and effort to dig in and figure out what your cattle really need as a supplement depending on their diets. Cab