I was talking to a farmer during the week who said his in-calf heifers were licking the lime on the cubicle beds. He had given the heifers a mineral bolus but they weren’t getting any dry-cow minerals.
Most boluses only cover trace elements, so supplementary magnesium, phosphorus and sodium are not being supplied by these. If sodium was deficient the heifers would likely be drinking urine, so it could be a magnesium or a phosphorus problem. A deficiency in either needs to be rectified fast. The magnesium requirements of pregnant animals doubles in the last two weeks before calving. Magnesium is an important mineral for muscle function, so it helps at calving and for pushing out the cleaning. So make sure your herd is covered for the major elements and not just the trace elements. Some farms are having a hard time with milk fever in fresh calvers. Insufficient calcium after calving is a factor, but so too is feeding silage high in potassium (K) before calving. If you have a problem get your silage tested and try to feed silage low in K to dry cows.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
I was talking to a farmer during the week who said his in-calf heifers were licking the lime on the cubicle beds. He had given the heifers a mineral bolus but they weren’t getting any dry-cow minerals.
Most boluses only cover trace elements, so supplementary magnesium, phosphorus and sodium are not being supplied by these. If sodium was deficient the heifers would likely be drinking urine, so it could be a magnesium or a phosphorus problem. A deficiency in either needs to be rectified fast. The magnesium requirements of pregnant animals doubles in the last two weeks before calving. Magnesium is an important mineral for muscle function, so it helps at calving and for pushing out the cleaning. So make sure your herd is covered for the major elements and not just the trace elements. Some farms are having a hard time with milk fever in fresh calvers. Insufficient calcium after calving is a factor, but so too is feeding silage high in potassium (K) before calving. If you have a problem get your silage tested and try to feed silage low in K to dry cows.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS