An evaluation of feedblocks as a means of providing supplementary nutrients to ewes grazing upland/hill pastures

Ducker, M. J.; Kendall, Peter T.; Hemingway, R. G.; McClelland, T. H.

doi:10.1017/s0003356100025198

Cited by 34 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…3 as compared with intake of block 1 in the 12-d trial could be related to the difference in block composition. However, other research has shown i) that lasalocid did not affect intake of free-choice mineral (Pitman and Pate 1984;Rode et al 1994) and ii) that differences in CP content among molasses blocks must be far greater than the 25 vs. 22% in the present study before they would affect feeder attendance or intake (Lobato and Pearce 1980;Ducker et al 1981). Relative hardness of the blocks can also affect block intake (Zhu et al 1991;McAllister and Olson, unpublished data) and an effort was made to ensure that all blocks were of equal hardness in our study.…”

Section: Molasses Blocks (Exp 3)contrasting

confidence: 62%

Individual intake of mineral and molasses supplements by cows, heifers and calves

Cockwill¹,

McAllister²,

Olson³

et al. 2000

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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. 2000. Individual intake of mineral and molasses supplements by cows, heifers and calves. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 80: 681-690. In two pastures, two multiplex radio frequency (RF) mineral feeders (GrowSafe Systems Ltd.) equipped with load cells were used to monitor feeder attendance and individual intake of mineral by 33 and 36 cow-calf pairs individually identified by RF transponders. A visit was defined as a return to the feeder after a 5-min absence. In exp. 1, attendance of cows and calves at the feeder and intake of mineral were monitored over 13 d. Sodium chloride was included in the mineral at 9.8% (low salt, LS) on days 1 to 6, and at 22.5% (high salt, HS) on days 7 to 13. Percentages of cows and calves that visited the feeder were similar between LS (60.9% and 21.7% respectively) and HS (62.3% and 24.6%). Number of visits (P > 0.05) and daily mineral intake (P < 0.1) were reduced in cows fed HS as compared with LS. Cows had more visits (P < 0.001) and consumed more mineral (P < 0.001) than did calves. In exp. 2, HS as is (control, C) or formulated to contain 0.468% fenbendazole (FB) was provided for 6 d to 36 and 32 cow-calf pairs in adjacent pastures. All of the cows and 93.8% of the calves attended the FB feeder, whereas only 77.8% of the cows and 33.3% of the calves attended the feeder containing C. Fenbendazole increased visits per day (P < 0.05) by both cows and calves. Intakes of FB and C did not differ, but cows consumed more (P < 0.001) mineral than did calves. In exp. 3, variability in intake of proteinmolasses blocks by cows and heifers was examined. Intake differed by animal (P < 0.01), but was similar between cows and heifers. Individual average intake was 445 g d -1 with a range of 0 to 1650 g d -1 . These experiments demonstrate that universal and uniform consumption of an additive in mineral or molasses supplements by individuals in a herd cannot be assumed. To whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail: mcallister@em.agr.ca) Abbreviations: ADF, acid detergent fibre; BW, body weight; C, mineral mix containing no fenbendazole (control); CP, crude protein; FB, mineral mix containing 0.486% fenbendazole; HS, mineral mix containing 22.5% sodium chloride (high salt); LS, mineral mix containing 9.8% sodium chloride (low salt); RF, radio frequency Can. J. Anim. Sci. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by 18.236.198.91 on 05/09/18For personal use only.

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Section: Molasses Blocks (Exp 3)contrasting

confidence: 62%

Individual intake of mineral and molasses supplements by cows, heifers and calves

Cockwill¹,

McAllister²,

Olson³

et al. 2000

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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“…However, the use of a radioactive substance such as tritiated water is severely constrained by concerns for human health and the environment, while deuterium is costly for large ruminants or large numbers of animals. Digesta markers that are quantitatively excreted in the faeces, such as chromic oxide (Foot et al 1973;Lobato et al 1980;Ducker et al 1981) and ytterbium (Curtis et al 1994), have been used to measure supplement intake. However, since these markers require either complete collection of faeces for several days (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithium salts as a marker of intake of supplements by cattle

Dixon¹,

Smith²,

Reid³

2003

Aust. J. Exp. Agric.

