• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

salt & mineral feeders

Help Support Ranchers.net:

Rowdy Ranch

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
273
Reaction score
0
Location
KS
What is the best covered salt feeder out there.? Am using lots of the bullmaster feeders,but the new ones are not very durable. I am a firm believer in a good mineral program. Thanks!
 
The best mineral feeders I have are the ones I made and were the cheapest too.
Take a plastic 55-gallon drum with all the lids on it and cut a hole in the side big enough for a cow to stick her head in. Hang it from a tree limb or a frame with some light chain. Then fill with mineral. Very little rain gets in and if you use a nimble limb it sort of acts like a spring so the cows don't bust the chain.
 
Alabama said:
The best mineral feeders I have are the ones I made and were the cheapest too.
Take a plastic 55-gallon drum with all the lids on it and cut a hole in the side big enough for a cow to stick her head in. Hang it from a tree limb or a frame with some light chain. Then fill with mineral. Very little rain gets in and if you use a nimble limb it sort of acts like a spring so the cows don't bust the chain.

WHAT"S A TREE? :cowboy:
 
We have a big RR Bridge Timber that we put sides on, and dividers. One side holds salt blocks...and we pour the Right Now Mineral in the other side. Is anyone using the Ride Now Mineral Program and if so what do you think of it? We just started using it last month. With 120 mama's and about half our calves on the ground, we go thru about one bag ever other day.
 
Right Now mineral is made by Cargill.( Lots of people don't want to do business with Cargill since they are one of the big three packers.) What is the cal to phos ratio you are using? How much zinc, copper and vitamin e does it contain? At 4 oz. per head per day, you are close to right on as far as consumption.

If you use a good mineral, it should not get hard if it gets wet and should stand up to weather quite well. Cheaper minerals that contain grain do get hard and set up in your mineral feeder. The quality of the mineral is lessened with grain added and you lose alot due to weather. I don't know if Right Now mineral contains grain by-products or not. It should not.

Because we use a mineral that isn't bothered by weather (Vigortone) my husband prefers to use troughs for mineral. The cows and calves both can get to it easily and they don't tip over. These are the 12' or 16' troughs that are sold at any livestock supply store. They are easy to drag from pasture to pasture.
 
I use a behlen one with the rubber flap on top. I like the four section one as it is larger and the flap falls better.
 
I dont have a tag offa the bag here at the house but, from what I'm told they manufacture this product to the needs of specific areas. I'm not real political in my ranch business...if a product works like it says it will....that's what I'm interested in..as far as Cargill goes.
So far, with the rain we've had, the mineral stays loose I haven't had to break it up at all..but with one bag being consumed in 2 days time...I dont see a big problem with that happening....it's not supposed to clump.
Right now we are using the Right Now Emerald, and it's made less than 50 miles from here in Giddings. I was just wondering if anyone had used it and found higher weaning weights and such that your supposed to git from using this product.
 
Again, as I said, I don't know about Right Now mineral, have never used it, but everyone in our area that uses Vigortone has put an extra 30 lbs. on their calves. Plus better conception rates and increased herd health. You won't get an additional 30 lbs. every year. You will get it once, but you won't lose it. Part of the reason for the added weight is the phosphorus stimulates the rumen and when the rumen is healthy the calves can digest forage better. One thing I always tell producers to watch for is to make sure your mineral contains yeast culture. That is very important to to calves as it enhances rumen function and will help in digesting forage.

What keeps the mineral from getting hard is consistent particle size and quality ingredients. Having consistent particle size keeps the mineral from clumping. Consistent particle size comes from strict quality control. Small plants just don't have the equipment to mix ingredients so the particles are the same size.
 
I use "Right Now" and have for the last several years. It cost more and the cows eat more of it but my conception rates are much better too. I use "Bronze" most all year except for spring with cows on clover and rye grass. Then I use the high mag "GOLD".
It is easy for me to get and it workes. the extra cost I think is worth it.
 
I bought a mineral feeder from lewis cattle oilers. It is the best thing ever. you can hang it from a post. It have a bearing in the harness and the way it is it backs to the wind and rain. I never had mineral wet or dumped over again. Bought then I bought one of there cattle oilers to hang it from. It reduces fly problems
 
I think the Lewis Cattle Oilers are good. The problem being, you need one in every pasture where you have cattle. If you have cattle in three pastures, you need three oilers. At about $2000 each, that's a bunch of money.

We have to remember the cost in doing all this.
 
i am planning on buying two more because of the way the first one works. It is a lot of money but it is worth it
 
We just bought one last week. What I like about it is the fact that it works all year long, and for lice too.

It does not do anything for nutrition, however, and does not take the place of a mineral program.

Can you put the oilers on BLM ground? I forgot to ask that question when they were here, but I have a suspicion they are not allowed on BLM. Do you have any knowledge of that?
 
I have heard of that. i must of had a slow morning. I don't see why you can't put it out there
 
I have several from Tox-O-Wix ( the most expensive) to Vigortone. I have a Vigortone that is at least 30 years old and other than replacing the face mop about every 3 years it has been repair free and I just ordered 2 more. I love the fact that one person can move the feeder with little difficulty and it seems that cattle or horses get good face fly and lice control and I use mineral that controls horn flys as well.
 

Latest posts

Top