Mineral supplements

What is the best way of supplementing dairy cattle with minerals?
I have a simple low input of silage fed in feed rings and concentrates fed in the palour. Silage they are on at the moment is first cut that was made in June and concentrates are fed to yeild in the palour at 20% protein.
Have used mineral bucket licks before and think this is the best way on my system. A silage sample has been sent off but as yet haven't had the results but always been told it's low on phosphorus and have used high in phosphorus licks before.
Have noticed that my cattle have seemed to lost their shine if you know what I mean and my heifers seem to like eating soil for some reason and beginning to think they are trying to tell me something.
Been looking at the crystalyx range of cattle licks and is anyone else using them?
Looking at my cows I do seem to think they are loosing condition slightly since housing and would like to get ontop of the issue
 

pappuller

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
M6 Hard shoulder
Maybe need to get your silage results back and that will be a guide to any possible issues, with regards to min buckets not used them for years as too big an attraction for brock!! Everthing either in the tmr or robots now
 
Been looking into the easy breather for calves aswell but really think the cows and heifers are short on something and aren't getting everything they need from just silage and concentrates
 
Dairy cows are some of the most over mineralised animals ever.how much cake are you feeding?

Buckets are expensive and a badger magnet

Are you offering them rock salt?
No but I have noticed the milk cows like licking urine and the concrete yards, been told this is a sign of them being short of salt, doubt badgers would be a problem on my yard tho or sheds
 
You can feed rock salt ad lib however you want, it is a dirt cheap commodity. No problem with people doing that.

A mineral bucket is an entirely different matter.

I suspect there are minerals in your cake. There normally is. Between your nutritionist and your vet they should be able to pin point any potential issues and they will recommend a course of action.

Normally this is minerals in bag form added to the silage or TMR OR boluses/drenches/additions to any cake or blend.

Do NOT buy buckets except the empty kind you let the kids use on the beach, these will be far more useful than any other kind all those muppets are just lining up on your drive to sell you.
 
Brought a dozen rock salt licks today for the milk cows. Gave them 3 blocks tonight to get them use to them and will give them a few more tomorrow
Did buy some easy breather licks for young calves as the rep said they are some of the best selling licks at the moment and are having nothing but good comments about them.
Have used garlic licks for the heifers in the summer at grazing and worked well so righting off lick at the moment
 
image.jpeg
image.jpeg

Had my silage analysis back should be worried?
 

jade35

Member
Location
S E Cornwall
Brought a dozen rock salt licks today for the milk cows. Gave them 3 blocks tonight to get them use to them and will give them a few more tomorrow

Will, did you buy the Tithebarn type salt licks. The 25kg bags of lump rock salt generally work out cheaper than the processed brick type, you just have to make sure there are plenty of big lumps of rock salt in the bag for the cows.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,289
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top