Cow fertility and copper deficiency.

[grassfarmer]

Did you have a bunch of open cows or other health
problems with the crappy Feedrite stuff though
15444? - I'm guessing not.

[15444]

Actually yes, GF, I did. Dull haircoats, more open cows (running on a 90 day season rather than the 30 day one nowadays), poor-er performance in the calves, poorer body condition in the cows, more pulls for sick animals.

Now you can make the decision as to the quality of the mineral, or the fact that the animals wouldn't hardly touch it. From what I remember, the 2:1 and 1:1 (no salt) were both very bitter.

Switching over to the high-end minerals made a world of difference. No way could I have tightened up the breeding season like a did with the old mineral. I wouldn't be operating if I did. And the difference in cost for me? $8 a bag extra.

I can't even begin to source mineral for less than $25/bag around here, even if I hop over stateside. It's been over 20 years since I've seen mineral for less than $20/bag.

[grassfarmer]

Maybe you have different conditions in your area,
cattle wise, mineral wise, forage wise, climate wise?
I've fed everything from kelp to the cheapest mineral
and it has made no difference to conception or animal
health. We us the Proform minerals - originally we
got them from UFA but now we get them direct from
the maker - Viterra, close to $5 a bag cheaper.

[Kathy]

Grassfarmer the key is in what you said, that some areas have varying soil mineral content. There is also the problem of other products that bind with copper in the soil making it unavailable to absorb.

I know of some goat producers that used the copper boluses with great success, and had DISASTER when they could no longer get it (Choiceland, Sask)...

One of the reasons I posted this, is because a little birdie told me that there is some research coming to light that copper supplementation of deer in CWD regions is halting the spread of the disease.... I must be patient though, and wait for the studies to be published.

Since the prion protein is a copper binding protein/transporter etc. and is vital in the act of reproduction... it only makes sense that a shortage of copper could lead to fertility problems... Jay Ingrams "prion-free" dairy cows (from his past presentation for AB Prion Institute) are unable to reproduce and were only viable after the original prion-dependent fertilization took place.