Mineral Test Blood Results

[sheepwise]

I had bloods taken from 6 stock blackface ewe lambs out of a batch of 100 which I felt were not thriving post weaning with some showing crusty ear symptoms.I specifically chose 6 of the poorest lambs for testing.
Several years ago we blood tested ewes to look for mineral problems but the results showed no deficiences whatsoever. However when we tested forage samples taken at random from the hill, selenium was shown to be very low. Ever since we have bolused the ewes twice yearly and the difference in their general health and performance has been phenomenal. I feel that our lambs do well up to shearing time in late July when they are given a mineral drench which seems to keep them going to weaning from when they start to suffer.My thinking was that while they were getting a good supply of milk from their bolused mothers they were doing well but then suffered as they became more dependant on grazing themselves.So I was seriously considering using a lamb bolus at shearing time in place of the drench to give supplementation beyond weaning. I thought that testing these 6 lambs was good practice to determine the actual deficiences to be able to give the most suitable bolus.Well got the blood results back from vet today and although 1 lamb tested low for selenium the other 5 showed good blood levels of all elements including cobalt and selenium so what should I do? From experience with the results from the ewes I'm thinking for next year I will do as I intended with the lambs and give them a selenium/cobalt bolus anyway and observe the results.Is it possible to have ill thriven stock due to dietary deficiency while still showing good blood mineral levels? I'm sure my vet told me years ago when we tested the ewes that the liver reserves could be very low despite bloods being normal.

 

[It was already broken.]

I know I would buy a 50 box of boluses. Give them to 50 lambs next year with a squirt of paint so I know which is which and keep them with 50 that have been treated like this year. You will know at a glance then.

 

[dunk999]

After myself wondering if my ewes or lambs were in need of boluses I have paid hundreds of pounds getting 6 bloods of both ewes and lambs done the results sound similar to yourself @sheepwise all good other than one slightly lower b12 reading. Why pay for blood tests and still spend money on boluses which the bloods say aren't needed? I could have bolussed half my flock for the cost of the test are these tests poor value for money if you have had phenomenal results from your ewes @sheepwise even after your bloods came back ok?

 

[tepapa]

By shearing time the grass quality will be decreasing as the plant matures, so unless your using rotational grazing and grazing covers low each time, the grazing will be getting poorer and performance will suffer (I see u've mentioned hill so maybe not applicable).
I am also a believer of doing your own on farm trials to see what works on your farm. Control group no treatment, mineral drench, bolus etc. You will need to monitor (weigh) and pick groups at random.
The poorer lambs you've sampled are probably from poorer mothers (milk) so maybe there are some poor performing ewes in the flock.

 

[neilo]

Regarding the 'liver reserves' comment, I think that would only apply to copper levels. Pretty sure that blood testing for Co, Se and Iodine is pretty reliable as a measure of deficiency, or otherwise. Copper less so.

However, if you've seen a 'phenomenal' response from bolusing the ewes, something is clearly amiss. As above, I'd consider doing a small group and marking them, with either bolus or drench ( which will give a short term response, but maybe enough to give you an answer).

 

[yellowbelly]

I had bloods taken from 6 stock blackface ewe lambs out of a batch of 100 which I felt were not thriving post weaning

Have you done any FECs? We had a bunch of lambs that had gone off and I thought they must be deficient in something but blood tests were all OK. Turned out to be a massive strongyle worm burden which looks like we're becoming resistant to the drench we used.
If only I'd done a reduction FEC after worming I could have saved the cost of the blood tests

 

[sheepwise]

Spoke to vet tonight and she confirmed what I thought in that the lambs could have low liver levels even with normal bloods.She said the fact that one lamb had a low selenium blood count would be enough for her to assume there was a deficiency given our experience with the ewes.Reckon I will bolus the lambs at shearing time next year but maybe leave a few untreated as a control.

 

[bovine]

Do you have the actual results? The liver thing is true for copper but not really anything else

 

[sheepwise]

Do you have the actual results? The liver thing is true for copper but not really anything else

Will need to ask vet for actual results as just discussed over phone.

