mineral bolus

Limestone Cowboy · 07-04-2021 11:17pm

I do them all after calving, using the agrimin All Trace Hi-iodine the last 4 or 5 of years and fertility seemed to improve when I started using them. They are a good bit bigger than the allsure ones though and harder to get the gun down and the cows have to get 2 of them as well but I have the gun that gives the 2 together. Did 20 cows on Monday, I don't bother putting them out the head gate, just pack the chute good and tight and once their head is up they don't have much space to be flinging you around. If you dip the gun in a jug of liquid parrifin it will slip down a bit easier too.

GrasstoMilk · 07-04-2021 11:36pm

Multimin injection is getting great reports, 4e per hd roughly and do 1 month pre breeding

Lime Tree Farm · 07-04-2021 11:51pm

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Multimin injection is getting great reports, 4e per hd roughly and do 1 month pre breeding

Multimin doesn't appear to have the Iodine -

Zinc: 60 mg,
Manganese: 10 mg,
Copper: 15 mg,
Selenium: 5 mg,

Before we started using the bolus, it used be
copper injection
Iodine oral drench
Selenium injection

charolais0153 · 08-04-2021 12:41pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

Have you the name of the drench.

Aul fella used buy the Lloyd but I'd buy the turbo thrive ones

jfh · 09-04-2021 11:16am

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Multimin injection is getting great reports, 4e per hd roughly and do 1 month pre breeding

Costs me 7 euros per head & I don't think it was much good

patsy_mccabe · 09-04-2021 12:17pm

I did a batch of cows and young heifer with the Allsure Cattle boluses today. Tried the first few without the halter and I could feel it in my back. Have a bad back and need to mind it.
Worked with the halter then after that. All grand except the last one, a flighty heifer. She fought we all the way, even catching my hand in the gun. She was the only one to spit one up, but I got it back into her.

Sami23 · 09-04-2021 12:18pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I did a batch of cows and young heifer with the Allsure Cattle boluses today. Tried the first few without the halter and I could feel it in my back. Have a bad back and need to mind it.
Worked with the halter then after that. All grand except the last one, a flighty heifer. She fought we all the way, even catching my hand in the gun. She was the only one to spit one up, but I got it back into her.

Do you not have a head scoop

patsy_mccabe · 09-04-2021 12:19pm

Sami23 wrote: »

Do you not have a head scoop

No, I've no head scoop. Might have to make one up. Thinking about it already.

Sami23 · 09-04-2021 12:23pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

No, I've no head scoop. Might have to make one up. Thinking about it already.

I'm a small bit ahead of you - have one bought but not setup yet

Thinking of bolusing for the first time this year myself here.
Does bolus's cover tetany in any way same as licks ?

patsy_mccabe · 09-04-2021 12:30pm

Sami23 wrote: »

I'm a small bit ahead of you - have one bought but not setup yet

Thinking of bolusing for the first time this year myself here.
Does bolus's cover tetany in any way same as licks ?

This is what's in the Allsure Cattle, so no Magnesium. I would see these ones more for fertility.

Trace element content
Copper oxide 30g
Cobalt 500mg
Iodine 3400mg
Selenium 500mg

https://animax-vet.com/products/roi/cattle-products/#:~:text=Allsure%20Cattle%20boluses%20are%20easily,enlarged%20and%20are%20shed%20naturally.

Lime Tree Farm · 09-04-2021 12:32pm

Sami23 wrote: »

I'm a small bit ahead of you - have one bought but not setup yet

Thinking of bolusing for the first time this year myself here.
Does bolus's cover tetany in any way same as licks ?

No. Tetany is low levels of magnesium in the blood. Fresh grass not staying long enough in the system for magnesium to be absorbed. Mineral lick buckets and keep them out of reach of bull calves.

Just heard the first cuckoo outside just now. What a welcome sound - Summer is on the way

tanko · 09-04-2021 1:01pm

I don't use boluses but i thought that there are boluses which give protection against tetany?

Lime Tree Farm · 09-04-2021 1:06pm

You're right - I didn't know they were available.

https://www.glanbiaconnect.com/shop/product/Norbrook-Opti-Mag-Bolus-%2810%29/9001509

Not cheap ! 1 application x 2 boluses

Jb1989 · 09-04-2021 1:13pm

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

No, I've no head scoop. Might have to make one up. Thinking about it already.

