Mineral drench

[Further a field]

I m a little unhappy with the condition of some of my ewes pre tupping .I'm thinking a mineral drench may perk them up?Or am I wasting my money without testing for deficiency first
Any recommendations for products you have had with positive results welcomed

 

[Farmer_Joe]

i often drench growing lambs and have done ewes before, im certain it improves lamb growth rates,

I get 5l from ap supplies online, cheapest place and it seems just as good as expensive ones.

 

[M-J-G]

Take a mineral supplement once and see if it makes you better at anything.

IMO minerals need to be taken regularly not a few times a year.

 

[Estate fencing.]

I m a little unhappy with the condition of some of my ewes pre tupping .I'm thinking a mineral drench may perk them up?Or am I wasting my money without testing for deficiency first
Any recommendations for products you have had with positive results welcomed

Have they been wormed.

 

[ISCO]

I would check worm status. We have had trouble with lean ewes which was Barbers Pole worm. Improved dramaticay when we wormed them. Keeping an eye on fec tests now to see if they need doing again.

 

[Further a field]

I would check worm status. We have had trouble with lean ewes which was Barbers Pole worm. Improved dramaticay when we wormed them. Keeping an eye on fec tests now to see if they need doing again.

Maybe I should check the worm status...it seems to be the mules which look less fit that my towels I ve not had mules before maybe they tend to be leaner looking?

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Maybe I should check the worm status...it seems to be the mules which look less fit that my towels I ve not had mules before maybe they tend to be leaner looking?

mules if not right seem to loose condition like f**k in my experience,

as i understand they never get immune to barbers pole worm either, when i had mine in other week owt not totally fit got some cydectin.

 

[JD-Kid]

done all ewe here 6 weeks and again 2 weeks pre mating with a min drench used to only do it 2 weeks before

made a difference in scanning % more efect on lighter ewes that were more prone to singles or would go single =twin=single=twin depending on feed or body condition

had 2 major lifts in lambing % first one when using bolus type product pre lambing the flow on efect showed up the following scanning and 2nd time was 2 min drench pre mating
min drench using

Healthy Ewe RTU Liquid (Original)

Healthy Ewe RTU is a liquid multivitamin / mineral product designed to provide supplementary levels of trace elements during critical periods.PACKS1 litre, 5 litre backpack, 10 litre, 15 litre

www.vetpak.co.nz

 

[neilo]

done all ewe here 6 weeks and again 2 weeks pre mating with a min drench used to only do it 2 weeks before

made a difference in scanning % more efect on lighter ewes that were more prone to singles or would go single =twin=single=twin depending on feed or body condition

had 2 major lifts in lambing % first one when using bolus type product pre lambing the flow on efect showed up the following scanning and 2nd time was 2 min drench pre mating
min drench using

Healthy Ewe RTU Liquid (Original)

Healthy Ewe RTU is a liquid multivitamin / mineral product designed to provide supplementary levels of trace elements during critical periods.PACKS1 litre, 5 litre backpack, 10 litre, 15 litre

www.vetpak.co.nz

There's a lot of iodine in that compared to those drenches over here that haven't removed it, like 50x the amount.

 

[Bury the Trash]

There's a lot of iodine in that compared to those drenches over here that haven't removed it, like 50x the amount.

have they lowered / removed iodine because of scarcity / cost ?
and are you also hinting that the iodine has made the lions share of difference to jd's sheep ? having said that every thing has to be in balance i guess...

 

[David.]

We always have marginal results for copper when blood testing in Mules/SuffX ewes, but never bad, we decided to copper the ewes a month ago at bagging and toothing, and they have really altered condition subsequently. We always struggle to keep condition on ewes on this red ironstone land, despite keeping feed and free access minerals in front of them.
Plausible, or placebo effect?

 

[ford4000]

We always have marginal results for copper when blood testing in Mules/SuffX ewes, but never bad, we decided to copper the ewes a month ago at bagging and toothing, and they have really altered condition subsequently. We always struggle to keep condition on ewes on this red ironstone land, despite keeping feed and free access minerals in front of them.
Plausible, or placebo effect?

What are your molybdenum levels like?

 

[David.]

Can't remember tbh, be 12 mths ago now..

 

[neilo]

Can't remember tbh, be 12 mths ago now..

Iron is a copper antagonist too.

Blood tests are notoriously unreliable for copper. When I came here I had lambs actually dieing of copper deficiency from molybdenum locking it up, whilst still showing OK on blood testing.

 

[neilo]

have they lowered / removed iodine because of scarcity / cost ?
and are you also hinting that the iodine has made the lions share of difference to jd's sheep ? having said that every thing has to be in balance i guess...

The never used to put much in anyway, with most drenches providing about 6mg of Iodine per ewe dose (@JD-Kid 's drench provides 300mg, the same as my home made Potassium Iodide drench does). Cost is still negligible, with my KI drench costing about tuppence to provide that 300mg.

Iodine is still in most of the drenches that don't contain copper, but has been quietly removed from most that contain copper as it was found to crystalise the copper sulphate, blocking nozzles. The manufacturers just neglected to tell anyone, unsurprisingly.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

We always have marginal results for copper when blood testing in Mules/SuffX ewes, but never bad, we decided to copper the ewes a month ago at bagging and toothing, and they have really altered condition subsequently. We always struggle to keep condition on ewes on this red ironstone land, despite keeping feed and free access minerals in front of them.
Plausible, or placebo effect?

i boloused most of mine this year (ewes) with mayo 5 in 1, (the one with copper in) same again anything thing that was not completely fit/ perfect got a bolous and all shearlings.