 

[pgk]

Two years ago had bloods done which showed bottom end co and se and ok copper but with very high selenium from herbage samples. bolused all with lamb bolus for copper and half with co/se, all looked better but lambs slow to finish and brought last 1/4 in to finish on oats n finisher pellets. this year bolused lambs 2 weeks before weaning co/se/I and cu, have had much lower fec's and after this weeks batch goes will have just 8% of killers to finish. never had such a good year nor been almost out of lambs by November. Suggests to me bloods at bottom end may benefit from a daily top up, much better results than previous regime using drench may have been particularly needed this year as such a good grass growing year. more so as we have yet to supplement with cereals or concentrates.

 

[Paddington]

Have a few lambs which showed up Selenium deficiencies in October and have been following our vets advice, drenching with a mineral drench every three weeks with some weight gains. Do I need to continue through to next January/February when hopefully they will reach 40kgs ?
The scientific method would be to have further blood tests done, of course, but at £20 a pop could my money be better spent?
Although we are supposed to be Selenium deficient, haven't had any (noticeable) problems with lambs not thriving before.

 

[neilo]

Have a few lambs which showed up Selenium deficiencies in October and have been following our vets advice, drenching with a mineral drench every three weeks with some weight gains. Do I need to continue through to next January/February when hopefully they will reach 40kgs ?
The scientific method would be to have further blood tests done, of course, but at £20 a pop could my money be better spent?
Although we are supposed to be Selenium deficient, haven't had any (noticeable) problems with lambs not thriving before.

Yes, you'll need to continue drenching as they won't store it long. Or a bolus would do a better job (Mayo bolus is about 22p and lasts 6-8 weeks), giving a steady supply.
Are you feeding them bought in concentrates? If so, does it contain Selenium (most will)? If you are feeding them straight cereals, they are normally very low in Selenium.

 

[Paddington]

Yes, you'll need to continue drenching as they won't store it long. Or a bolus would do a better job (Mayo bolus is about 22p and lasts 6-8 weeks), giving a steady supply.
Are you feeding them bought in concentrates? If so, does it contain Selenium (most will)? If you are feeding them straight cereals, they are normally very low in Selenium.

Ram lambs are getting some creep feed, ewe lambs are not. I'll carry on drenching then. Would I need a Mayo gun for their boluses (bolii ?) if we have similar problems next year?

 

[neilo]

Ram lambs are getting some creep feed, ewe lambs are not. I'll carry on drenching then. Would I need a Mayo gun for their boluses (bolii ?) if we have similar problems next year?

You can use a gun (from Mayo or Nettex, who Mayo make boluses for too) which you may be able to blag, or they come with a rubber attachment that slips on the end of a drenching gun.
If the soil there is deficient in Se, it will always be. It may not be quite so obvious another year, but I expect it will still be limiting production enough to be worth supplementing. A cr*p year like this has just exaggerated deficiencies so that they are more obvious, IMO.

 

[Beefnsheep]

You can use a gun (from Mayo or Nettex, who Mayo make boluses for too) which you may be able to blag, or they come with a rubber attachment that slips on the end of a drenching gun.
If the soil there is deficient in Se, it will always be. It may not be quite so obvious another year, but I expect it will still be limiting production enough to be worth supplementing. A cr*p year like this has just exaggerated deficiencies so that they are more obvious, IMO.

Are you be able to give fluke drench sametime as blousing ewes?

 

[neilo]

Are you be able to give fluke drench sametime as blousing ewes?

Why does predictive text always think 'blousing' is a word, but not 'bolusing'?

I can't see why not. I've certainly done it together in the past without problems anyway.

 

[Beefnsheep]

Why does predictive text always think 'blousing' is a word, but not 'bolusing'?

I can't see why not. I've certainly done it together in the past without problems anyway.

Lol cheers

 

[Woolly]

Had in-lamb ewes' blood test results today.

Cu, Co, GSH-PX (whatever that is) all OK. But Iodine is low.

Should I drench with suitable TE bottle, and bolus?

What about non-lambers (ewe lambs), do they need treating as well, or is iodine more important for lambers?

TIA

 

[bovine]

Specifically what was the test

 

[jemski]

Had in-lamb ewes' blood test results today.

Cu, Co, GSH-PX (whatever that is) all OK. But Iodine is low.

Should I drench with suitable TE bottle, and bolus?

What about non-lambers (ewe lambs), do they need treating as well, or is iodine more important for lambers?

TIA

Where were they tested? I had some done and sent 2 weeks ago, no results yet..: [emoji17]