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Abstract. In a series of experiments the appearance of lithium cation in plasma following ingestion or intravenous administration of lithium salts was measured in order to examine the suitability of lithium as a marker of supplement intake by cattle. In experiment 1, cattle were offered low quality hay ad libitum and 0.15, 0.4, 1.0 and 3.0 kg cottonseed meal (CSM) supplement per day. Following ingestion of lithium-labelled CSM, the lithium concentration in plasma reached a maximum after about 24 h and the subsequent decrease in concentration appeared to follow a single exponential relationship. The rate constant of this disappearance of lithium from plasma was greater (P<0.05) when 3.0 kg than when lesser amounts of lithium-labelled CSM were consumed. Plasma lithium concentrations 24 and 32 h after ingestion of lithium-labelled CSM were both linearly related to the amount of supplement consumed (r = 0.86 and 0.87, respectively, n = 32, P<0.001), indicating that the plasma lithium concentrations could be used to measure intakes of supplement by individual animals. In experiment 2, following intravenous administration of lithium chloride the disappearance of lithium from plasma over 96 h appeared to be best described by 3 exponential compartments. In experiment 3, cattle were offered molasses-based or loose mineral mix (LMM) supplement, or water, labelled with lithium and the rate constant of disappearance of lithium from plasma between 32 and 96 h was determined. The pattern of the decrease in plasma lithium concentration was similar to that observed in experiment 1. In experiment 4, the variation about the estimates of supplement intake was measured in heifers (n = 24) offered hay and water ad libitum and in addition a meal of 60 g of lithium-labelled molasses-urea supplement; between 20 and 28 h after ingestion of the lithium-labelled supplement the coefficient of variation (CV) among animals in plasma lithium concentration was about 15%. The likely errors associated with the use of lithium salts to measure intake of supplement are discussed. These experiments confirm that lithium salts can be used as a marker to estimate intake of supplement by individual animals.

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“…Eggington et al (1990) found even bigger variation -they described the range in acceptance of salt block between 10 g and 835 g·day -1 . Apart from variations in the amount of lick intake, there were variations in the acceptance of molasses blocks (of identical composition) made by different manufacturers (Ducker et al 1981;Kendall et al 1983). We may say that many factors play a role in the intake of mineral lick.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microelement Supplementation in Dairy Cows by Mineral Lick

et al. 2009

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The aim of this experiment was to verify the option of providing microelement supplementation to dairy cows in the dry period through supplemented mineral lick, and then to compare the content of microelements in the blood, colostrum and milk. The experiment was carried out on a farm with Czech Fleckvieh dairy cows. We formed an experimental group (E), supplied with mineral lick ad libitum enhanced with organic forms of microelements (Se, Zn, Cu, Mn) for four to five weeks before parturition and 1 week after parturition. The control group (C) did not receive any mineral lick. The use of mineral lick by cows was very uneven, its total consumption oscillated between 0 to 250 g of lick per animal per day. Lick feeding did not result in evidential increase of concentrations of monitored microelements in the cows' blood, colostrum and milk. Only a tendency to increased concentrations of Se and Cu in the blood of group E of cows was observed; the average Se concentration increased by 60 µg·l -1 (Cu by 9 µmol·l -1 ), whereas in group C, Se increased only by 30 µg·l -1 (Cu by 6 µmol·l -1). The concentration of microelements in colostrum after parturition dropped quickly. Significant drops were determined for Se, Cu and Zn on the first (for Mn on the second) day after parturition. Selenium concentration in the first colostrum was 5 times higher than in milk, Cu concentration 3 times higher, Zn concentration 4 times higher and Mn concentration 1.3 times higher.

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An evaluation of feedblocks as a means of providing supplementary nutrients to ewes grazing upland/hill pastures

Cited by 34 publications

References 2 publications

Individual intake of mineral and molasses supplements by cows, heifers and calves

Individual intake of mineral and molasses supplements by cows, heifers and calves

Lithium salts as a marker of intake of supplements by cattle

Microelement Supplementation in Dairy Cows by Mineral Lick

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