Dr. John McKinnon - january 24

Managing Your Mineral Feeding Program
Saskatchewan Beef Industry conference
January 20, 2016
John McKinnon
Professor & Saskatchewan Beef Industry Chair
www.usask.ca
Managing the Mineral Program
What Program is Right for You?
1.
Lots of choices
•
2.
1:1; 2:1; Blocks; tubs, boluses, injectable, fortified
screening pellets and cubes, protein supplements
Unique formulations / concentrations / prices
•
•
•
•
Protein
Ca / P and or Mg
Trace minerals
Bioavailability
www.usask.ca
Managing the Mineral Program
What Program is Right for You?
3.
How well do You Know Your Operation?
•
•
•
•
Soil types
Soil mineral concentrations – Molybdenum content
Water quality – Sulfate levels
Forage mineral levels – macro and trace – need to have
your forages feed tested
www.usask.ca
Managing the Mineral Program
What Program is Right for You?
4.
Recognize that the cow’s requirements change
with stage of pregnancy as well as with lactation
and breeding
•
Two critical periods
•
•
60 days pre-calving & calving thru breeding
Summer and fall grazing / winter feeding
www.usask.ca
Loose Mineral Programs
• Calcium / Phosphorus minerals
• Designed to match your forage type
•
•
•
Vary in ratio / concentration of Ca and P
Vary in magnesium content
May or may not supply salt
• Programs offered that are
designed to match forage
quality and animal requirements
www.usask.ca
Symptoms of Calcium and Phosphorus
Deficiency
• Calcium
• Milk fever
• Decreased milk
production
• Bone abnormalities
• rickets
• Poor reproductive
performance
 Phosphorus
• Delayed estrus
• Poor conception
• Decreased milk
production
• Bone abnormalities
• Decreased feed intake
• Decreased growth
www.usask.ca
Calcium Requirements of 600 kg Cow DMI @
2% body weight (DM basis; NRC 1996)
• Calcium
• 2nd trimester
0.17% or 20 gm day
• 3rd trimester
0.27 % or 32 gm day
• Post-calving
0.25 - .35 % or 30 - 40 gm day
www.usask.ca
Typical Calcium & Phosphorus Content of
Western Canadian Feeds
 Legume and Grass/Legume forage:
• High in Ca (1 - 2 % >) and low in P (0.15 - 0.35)
 Grass type forage
• Intermediate Ca (0.3 - 0.5%) and low P (0.1- 0.2%)
www.usask.ca
Typical Calcium & Phosphorus Content of
Western Canadian Feeds
 Cereal green feed
• (0.25 - 0.4%) and low in P (0.1 - 0.2%)
 Cereal grains
• Low Ca (<0.1%) and intermediate in P (0.3 - 0.4%)
www.usask.ca
Magnesium and Potassium
 Both essential in their own right
 Mg requirement for lactating beef cows 0.2% (DM basis)
 K requirement for pregnant beef cows 0.5 to 0.7% (DM
basis)
 Typically not an issue in western Canada with
deficiency of either mineral
 Magnesium deficiency can be associated with grass
tetany (forages less than 0.2% Mg or high levels of K)
www.usask.ca
Loose Mineral Programs
• Calcium / Phosphorus minerals
•
Designed to match your forage type
•
Vary in ratio / concentration of Ca and P
•
Vary in magnesium content
•
May or may not supply salt
• Supply trace minerals (vary in concentration and
availability)
• Supply vitamins ADE / medications(?)
• Vary in susceptibility to weathering
• Vary in palatability
• Vary in price
www.usask.ca
Trace Minerals
•
•
•
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zinc
copper
iodine
cobalt
• iron
• selenium
• manganese
www.usask.ca
Trace Minerals
• Requirements are in milligrams / day, however
expressed as:
• Copper 10 mg per kg diet DM (ppm)
• Zinc 30 mg per kg diet DM (ppm)
• Selenium 0.1 – 0.2 mg kg DM (ppm)
www.usask.ca
Trace Minerals Diet Concentration
• A 600 kg cow consuming 12 kg (2% body weight DM
basis) dry matter daily requires on a daily basis:
•
•
•
12 kg DM x 10 ppm = 120 mg of copper
12 kg DM x 30 ppm = 360 mg of zinc
12 kg DM x 0.1 ppm = 1.2 mg of selenium
www.usask.ca
Trace Mineral Deficiencies
• Zinc
• reproductive disorders (abnormal sperm
production),
• skin abnormalities,
• reduced growth in calves
• poor feed efficiency
www.usask.ca
Trace Mineral Deficiencies
• Zinc
•
reproductive disorders (abnormal sperm production), skin
abnormalities, reduced growth and poor feed efficiency
• Copper
• general unthriftiness,
• rough, off colour hair coat,
• infertility in cows,
• leg abnormalities and stunted growth in
calves,
• sudden death due to cardiac failure
www.usask.ca
Trace Mineral Deficiencies
• Zinc
•
reproductive disorders (abnormal sperm production), skin abnormalities,
reduced growth and poor feed efficiency
• Copper
•
general unthriftiness, rough, off color hair coat, infertility in cows, leg
abnormalities, stunted growth, sudden death due to cardiac failure
• Selenium
• in calves white muscle disease, unthriftiness,
