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Mineral??

C

cleland

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Messages
77
What types of mineral does everyone feed?I have been feeding a mineral from a local Coop and seem to get along ok. Only preoblem is that when it gets wet it turns rock hard. Have heard good things from Vita Ferm and Vigor Tone but seems aweful pricey. Wanting a good breeding mineral as we will start AI on fall calvers next month, as well as something we can put out for spring calvers.Can be two different products.
Thanks
Jeff
 
I reckon mineral is like most things you get what you pay for,we dont have a vigor tone dealer around here so when we aint droughted out I have an old vet in Fredericksburg that has a custom mix we use that.
Purina should have differnt mixes for differnt parts of the country.
good luck
 
Thanks Justin; and burnt, :P

Cleland, there has been LOTS of conversations here
about mineral. I think if you did a search you could find what people
use. I would suggest you don't buy mineral on price alone, because
it usually isn't a good product.

The reason the mineral you are using turns hard is because it is
inferior and contains grain...which does cheapen the price, but
you lose a lot because of it setting up like concrete. When you
buy mineral, check the INGREDIENTS, not just the analysis.
It's like making a cake, if you use inferior ingredients you don't have
a very good cake to eat. Make sure what you buy has 2-1 cal to
phos, at least; Yeast culture and Vitamin E. It's best to buy
from a mineral company and not a feed company.

You don't necessarily have to have a custom mix. In our area,
everyone uses basically the same formula, based on grass samples
taken in the area. I only know of one exception; and those people
have a lot of moly that ties up copper and zinc, so they needed
a custom mix.

I will caution you to be careful of coated mineral that stands up to wind
and rain. With that coating it isn't as available to the cow; meaning she
can't utilize it as well because of the coating. Particle size is very important;
that's what keeps Vigortone mineral from bonding together
and helps it to stand up to the elements without a coating.

I hope this helps.

Vigortone mineral is having their fall sale right now; in our area it
lasts until Nov. 19th. Good luck!
 
ADM's WeatherMaster mineral will stand up better in the rain & other elements than any other product out there, including Purina's Wind N Rain. Good mineral doesn't cost, it pays, but from what I've seen around these parts, you are as well off feeding no mineral than any Co-Op mineral. JMHO.
 
So tell me more on the vigor tone mineral FH!! I am very willing and eager to try something different. Can I get a vigortone mix with rumensin or CTC. I know they cant be mixed together but like to feed rumensin with the mineral during breeding and winter, and ctc in the summer. Whats the price on such products? Im not real sure that we have a vigortone dealer here anymore ...
 
Where do you live?
And yes, we have rumensin and CTC both. We have 148 different
mineral products that can aid in just about every scenerio.

I'm wondering why you would feed CTC all summer long unless
it is for yearlings. CTC first was used for additional gain and it
makes a great mineral for yearlings because of the health benefits
and the extra gain. Cow/calf we recommend CTC for a window
of time, 2 weeks before calving until the bulls are turned out.
Then go back to a mineral without CTC.

I'll be glad to help you find a dealer or get the mineral in to you
if you don't have one. I can't give you a price until I know
where you live as the freight is different. You can send me a
PM if you wish, or post it here.

The only customers I have that feed rumensin have feedlots so
I assume you want it for that reason too. We have a great product,
wonderful mineral package called 3662SR. Very poplular and
a great product.

Hope this helps!
 
I am in SE Kansas. The reason I feed CTC in the from green up to 1st frost is for eyes, feet and anaplas. We run on fescue grass primarily so I feel that feeding CTC helps with the feet problems. Seems to keep pinkeye at bay, and sure is cheap insurance for anaplas. I dont feed it during the winter fearing the cattle could get a toloerance of sorts from it. That might be far fetched but seems to work for us. As for the Rumensin, I think that feeding it during fall and spring breeding as well as during winter helps with the feed efficiency, as well as giving cows a little extra energy to cycle back. I could be way off on this set up but so far its working for us, just the mineral part im not satisfied with lol.
If there is a dealer close I would sure work with them, if not I would be happy to try something else.
Thanks
Jeff
 
Sounds like you have a good plan going there.
I need to know the town you are nearest to, and I will
see who the dealer is and get them in touch with you.
You will like the service and the mineral.

