Cattle mineral deficiencies and toxicity
By
David Dugan-
As the hay supply is almost completely gone, and grass is almost ready, some people are turning cattle out on pasture. Some pastures look pretty good, but use some caution when starting out this spring.
Remember the stress these pastures went through just a few months ago. Rotate early and often, so they have a few days of rest to recover. The amount of rain we have had this April has impacted the grass, too. Not enough sun and plenty of moisture may lessen the quality of the forage in the pastures.
Something else to keep in mind is a good mineral program. I have talked about grass tetany recently, but there are more mineral concerns than enough magnesium in the spring.
The following are from some past articles dealing with mineral programs. These articles came to me in past editions of the beef blog. The blog comes from Purdue University daily. If you would like to receive it daily, drop me an e-mail at dugan.46@osu.edu.
Mineral deficiency symptoms aren’t always loud and clear in cattle and can cost livestock producers in reduced performance rates, according to a Montana beef specialist.
“Subclinical trace mineral deficiencies occur more frequently than recognized by most livestock producers,” said John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist of Bozeman, Mont. “This may be a larger problem than an acute mineral deficiency, because the rancher does not see specific symptoms that are characteristic of trace mineral deficiency.”
Instead, with subclinical deficiency, the animal grows or reproduces at a reduced rate, uses feed less efficiently and operates with a depressed immune system resulting in inefficient production and lower profitability, Paterson explained.
Minerals play a vital role in forage digestion, reproductive performance, the immune system and the development of bones, muscle and teeth. Mineral and vitamin deficiency may result in reduced forage intake, lower reproductive efficiency, poor disease immunity, slower daily gains and poor feed conversion, said Paterson.
Beef cattle need a combination of macro minerals and trace minerals for ideal performance and health. The macro minerals cattle need include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, salt, potassium and sulfur. The trace minerals they need in a diet include copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, iodine, iron and selenium.
Livestock producers need to balance the macro and trace minerals in the animal’s diet as some minerals can counter the absorption of others if too much of one is consumed.
A manganese deficiency is usually identified by impaired reproductive performance, skeletal deformities, shortened tendons in new born calves and reduced birth weights. Livestock producers need to be careful of what types of minerals they are using, as some types can be harmful to the animal’s health.
Iodine deficiency symptoms can be identified at calving include weak or stillborn calves, hairless calves at birth, impaired fertility, retained placenta and increased susceptibility to soft tissue infection. Other symptoms include foot rot and lump jaw.
Another mineral in which cattle are often deficient is selenium. Symptoms of selenium deficiency includes white muscle disease, reduced disease resistance, retained placenta, weak or dead calves and chronic diarrhea, said Paterson.
The other side of the coin is the risk of mineral toxicity. It is rare, but it can occur. It may be more of a risk now that we are feeding different feed stuffs with the high feed prices of the traditional feed grain. We also have to deal with sulfur levels in the water and grass in this area.
Minerals are a key component in maintaining health and productivity of cattle. This area of cattle nutrition, however, is often overlooked when determining nutrient needs. Because mineral deficiencies are more likely to occur than toxicities, rations are often formulated to easily exceed minimum animal requirements. In these cases, it is important to determine if dietary mineral concentrations are beyond maximum tolerable concentrations for cattle. Mineral toxicities resulting from an over-supply in feed or water may have observable effects, such as a decrease in animal performance or a change in animal behavior. Toxicities may also have hidden or indirect effects, such as accumulation in meat or milk, or environmental effects due to increased mineral levels in urine and feces.
An important consideration when balancing rations is the relationship between minerals. For example, calcium and phosphorus are balanced on a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Calcium should always be included in diets at a greater concentration than phosphorus, and ratios of up to 6-to-1 are generally tolerated by cattle. If ratios fall below 1-to-1, animal performance may be affected even if phosphorus is below the maximum tolerable concentration. This ratio is difficult to maintain without calcium supplementation in most corn-based rations due to the high concentration of phosphorus and low concentration of calcium in corn grain.
Mineral toxicity is generally observed by decreased animal performance, anorexia, weight loss, and diarrhea.
