Nutrition
water or loafing areas. Other
suggestions are as follows:
• Place feeders closer to the
cow path or trail. 4. Most Hubbard minerals do not
• Remove or reduce salt.
• Place in mineral tubs set
on the ground.
• Place additional mineral
feeders in new locations.
•
Adjust for excessive intake (and
encourage decreased intake).
Place feeders farther from water,
shade or loafing area. Additional
suggestions are below:
• Move feeders away from
the cow path or trail.
• Mix additional white salt
with the mineral.
Place feeders up off the ground.
3. Pastures with creeks running
through them may include
several watering locations,
so an increase in the number of
feeding stations is recommended
to encourage consistent intake.
need added salt. However, if cows
are over consuming, additional salt
can be added to control intake.
Use only white salt to prevent
interference with the trace
mineral profile of the product.
•
When added salt is needed
for controlling or reducing
mineral intake, it is always
advisable to mix salt with
the mineral rather than feeding
mineral and loose salt side by side.
•
If fed separately, some cows will
tend to eat only salt and others
will eat only mineral. This will
become readily evident if
you are feeding a mineral with
fly control. Less-than-satisfactory
fly control will result because
some cows do not get
their dose of fly control
since they are eating only salt.
know what the cows are
consuming. Make filling mineral
feeders a consistent chore and
schedule time for it in the workday.
Results will follow
Mineral feeders placed close to shade
and loafing areas are convenient for
the cows to visit and will encourage
intake. When mineral feeders are placed
near water, the cows can easily cleanse
their palates and return to the mineral
feeder to consume more mineral. That
is comparable to a person being able to
eat a lot of really salty popcorn as long
as they have a large enough soft drink.
You’ve made a good investment when
you commit to feeding minerals to
beef cows on a year-round basis.
Managing proper intake ensures that
you get the highest return on animal
performance for your investment. I
Alltech was a sponsor of the 2018
International Limousin Congress.
5. Record when and how much
mineral is put out by pasture to
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