poor growth, lameness, reduced immune
response
• in cows increased incidence of retained
placentas
www.usask.ca
Understanding Your Mineral Tag
www.usask.ca
Comparison of Two Mineral Sources
Brand A (Se 30 ppm)
Ca
20%
P
11%
Na
10%
Mg
4%
Co
40 ppm
Cu
2400 ppm
Zn
7200 ppm
Mn
5400 ppm
Brand B (Se 30 ppm)
• Ca 15%
• P
12%
• Na 5%
• Mg 4%
• Co
20 ppm
• Cu 1000 ppm
• Zn 3300 ppm
• Mn 3000 ppm
• Fe 5800 ppm
www.usask.ca
Understanding Your Mineral Tag
• Mineral tag – 100 gms (0.1 kg or 3 oz) expected
consumption:
• Tag indicates Cu = 1000 ppm mg/kg
• Copper intake = 0.1 kg mineral x 1000 mg/kg = 100
mgs per d
www.usask.ca
Brand “A” Fed at 15 gm / 100 kg body weight to 600 kg
beef cow or 90 g day (3rd trimester)
Concentration
Amount Supplied
Daily requirement
Ca 20%
18 gm
32 gm
P
9.9 gm
20 gm
9 gm
10 gm
3.6 gm
16 gm
Co 40ppm
3.6 mg
1.2 mg
I
11 mg
6 mg
Cu 2400ppm
216 mg
120 mg
Zn 7200ppm
648 mg
360 mg
Mn 5400ppm
486 mg
480 mg
Se
2.7 mg
1.2 mg
11%
Na 10%
Mg
4%
120ppm
30ppm
www.usask.ca
Brand “B” Fed at 100 gm to 600 kg cow (3rd trimester)
Concentration
Amount Supplied
Daily requirement
Ca 15%
15 gm
32 gm
P
12%
12 gm
20 gm
Na
5%
9 gm
10 gm
Mg
4%
3.5 gm
16 gm
Co 20ppm
2.0 mg
1.2 mg
I
6.5 mg
6 mg
Cu 1000ppm
100 mg
120 mg
Zn 3300ppm
330 mg
360 mg
Mn 3000ppm
300 mg
480 mg
Se
2.7 mg
1.2 mg
65ppm
30ppm
www.usask.ca
Free Choice versus Force Feeding?
• Free choice mineral consumption is highly
variable (within herd variability; palatability of
mineral; access to mineral feeders).
• No guarantee all cows are meeting requirements
• Force feeding helps ensure all cows get their
requirement for macro and trace minerals as
well as vitamins
www.usask.ca
Free Choice versus Force Feeding?
• Unpublished research at UofS indicates that
cows force fed mineral pre and post calving had
higher blood copper levels, came into heat
sooner and conceived earlier than those with
free choice access to same mineral (S. Hendrix,
personnel communication)
www.usask.ca
Cafeteria Style Mineral Feeding
• Cattle will actively seek out salt to satisfy a need for
sodium;
• Phosphorus deficient cattle will chew on bones or
corrals (pica);
• That’s it about it for nutritional wisdom when it comes
to cattle’s ability to manipulate mineral consumption to
meet needs.
www.usask.ca
Loose Mineral Programs
• Trace mineral salt
• Supply trace minerals
• High salt
www.usask.ca
Trace Mineral Salt at 25 gm / day
Tag Information
• Na
36.5 %
• Salt
91.5 %
• Co
60 ppm
• Cu
4000 ppm
• Zn 12000 ppm
• Mn 10000 ppm
• I
200 ppm
• Se
120 ppm
Daily Intake
• Na
9.5gm
• Salt 23gm
• Co
1.5mg
• Cu 100mg
• Zn 300mg
• Mn 250mg
• I
5mg
• Se
3mg
Mg/kg DM
0.13
8.0
25.0
21.0
0.4
0.25
www.usask.ca
Mineral/Vitamin Boluses
Source: http://www.agrimin.co.uk/all-trace-boluses-for-cattle
www.usask.ca
All Trace Boluses
Source: http://www.agrimin.co.uk/all-trace-boluses-for-cattle
www.usask.ca
Managing a Mineral Program
• Mineral intakes highly variable
• “eat me out of house and home”
• “cattle won’t stop eating mineral”
• “eating it like candy”
• “ the cows won’t touch that _ _ _ t!”
www.usask.ca
Managing a Mineral Program
When was the last time cattle had mineral ?
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Might be a reason why it tastes like candy?
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Need to give cattle a period to adjust to availability of a
mineral – let them adapt
www.usask.ca
Managing a Mineral Program
Numerous factors influence mineral intake
• Palatability of mineral
•
•
•
Composition of mineral – phosphorus content
Salt content
Flavoring agents
www.usask.ca
Managing a Mineral Program
Numerous factors influence mineral intake
•
Palatability of mineral
•
Composition of mineral – phosphorus content
•
Salt content
•
Flavoring agents
• Access to salt
• Water quality – sulfate / salinity levels
www.usask.ca
Managing a Mineral Program
Numerous factors influence mineral intake
• Location of mineral feeder
•
•
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Relative to water source
Relative to salt source
Location in pasture
www.usask.ca
Summary
• Mineral Deficiencies are real
• Have productive, herd health and economic
consequences
• A sound mineral feeding program targets the cow’s
nutritional needs for stage of pregnancy as well as
lactation
•
•
•
Geographic location / soil type
Water quality
Forage mineral content
www.usask.ca
Summary
• An efficient mineral program does not just happen
•
•
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Consultation with your nutritionist / veterinarian
Selection of approate mineral
Management of the mineral feeder
www.usask.ca