# Trace Minerals



## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

What are your views on trace minerals for cattle? Is it worth the extra cost?


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

I believe in feeding mineral year round. I use McNess mineral. I also get the chelated mineral as they're supposed to absorb it better. A good mineral program helps in so many ways. I believe it helps strengthen their immune system, helps cows clean after calving, helps cows rebreed.

Yes it is expensive, mineral is one of my bigger cattle expenses but I believe its worth it.


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## TJ Hendren (May 12, 2017)

Ditto on all the points above. I won't do without them, you are costing yourself in the long run unless you amend your soil with them.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

We have loose trace mineral out year round. I do not place it near water or shade. They will eat it when bored.

I once bought the "rain or shine" loose mineral that did not cake when wet. I now buy the less expensive and use mineral feeders with the cover.

I am not a fan of mineral blocks.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Use the tubs and salt block with Selium (shortage in MY area). One day I'm going to go with the loose stuff, I like Tim's idea though (away from the shade/water).

Larry


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Tim/South said:


> We have loose trace mineral out year round. I do not place it near water or shade. They will eat it when bored.
> 
> I once bought the "rain or shine" loose mineral that did not cake when wet. I not buy the less expensive and use mineral feeders with the cover.
> 
> I am not a fan of mineral blocks.


So do they eat more when it is near water?


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

My dad had a feed store when I was growing up he always said minerals where more important then protein . Cattle are just like soil in my opinion. If soil ph and micro nutrients aren’t correct fertilizer don’t do much good. I know for a fact beef cows in my area breed back much better if they are supplemented vitamins A D &E.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

CowboyRam said:


> So do they eat more when it is near water?


They definitely can and do, but they recommend it being fed close to water source as it also helps absorption.

In my opinion, if you haven't been giving a good mineral package, you are just shooting yourself in the foot. And unfortunately, it isn't overnight that you can fix mineral deficiencies. Takes months upon months for some mineral levels to return to a healthy normal.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

I am going to assume that it would be equally good to give mineral to the bulls as well.

We moved my uncles cow over to his sons farm so that they could feed some corn to his cows before he sells his cows next month as we are not set up to feed corn. I had mentioned it to dad at the beginning of the year, but we could not do it because we still had my uncles cows and he did not want give his any mineral. I was kind of surprised that dad thought we should give our cows mineral. We went and bought two 200 pound tubs of trace minerals; they have been in with the cows (61 head) for about a month and have consumed about half so far.

When I had goats I did give them some mineral and then I ran out and did not replace it; I had lost about 80% of my kid crop the last year I had goats. These were my sons 4H project; looking back now I think my losses were due to deficiencies in minerals.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Tim/South said:


> We have loose trace mineral out year round. I do not place it near water or shade. They will eat it when bored.
> 
> I once bought the "rain or shine" loose mineral that did not cake when wet. I not buy the less expensive and use mineral feeders with the cover.
> 
> I am not a fan of mineral blocks.


Why not mineral blocks? Salt and TM blocks were all that we bought here, dairy and now beef. I have TM blocks available to them at all times BUT in the last year or so have wondered if they are necessary or if there is something better. I just keep doing what I've always done.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

IH 1586 said:


> Why not mineral blocks? Salt and TM blocks were all that we bought here, dairy and now beef. I have TM blocks available to them at all times BUT in the last year or so have wondered if they are necessary or if there is something better. I just keep doing what I've always done.


There is not much mineral in a block. But it only takes a trace amount to begin with.

It would take a cow all day to lick in a block what a cow can get in 5 seconds. When we used the blocks, the same few dominate cows would stand and lick for a long time. Compare how long a 50 lb. bag of mineral is consumed compared to a 50 lb. block. We had cows chase the less dominate cows away from the blocks.

Boredom is one reason I do not place the mineral feeder in the shade. In the heat of the day the cows will stand and lick out of boredom. I want them to to to the feeder to satisfy a craving. Same with placing it water. They will stop and eat mineral as they pass by.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Tim,

What kind of mineral feeders would you recommend and what is your source for loose mineral if you don't mind? BTW 25 cows if that matters, should get back to 15 someday.

Larry


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Tim/South said:


> There is not much mineral in a block. But it only takes a trace amount to begin with.
> It would take a cow all day to lick in a block what a cow can get in 5 seconds. When we used the blocks, the same few dominate cows would stand and lick for a long time. Compare how long a 50 lb. bag of mineral is consumed compared to a 50 lb. block. We had cows chase the less dominate cows away from the blocks.
> Boredom is one reason I do not place the mineral feeder in the shade. In the heat of the day the cows will stand and lick out of boredom. I want them to to to the feeder to satisfy a craving. Same with placing it water. they will stop and ear mineral as they pass by.


Sure a cow is going to consume the loose faster, but the issue is do they need to? Are we trying to supplement what the cow is getting from her actual feed or are we trying to get 100% of her minerals from the tub?


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

I am not aware of any feeding loose mineral in this area. Thirty years ago that was to do thing here, but has gone away. Some cheap folks that barely put salt blocks out here.