If you've a bad back, it's very foolish you have no head scoop.
Unless there's a reason you cant have one, you should prioritise just buying one and getting it fitted immediately.
You'll not regret it.

jfh · 09-04-2021 1:51pm

Jb1989 wrote: »

If you've a bad back, it's very foolish you have no head scoop.
Unless there's a reason you cant have one, you should prioritise just buying one and getting it fitted immediately.
You'll not regret it.

Agree, you need a head scoop for bolusing sucklers, I even have a few that I can't do with the head scoop, stubborn angus, won't go up the crush

Jb1989 · 09-04-2021 2:10pm

jfh wrote: »

Agree, you need a head scoop for bolusing sucklers, I even have a few that I can't do with the head scoop, stubborn angus, won't go up the crush

Have you a backing bar? Bit of patience and a backing bar kept moveing behind them bit by bit should get the awkwardest ones.

nhg · 09-04-2021 9:49pm

Any of ye using Auctus Nutrigain - Beef Performer, thinking of giving 30ml to the calves when turning them out to grass in the coming days, they also recommend giving it when injecting for worms, supposed to take the edge off the strong worm dose...

Sami23 · 09-04-2021 10:12pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

Mineral lick buckets and keep them out of reach of bull calves.

Shur how would you keep the bull calves away from the buckets if cows and calves are out grazing for the summer.

Are mag buckets any harm to stock bulls

Lime Tree Farm · 10-04-2021 6:07am

Sami23 wrote: »

Shur how would you keep the bull calves away from the buckets if cows and calves are out grazing for the summer.

Are mag buckets any harm to stock bulls

I have never seen the stock bull at the buckets, calves are definitely attracted to them.

Raise the buckets out of reach of calves. In the past someone on here designed their own mineral bucket stand.

orm0nd · 10-04-2021 12:51pm

hearing good feedback about these products especially the cow bolus

http://iomlananimalscience.ie/products/

Limestone Cowboy · 10-04-2021 3:46pm

orm0nd wrote: »

hearing good feedback about these products especially the cow bolus

http://iomlananimalscience.ie/products/

Where can you buy them? Never heard of them before. The 240 day bolus sounds good.

orm0nd · 10-04-2021 11:38pm

Limestone Cowboy wrote: »

Where can you buy them? Never heard of them before. The 240 day bolus sounds good.[/

http://iomlananimalscience.ie/contact-us/

jd_12345 · 13-04-2021 11:26pm

Had a blast of growvite mineral drench on hand due to mix up at purchasing. A good few of the milking heifers had foxy coats so we said we’d bolus the whole herd as a few cows were foxy too. Did it last year on the first calvers at vets advice and it seemed to work well so said we’d do the whole herd this year. We did it last Thursday using the hook drencher that we use for dosing. Anyway all went well and we also gave a bolus as well to anything that we’re planning on giving sexed semen to. Yesterday morning at milking a cow was panting a bit and didn’t want to come in to be milked. Didn’t eat much ration so rang vet. He listened to her and said her lungs were under savage trouble. Slightly low temperature which would indicate that she wasn’t fighting a pneumonia type problem. Then he asked was she dosed recently (she’s 10 years old) and we said about the oral mineral drench. He said there’s a good chance that it went down the wrong way. He treated her with a couple of things and said she’d be under pressure. She was panting all day standing up. Came out this morning and the cow was dead. Absolutely gutted.

Jb1989 · 14-04-2021 8:36am

jd_12345 wrote: »

Had a blast of growvite mineral drench on hand due to mix up at purchasing. A good few of the milking heifers had foxy coats so we said we’d bolus the whole herd as a few cows were foxy too. Did it last year on the first calvers at vets advice and it seemed to work well so said we’d do the whole herd this year. We did it last Thursday using the hook drencher that we use for dosing. Anyway all went well and we also gave a bolus as well to anything that we’re planning on giving sexed semen to. Yesterday morning at milking a cow was panting a bit and didn’t want to come in to be milked. Didn’t eat much ration so rang vet. He listened to her and said her lungs were under savage trouble. Slightly low temperature which would indicate that she wasn’t fighting a pneumonia type problem. Then he asked was she dosed recently (she’s 10 years old) and we said about the oral mineral drench. He said there’s a good chance that it went down the wrong way. He treated her with a couple of things and said she’d be under pressure. She was panting all day standing up. Came out this morning and the cow was dead. Absolutely gutted.

