bottle baby

[coppertop]

I have always felt that your water analysis is the best basis for your mineral requirements. Now, if cattle are drinking from creeks or dugouts that may not equate, but well water is a different matter.

My well is high sodium, which ties up essential minerals, over the years we have done routine blood analysis and made the decision to feed a chelated mineral.

[grassfarmer]

Do you feed additional salt to your cattle or do they get enough from the water?

[coppertop]

I mix 1/3 salt 2/3 mineral, this was the mixture advised years ago when we were looking into changing our mineral program.

[kato]

That's about what we do too. We're firm believers in minerals. Maybe that explains the twelve sets of twins.

We turn our bulls out early, before the grass is green, so we put some powdered ADE in it too. By now the injections we gave the cows in the winter are worn off, and we figure it's not going to hurt them to get a little extra. Whatever we can do to keep the fertility up is an investment. Once they hit green grass, they don't need any more supplemental vitamins though.

My pailfeds have a little tub of DE too. I forgot about that. I don't know if they really need it, because they're locked in the cattle shed, and can't get at any dirt or puddles, but they still really like the stuff.

Mother's Day. Ah yes. This is a bit off topic, but we spent it shopping for emergency bull number two. Our guys have had the worst luck with injuries that we've ever seen. One twisted his hock (BAD BAD BAD) One stepped on a nail and got an abscess. One developed a corn between his toes, and one has what looks like footrot, even after being vaccinated. Two of these will recover, but the other two don't look so good.

Oh well, I got a nice drive in the country on Mother's Day.