David Dugan is an OSU Extension agent for agriculture.[[In-content Ad]]
Remember the stress these pastures went through just a few months ago. Rotate early and often, so they have a few days of rest to recover. The amount of rain we have had this April has impacted the grass, too. Not enough sun and plenty of moisture may lessen the quality of the forage in the pastures.
Something else to keep in mind is a good mineral program. I have talked about grass tetany recently, but there are more mineral concerns than enough magnesium in the spring.
The following are from some past articles dealing with mineral programs. These articles came to me in past editions of the beef blog. The blog comes from Purdue University daily. If you would like to receive it daily, drop me an e-mail at dugan.46@osu.edu.
Mineral deficiency symptoms aren’t always loud and clear in cattle and can cost livestock producers in reduced performance rates, according to a Montana beef specialist.
“Subclinical trace mineral deficiencies occur more frequently than recognized by most livestock producers,” said John Paterson, Montana State University Extension beef specialist of Bozeman, Mont. “This may be a larger problem than an acute mineral deficiency, because the rancher does not see specific symptoms that are characteristic of trace mineral deficiency.”
Instead, with subclinical deficiency, the animal grows or reproduces at a reduced rate, uses feed less efficiently and operates with a depressed immune system resulting in inefficient production and lower profitability, Paterson explained.
Minerals play a vital role in forage digestion, reproductive performance, the immune system and the development of bones, muscle and teeth. Mineral and vitamin deficiency may result in reduced forage intake, lower reproductive efficiency, poor disease immunity, slower daily gains and poor feed conversion, said Paterson.
Beef cattle need a combination of macro minerals and trace minerals for ideal performance and health. The macro minerals cattle need include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, salt, potassium and sulfur. The trace minerals they need in a diet include copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, iodine, iron and selenium.
Livestock producers need to balance the macro and trace minerals in the animal’s diet as some minerals can counter the absorption of others if too much of one is consumed.
A manganese deficiency is usually identified by impaired reproductive performance, skeletal deformities, shortened tendons in new born calves and reduced birth weights. Livestock producers need to be careful of what types of minerals they are using, as some types can be harmful to the animal’s health.
Iodine deficiency symptoms can be identified at calving include weak or stillborn calves, hairless calves at birth, impaired fertility, retained placenta and increased susceptibility to soft tissue infection. Other symptoms include foot rot and lump jaw.
Another mineral in which cattle are often deficient is selenium. Symptoms of selenium deficiency includes white muscle disease, reduced disease resistance, retained placenta, weak or dead calves and chronic diarrhea, said Paterson.
The other side of the coin is the risk of mineral toxicity. It is rare, but it can occur. It may be more of a risk now that we are feeding different feed stuffs with the high feed prices of the traditional feed grain. We also have to deal with sulfur levels in the water and grass in this area.
Minerals are a key component in maintaining health and productivity of cattle. This area of cattle nutrition, however, is often overlooked when determining nutrient needs. Because mineral deficiencies are more likely to occur than toxicities, rations are often formulated to easily exceed minimum animal requirements. In these cases, it is important to determine if dietary mineral concentrations are beyond maximum tolerable concentrations for cattle. Mineral toxicities resulting from an over-supply in feed or water may have observable effects, such as a decrease in animal performance or a change in animal behavior. Toxicities may also have hidden or indirect effects, such as accumulation in meat or milk, or environmental effects due to increased mineral levels in urine and feces.
An important consideration when balancing rations is the relationship between minerals. For example, calcium and phosphorus are balanced on a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Calcium should always be included in diets at a greater concentration than phosphorus, and ratios of up to 6-to-1 are generally tolerated by cattle. If ratios fall below 1-to-1, animal performance may be affected even if phosphorus is below the maximum tolerable concentration. This ratio is difficult to maintain without calcium supplementation in most corn-based rations due to the high concentration of phosphorus and low concentration of calcium in corn grain.
Mineral toxicity is generally observed by decreased animal performance, anorexia, weight loss, and diarrhea.
David Dugan is an OSU Extension agent for agriculture.[[In-content Ad]]