Supplementing minerals

JodieDownUnder
JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

Here in Australia our soils are quite depleted of minerals and this may be the case for most countries. Always remember healthy soil, healthy plants, healthy us! So here is a mineral mix courtesy of the very knowledgeable and revered author of all things natural Ms Pat Coleby. 25kg Dolomite, 4kg sulphur powder, 4kg copper sulphate, 4kg seaweed meal and 4kg coarse salt. In the past I have mixed these exact quantities together in a drum and then put a couple kgs out in a feeder in the paddock and see what happens. You can feed this to all livestock, cows, goats, horses, sheep and pigs. Sometimes they don't touch it, other times they can't get enough, especially cows in winter on dry feed, heavy in calf. I have known other people to feed this in separate containers not mixed. Doesn't really matter if it gets wet, I just upturned the rubber feeder and discard to the ground and replenish with new dry mix. Dolomite provides calcium and magnesium for bone and muscle growth. Sulphur aids in digestion. Copper sulphate is a great natural wormer. Seaweed meal has heaps of trace elements, especially iodine and salt makes the whole mix a bit more palatable. Hope this helps.

Comments

  • marcy_northlightsfarm
    marcy_northlightsfarm Posts: 103 ✭✭✭

    Not sure what your soils are like but sheep are sensitive to copper. Where I live in the US feeding sheep copper sulfate would be a disaster with copper poisoning. I would advise caution with adding copper to a mineral supplement for sheep. Yes they do need some copper. Another point is if they are being fed grain then there's probably enough copper naturally in the grain.

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    Fair enough, we never experienced copper toxicity, although we never farmed sheep. Our animals grazed on available grasses and if there was a short fall, organically grown hay. By the sounds of it you wouldn't ever need to drench, that certainly cuts costs and labour. Welcome to TGN @marcy_northlightsfarm, this is certainly a great forum to discuss ideas and learn new information, hope you enjoy!

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin
    edited November 2020

    I should add that jersey cows need a chelated mineral so that copper does not accumulate in their liver. If this happens, any night or little stress will cause the copper to release into their system & they will die quickly. There is no cure once this happens.

    Sadly, we lost our first wonderful milk cow to this issue. The dairy guy that we got her from had given this to her (and his whole herd) in the past before he realized it was dangerous for his cows. He lost a few and a vet said what happened. He felt really badly that this cow had been one that he had fed this too. His jerseys were his pets, and still are. 😄