With the short green season cattle are a long time on dry grass. As time goes by little spits of rain leach out water soluble vitamins and minerals, and acorn season also starts then. So the common practice was always a salt, grain, protein, and trace mineral mix in a dry mix free chose,salt limits intake. Or the liquid molasses lick tanks(Loommix company started here ). The price of salt is so high that the dry mix is to expensive for the last 20 years( salt is 20% to 33% of mix).

So the cooked molasses tubes with different mineral mixes are very popular here today. PBM brand out of Louisiana is very good for are conditions with the high copper. But there are many other brands, which they eat to much or hardly any it seems neither of which is good in the end.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

I spend a small fortune on mineral and it's something you can't afford not to have. It is about the most beneficial dietary input you can control.

Top Reason to feed mineral, utilizing IGR such as Altosid to lower the fly population.

Magnesium to offset grass tetany issues caused by forages.

Help the animal shed their winter coat.

Cattle are fertilizer machines. Macrominerals are essential for soil health.

As mentioned some put salt away from the water tanks. During winter it is especially beneficial to keep it near water so cattle on hay will consume more water which aids in digestion. Good digestion aids in better manure break down. Minerals especially help the thyroid function for digestion.

Minerals pretty much help make cattle better all around. I have nothing against blocks but I only put out loose mineral. I ration them with what they will use in a day. I use the time to check them over as they look at mineral as a daily treat. Especially prudent they consume it daily during fly season when I switch to an IGR. Not all herds have the same diet so it does vary. If you're predominantly grass based, you want mineral supplements. If you feed byproducts or grain, you may not need as much mineral or any to supplement.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Mineral needs to be balanced with other feed and what they contain.Grass and hay from one part of country is different from other parts of country because of the soil it’s grown on.Or feeding crap hay vs decent hay.Feeding by products also changes what minerals are needed to have a balanced,mineral diet.A good nutritionist would take feed samples to determine what’s needed.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

8350HiTech said:


> Sure a cow is going to consume the loose faster, but the issue is do they need to? Are we trying to supplement what the cow is getting from her actual feed or are we trying to get 100% of her minerals from the tub?


But you do not see cows standing at a mineral feeder for an hour licking. She is at the feeder because of the salt, the minerals are a consumed not to fill a mineral craving. Salt itself is a limiter. They quickly get enough.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

r82230 said:


> Tim,
> 
> What kind of mineral feeders would you recommend and what is your source for loose mineral if you don't mind? BTW 25 cows if that matters, should get back to 15 someday.
> 
> Larry


I use the weather vein type feeders. I bought them cheap from a farmer going out of business (His daughters married computer geeks). I like them because they always face against the wind and help keep the rain out. I am not sure how much they cost new, so there may be better options out there for the money.

I feed a mineral made by Nutrina. I do not recall the particular one, but it is not their cheapest bag. Right now our local feed store is giving away a bag for every ton of cow feed bought. I held some weaned calves over the winter and have them on a self feeder so I am buying more feed than normal. Am hoping spring prices offset that expense.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

r82230 said:


> Tim,
> 
> What kind of mineral feeders would you recommend and what is your source for loose mineral if you don't mind? BTW 25 cows if that matters, should get back to 15 someday.
> 
> Larry


Bought 1 of these last year and liked it. Adding another this year. Easy to move and we added 2 fly bullets to it for face control.

http://ameriag.com/mineral-feeder.html


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

IH 1586 said:


> Bought 1 of these last year and liked it. Adding another this year. Easy to move and we added 2 fly bullets to it for face control.
> 
> http://ameriag.com/mineral-feeder.html


Looks like your tire won't pass DOT inspection any more.  Man you sure put a lot of wear on it in one year. Do your cows need a front end alignment? :lol:

Sorry, couldn't help myself after watching the video, with a looks like could be new tire.

Larry


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Tim/South said:


> There is not much mineral in a block. But it only takes a trace amount to begin with.
> 
> It would take a cow all day to lick in a block what a cow can get in 5 seconds. When we used the blocks, the same few dominate cows would stand and lick for a long time. Compare how long a 50 lb. bag of mineral is consumed compared to a 50 lb. block. We had cows chase the less dominate cows away from the blocks.
> 
> Boredom is one reason I do not place the mineral feeder in the shade. In the heat of the day the cows will stand and lick out of boredom. I want them to to to the feeder to satisfy a craving. Same with placing it water. They will stop and eat mineral as they pass by.


Thank you tim/south for convincing me to try loose minerals.

Tried loose mineral when they went to pasture this spring, here are my observations.

Placement: Put a tm block at the end of the manger and beside it the loose mineral. Water is located at the other end of the barn, cattle come and go as they please and there is no water on pasture.

The cattle are 3 Dexters and 2 Jerseys, all springers.

At the beginning of the season they hit the loose hard and never touched the block. Really liked that they took a couple hard licks and were done instead of standing continuously licking the block.

Now they hardly touch either of them except for one Jersey going after the block.

I don't know if I'll switch or just use both. Was pleasantly surprised of the price as had never priced it before and expected it to be expensive.


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