We do have a great product for fescue that you might want to
know about as well.

Please send me a PM with the name of the town you are
near. I can find the dealer and get back to you and you can
contact them from there, or you can give me your name
and I'll have them contact you. I can find this out tomorrow.
But I do need the name of the town as there might be
several dealers in Kansas. Thanks for asking!
 
I recently had a local guy show me the breakdown in costs of raw minerals versus pre-packaged mixes. In a nutshell, the pre-packaged mineral mixes are being sold for double the cost of the raw minerals. :shock:

He basically said that if I have enough cattle and don't mind a bit of extra work, I can save a bundle of money on minerals.
 
Be very careful, whitewing. Mineral is an EXACT SCIENCE. You would
be better off not feeding mineral as feeding the wrong ratio's, etc.
For instance getting the copper and zinc ratio wrong can cause a lot
of problems. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it.

Trust me on this one.
 
Faster horses said:
Be very careful, whitewing. Mineral is an EXACT SCIENCE. You would
be better off not feeding mineral as feeding the wrong ratio's, etc.
For instance getting the copper and zinc ratio wrong can cause a lot
of problems. If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it.

Trust me on this one.
Click to expand...

Your advice is duly noted FH. While I'm no expert in cattle feeds, I do know my way around the laboratory. I owned and operated a reservoir fluids lab for over 20 years. We mixed (blended under pressure) and tested very precise amounts of hydrocarbon gases and associated hydrocarbon liquids.

With a bit of luck, I won't have any belly-up cattle. :D
 
Well, WW, I don't intend to get into a battle of wits with you
because I'd lose... :P

I do have a few things for you to think about.
Where are you getting the ingredients? Don't buy them from
China...Vigortone is very proud of the fact that they don't
buy ingredients from China. They are cheaper, but not
trustworthy. Some companies have had major problems
with CTC from China among other things.

Next, how do you plan to mix it? Particle size is of
utmost importance. If the particles are different sizes, the
mineral will bond together and the cattle won't eat it.
Mineral companies have huge mixing equipment. If you don't
get it mixed properly, your cows could get their salt requirement
for a week and not get their mineral requirement for the day.

Good luck to you...personally I think your advisor is all wet in
this department... :D
 
He's not really an advisor FH, just a fellow who runs a feed supply store and does some consulting work for cattlemen.

And I've made no decisions regarding the use of minerals as of yet. I'm still trying to learn something before acting.

As it relates to the final product, I don't have a lot of confidence in what anyone here in this country mixes. There may be some fine products on the market, but generally, quality control is lacking in most of the products produced here.

I'll keep you updated on what I decide to do.
 
Yep, you said it...Quality Control. That's why I was worried
about where you would get the ingredients...

Thanks for the info and like I said, "good luck." And I mean
that. It's a whole different world where you are, for sure.
And I'm sure I really have no idea just how different.
I certainly admire you for what you have taken on and are
enjoying so much.
 
It is what the nutritionists recommend.

They have found that forages
contain calcium, but that calcium isn't easily broken down to
be utilized by the cow, therefore a supplement is advised.
They are finding that calcium is as important to cattle as it is to humans.
Higher calcium content aids in milk production as well as
strong bones and teeth. The NRC keeps lowering the phos requirement
of cattle so the old 15-12, 12-12 mineral formula is outdated. Feedlots
have found that adding calcium to the feed increases rate of gain.

The latest research shows that 7-1 cal to phos works fine.
We sell 6-1 in a product that our customers use in the spring
when the grass is green; it has a great trace mineral package
too; but the phos is 3.5%. However, when the grass dries out and loses
phos, the cattle will tend to overeat this mineral so we recommend
that our 6 or 7% phos product be fed at that time to cut back on consumption.
Phos is a limiter and cattle won't overeat phos, but in the spring
going to a lower phos mineral helps the pocketbook and doesn't hurt
the cattle.

I hope this helps!
 
Not trying to pick a fight or anything,BUT. If a certain mineral is so low in phos then what is it's reasoning for being so high priced? I think everyone on the board would agree that this is easily the most expensive ingredient in mineral.
 

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