looking for a few suggestions, through grass and blood samples from the ewes on the farm here there seems to be a deficiencys in cobalt,iodine and a high level of molybdenum...im now a month out from tupping with the ewes and need to supplement them..any recommendations?..bolus of mineral drench?
pre tupping minerals
- Thread starter kildarej
- Start date
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
A drench will only give a short time boost, so you would need one dose now, and another when the rams go in ideally. Even with a cheap drench, you are part way towards the cost of a bonus that will last 6 months by then.
Depends how deficient you are, but I give a drench at the same time as I bolus, to attempt to lift TE levels, then hold them up. Limited success tbh though, as deficiencies seem to be getting worse locally of late.
Depends how deficient you are, but I give a drench at the same time as I bolus, to attempt to lift TE levels, then hold them up. Limited success tbh though, as deficiencies seem to be getting worse locally of late.
I’m bolusing ewes with the Mayo All-Guard 5(selenium,cobalt,iodine,zinc&copper)in1 bolus just now, about £1/head, hoping to have them on an even keel by tupping in November, then maybe bolus again at scanning in feb. By the looks of your results it might suit you. You have the choice with them of 2g copper or 4g(or none- 4in1), if your molybdenum is high it may be locking up copper so the 4g option might be better, depending on your breed.
I’ve tried the Agrimin bolus before, which seemed to do the job, but the Mayo bolus is much smaller and easier to administer.
looking at the 5 in 1 mayo bolus costing €1.35 a ewe..can get the animax sheep bolus for €1.40..they are supposed to be the rolls royce of boluses im told
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
If you look into the levels of TE’s in those boluses, i’m Pretty sure Mayo comes out highest on most. Same size as the Animax ones, so both as easy to give, and both far easier than the Agrimin ones ime.
If you have high molybdenum, any bolus with copper in (or with separate copper capsule) will do a grand job of mopping up the moly, preventing lock up.
Iodine is a trickier one. I’m finding I need to supplement my sheep with a Potassium Iodide drench (c.2p/dose), on top of the boluses, or the wheels really fall off.
How does the lack of iodine manifest itself with you?
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Everything goes to sh*t basically. Lambs look like they are hooching with worms (lose condition and black scour), ewes do similar (effecting CS, lambing %age & conception rate), and immunity seems to be compromised too, letting in pasteurella & allowing worms to be a problem, even in adult sheep.
It’s been a nightmare the last 2 years tbh, not just here but on several farms locally that I know of, I just wish I knew why it was suddenly becoming more of an issue... regular dosing with a dirt cheap KI drench seems to remedy the problem, but hardly ideal and why is it needed when it wasn’t a couple of years ago?
- Location
- North Wales
Are you applying sulpher fertilizer in order to grow better grass? Someone was saying a possible link with reduced iodine. Ive probably read it on TFF somewhere.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
A little, but certainly not much. Should be applying more S really, to maximise grass growth. Very little fert applied to most grazing ground here tbh.
Other local farms having the same issue too, and a few others further afield that I know of, who have actually investigated.
Seaweed is chock full of iodine, might be a way of helping, either free access dried stuff or spread on the ground? No idea if you can correct soil/plant levels, maybe worth looking into.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Ah, the magic seaweed? Unfortunately my father was taken in by the snake oil salesmen that sell those products, to the extent that I would quite happily have had trading standards let loose on the charlatans.? whilst I have no doubt that seaweed is indeed high in Iodine, I will never have any truck with the dishonest purveyors of those products.
As for correcting soil/plant levels, I trialled an ibc of a liquid product this year, on some fields and not others, scattered round the grazing block. It had high levels of trace elements as well as bacteria to mobilise soil phosphates and to help fix N from the air. From the results achieved, I can only think those bacteria also rot sheep’s feet, as practically every animal that grazed those fields (of which there were many) have had serious foot issues, to the extent of one mob needing the whole lot getting a jab of Alamycin in order to stop their hooves falling off completely! It was like footrot on steroids, and not an issue with the sheep that didn’t go on those grazing blocks. I am still seething about the extra work, expense and lost income that has resulted from that particular trial, and still weighing up whether there is a legal case to be had (legal ‘proof’ being the hard bit of course).
I also had some mineral buckets made up to my forage tests, to see if they’d work better than boluses. They were a complete waste of time & money too, other than as a general top up, but too expensive for that imo.
From memory of previous posts, do you graze a fair bit of brassicas?
- Location
- North Wales
Could be interesting asking the other affected farmers if they apply sulpher too to see if there is indeed a link. Applying Sulphur is a newish idea since pollution has been reduced which may tie in to why iodine deficiency is now becoming a problem where it never was.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
I do, everything has been overwintered on brassicas for 30 years +, here and elsewhere. I have always supplemented Iodine when we have been grazing brassicas. We are having issues on grassland.
A nearby friend that has been having similar issues, doesn’t grow brassicas, other than a field or two for lambs in the Autumn. He has trouble with lambs grazing grass before that, which are sorted by a KI drench (on top of blousing at weaning).
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Two of the ones I’ve discussed it with nearby, don’t Apply S to grassland. Most won’t look beyond 20.10.10 round here
)
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Certainly not this year or last.
Might be of interest-
Clinwil
Member
- Location
- Herefordshire
If you have high Molybdenum in the grass using in-organic forms of Copper as found in boluses and most cheaper drenches will just get locked-up and at best maybe 10-20% of the Copper would be absorbed and used by the animal. When using organic or Chelated Copper this form will not get locked-up by Molybdenum and thus potentially 70-80% of this source is absorbed by the animal making it more efficient and more available to the animal. I have analysed grass and forage all over the UK and found that formulating a supplement to provide livestock with its needs through balanced 24/7 feeding will provide improved fertility in livestock as well as improved growth and overall health.
- Tags
- chloride minerals performance
The London Palladium event “BPR Seminar”
This is our next step following the London rally 
BPR is not just a farming issue, it affects ALL business, it removes incentive to invest for growth
Join us @LondonPalladium on the 16th for beginning of UK business fight back
lwtheatres.co.uk
BPR is not just a farming issue, it affects ALL business, it removes incentive to invest for growth
Join us @LondonPalladium on the 16th for beginning of UK business fight back
BPR Summit | LW Theatres
lwtheatres.co.uk