Bolus comparisons

[Kieran F]

Hi,

Can anyone point me to a good information source which compares the various types of mineral trace bolus on the market from a precision release and longevity perspective?

Thanks

Kieran

 

[Tim W]

Not sure i have seen a comparison sheet ?
The only trials with any scientific basis that i have ever seen were for the Agrimin 24/7 bolus
All the ''data'' i have seen from other companies are along the lines of ''farmer x says they're great''

 

[Kieran F]

Not sure i have seen a comparison sheet ?
The only trials with any scientific basis that i have ever seen were for the Agrimin 24/7 bolus
All the ''data'' i have seen from other companies are along the lines of ''farmer x says they're great''

It would be good to compile such Tim I would imagine - from an objective perspective. The claims on some products are dubious.

 

[Kiss]

Split your stock odd and even tag number have your own experiment

 

[Radio]

Split your stock odd and even tag number have your own experiment

Good idea , and I would also leave some without as a control to see if you need to spend the money.

 

[neilo]

Not sure i have seen a comparison sheet ?
The only trials with any scientific basis that i have ever seen were for the Agrimin 24/7 bolus
All the ''data'' i have seen from other companies are along the lines of ''farmer x says they're great''

tbf, I’m not sure Agrimin’s trial data is much more robust.

I’ve blood tested sheep several months after using boluses, with Agrimin, Animax and Mayo. In all cases the sheep were ok for copper, cobalt and selenium, but none supplemented adequately for Iodine… on this farm anyway.

Happy to use Mayo now, as they are easier to give than most, and work much the same ime.

 

[Tim W]

Split your stock odd and even tag number have your own experiment

I've done this with 2 different types of bolus supplied by the manufacturers who strangely didn't want to use the results
And I now can't seem to find the Agrimin trial paper
I'll agree Mayo are nice to administer but they didn't make any difference here... the whole mineral supplementation thing is still a dark art to me

My aim is to not use them despite having severe deficiency across the farms & I am convinced that it's possible to select for animals that can retain/ take up more minerals from the forage than others?
Bought in animals often test poorly for mineral levels within a group even after 2 years acclimateisation

 

[neilo]

I've done this with 2 different types of bolus supplied by the manufacturers who strangely didn't want to use the results
And I now can't seem to find the Agrimin trial paper
I'll agree Mayo are nice to administer but they didn't make any difference here... the whole mineral supplementation thing is still a dark art to me

My aim is to not use them despite having severe deficiency across the farms & I am convinced that it's possible to select for animals that can retain/ take up more minerals from the forage than others?
Bought in animals often test poorly for mineral levels within a group even after 2 years acclimateisation

Did you use the 4/5 in 1 Mayo boluses, to compare with the SmartTrace from Agrimin? I vaguely remember you posting that the wee bullet lamb ones didn’t make any difference for you (they didn’t here either tbh).

As above, with blood testing and known deficiencies, I’ve seen little difference between the adult sheep boluses of various brands tbh.
I’ve not tested weekly up to their supposed effective period though, which would be interesting to see.

 

[farmer dan 78]

 

[Woolless]

I've done this with 2 different types of bolus supplied by the manufacturers who strangely didn't want to use the results
And I now can't seem to find the Agrimin trial paper
I'll agree Mayo are nice to administer but they didn't make any difference here... the whole mineral supplementation thing is still a dark art to me

My aim is to not use them despite having severe deficiency across the farms & I am convinced that it's possible to select for animals that can retain/ take up more minerals from the forage than others?
Bought in animals often test poorly for mineral levels within a group even after 2 years acclimateisation

I’ve found Mayo boluses effective here when administered to correct deficiencies identified at forage and blood tests. Good to administer too. Yes, possible to breed stock that will perform without but when there is a deficiency identified in their foodstuff, I prefer to bolus and cull on other traits.
One note to add is that the smaller lamb boluses haven’t appeared to be as good last couple of years but anecdotally cobalt deficiency has been a major issue across the board.

 

[BRB John]

I'm currently trying out the agrimin esy calver bolus.
I've got two spring calving groups one with and I one without.
So far we're about a third of the way through and to be honest I'm not seeing a huge difference between the groups...
Knock on wood so far the calves in both group seem quite sprite but maybe that's more down to the fact the cows are getting a bit of barely this year so most are looking well.
Maybe too well but that's a discussion for another time .

I suspect I'll try the blouses again in the autumn group @£4 a pop it's not the most expensive peace of mind.

 

[Kieran F]

Thanks Dan - is this part of a larger study that could be shared? I wonder was the daily release numbers consistent over the six months?

 

[neilo]

Thanks Dan - is this part of a larger study that could be shared? I wonder was the daily release numbers consistent over the six months?

I’d be interested to know if those numbers came from a trial measuring over 6 months, or just a tabular version of the various manufacturer's’ claims.
As with TE drenches, there are lots of wild, unsubstantiated claims being made to try to get farmers to part with their money.

First step is to test to see if you even have a deficiency of anything and, if so, what. Then look at the best way to remedy it.

 

[Kieran F]

Hi Dan - is there more information around this table of results? Thanks in advance. Kieran.

 

[farmer dan 78]

Hi Kieran, i dont unfortunatly.

 

[Dogwhat?]

This is gonna make me sound incredibly stupid lol but I have been buying the 'all guard' boluses for years and they have always been the small black tablets you see in the picture. I have now bought a batch Ewe 4 in 1, and they are completely different, with two of the regular tablets inside a 'plastic' casing.

Now I'm assuming you take both tablets out and give them using the regular bolus gun, I'm also assuming this new casing is to keep moisture away from the tablets as I have had batches that were 'rusted' and falling apart. Your hardly meant to put the entire yellow casing down their throats

 

[poorsheepfarmer]

down the throat in the yellow casing

 

[Dogwhat?]

Thanks for the reply, my gun wouldn't fit the yellow casing some have been taking them out, shouldn't make a difference

 

[sandywil90]

This is gonna make me sound incredibly stupid lol but I have been buying the 'all guard' boluses for years and they have always been the small black tablets you see in the picture. I have now bought a batch Ewe 4 in 1, and they are completely different, with two of the regular tablets inside a 'plastic' casing.

Now I'm assuming you take both tablets out and give them using the regular bolus gun, I'm also assuming this new casing is to keep moisture away from the tablets as I have had batches that were 'rusted' and falling apart. Your hardly meant to put the entire yellow casing down their throats

Hi dog what?

Yes, the yellow capsule goes down too.

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

This is gonna make me sound incredibly stupid lol but I have been buying the 'all guard' boluses for years and they have always been the small black tablets you see in the picture. I have now bought a batch Ewe 4 in 1, and they are completely different, with two of the regular tablets inside a 'plastic' casing.

Now I'm assuming you take both tablets out and give them using the regular bolus gun, I'm also assuming this new casing is to keep moisture away from the tablets as I have had batches that were 'rusted' and falling apart. Your hardly meant to put the entire yellow casing down their throats

I hope so, been doing it for years