Do powder minerals mix well in diet feeder?

[hubbahubba]

Just wondering if any trials have been done. Say 200kg straw, 3500kg pit silage, 10kg minerals and 200kg molases. Do the minerals mix through evenly? I have always done this but im always a bit unsure if i would be better top dressing feed in trough with the minerals.

This is in a 14 cube tub diet feeder.

 

[davidroberts30]

can you get minerals in the molasses?
i would say 10kgs would need scattering well over the top of the mixer

 

[Sunbeam Alpine]

Years ago, in the early days of mixer wagons, I attended a demonstration of 6 different makes of mixer. They dropped a small pot of blue food colouring (about the size of a small pot of paint) in one corner of each mixer wagon. Within a couple of minutes the contents of each car was coloured blue, with one exception which was a combination mixer wagon/straw blower - which struggled. It was a very impressive demonstration of how well they could mix small ingredients.

The mixer wagons were all horizontal models - I don't think that tub mixers existed back then.

 

[Pistonbroke]

I'd say minerals and molasses in first and leave mixing while filling

 

[stablegirl]

We were concerned about this and now do premixes, the milking one is quite involved with biggish quantities and we do a dry cow one.

Dust is a bit of a problem but we are experimenting with mollasses % to fix it!

 

[ploughman1963]

Years ago at day release classes we were told to mix the smallest ingredient (minerals) at the start with other ingredients - the resultant mix then mixes more effectively with the large volume ingredients. We do the same with the TMR.

 

[hubbahubba]

I have tried minerals and mollases in first but i find they just stay at the bottom of the tub. I can see why with a paddle type mixer they could go in first but all tubs ive had say long fibre first to smalls last...

 

[ploughman1963]

I have tried minerals and mollases in first but i find they just stay at the bottom of the tub. I can see why with a paddle type mixer they could go in first but all tubs ive had say long fibre first to smalls last...

Im not saying in the bottom on their own - we add minerals to crimped oats as mixing so 30kg of minerals, flour, acid-buf get added to 600kg of cereals - then when wholecrop and silages are added the already mixed grain and powders spread evenly through the forages. If the minerals were added last you would need to leave it mixing for ages to feel sure it had mixed thoroughly in my opinion. Nutritionist advice for tub mixer concurred