Ffs. Sorry to hear.

Toetohand · 14-04-2021 5:02pm

jd_12345 wrote: »

Had a blast of growvite mineral drench on hand due to mix up at purchasing. A good few of the milking heifers had foxy coats so we said we’d bolus the whole herd as a few cows were foxy too. Did it last year on the first calvers at vets advice and it seemed to work well so said we’d do the whole herd this year. We did it last Thursday using the hook drencher that we use for dosing. Anyway all went well and we also gave a bolus as well to anything that we’re planning on giving sexed semen to. Yesterday morning at milking a cow was panting a bit and didn’t want to come in to be milked. Didn’t eat much ration so rang vet. He listened to her and said her lungs were under savage trouble. Slightly low temperature which would indicate that she wasn’t fighting a pneumonia type problem. Then he asked was she dosed recently (she’s 10 years old) and we said about the oral mineral drench. He said there’s a good chance that it went down the wrong way. He treated her with a couple of things and said she’d be under pressure. She was panting all day standing up. Came out this morning and the cow was dead. Absolutely gutted.

Balls... sorry to hear. Would have thought the growvite so sticky that that would never have happened.

tellmeabit · 14-04-2021 5:09pm

Desperate. Twasnt the bolus

tellmeabit · 19-04-2021 5:14pm

tellmeabit wrote: »

Desperate. Twasnt the bolus

Sorry that was meant as a question not statement.

tellmeabit · 19-04-2021 5:15pm

How does one know what minerals are lacking or bolus to give?
Or is it's just worht it to cover them?

jd_12345 · 19-04-2021 5:26pm

tellmeabit wrote: »

Sorry that was meant as a question not statement.

That particular cow wasn’t bolused. Only young cows that were getting sexed were getting the bolus. From now on we’ll be using Multimin pre breeding.

jntsnk · 20-04-2021 3:07pm

tellmeabit wrote: »

How does one know what minerals are lacking or bolus to give?
Or is it's just worht it to cover them?

Notice thrive could’ve been better, Last few years, nothing had changed on my side only was dosing cattle with a white worm dose with selenium added but changed over to ivomec.
So decided to blood test my animals at the next herd test. Selenium in the animals were almost zero. Well worth doing. Only blood tested a a small section. That led me to test the soils on the farm and the out farm was low in selenium, where the weanlings would graze. Supplementing animals and soil now .

SuperTortoise · 20-04-2021 6:46pm

jntsnk wrote: »

Notice thrive could’ve been better, Last few years, nothing had changed on my side only was dosing cattle with a white worm dose with selenium added but changed over to ivomec.
So decided to blood test my animals at the next herd test. Selenium in the animals were almost zero. Well worth doing. Only blood tested a a small section. That led me to test the soils on the farm and the out farm was low in selenium, where the weanlings would graze. Supplementing animals and soil now .

What do you use? I blood tested a few cows here and they were low in selenium, i won't be using a bolus, but i will use some sort of suppliment be it lick bucket or something to put through the drinking water. Thanks.

jntsnk · 21-04-2021 8:19am

SuperTortoise wrote: »

What do you use? I blood tested a few cows here and they were low in selenium, i won't be using a bolus, but i will use some sort of suppliment be it lick bucket or something to put through the drinking water. Thanks.

Selenium bolus and fertilizer with added Se for the soil

edward901 · 21-04-2021 10:24pm

We have a cow here...calved a month ago.Has a brown coat grazing ok,eating her cubes but very backward looking.Showed her to the vet.Reccomended a mineral bolus.Is there a single mineral dose that I could give to her?

blue5000 · 22-04-2021 1:46pm

edward901 wrote: »

We have a cow here...calved a month ago.Has a brown coat grazing ok,eating her cubes but very backward looking.Showed her to the vet.Reccomended a mineral bolus.Is there a single mineral dose that I could give to her?

Get the blood analysed from a few to find out what they're lacking. You can always use a copper bolus after the samples have been taken while you are waiting on results. IAS labs is who I used 30! :eek: years ago to find out what our mineral problems are. Takes a long time to correct a soil problem, easier to treat the animals IMHO. https://iaslabs.ie/

jfh · 22-04-2021 3:27pm

Lads can I ask what ye do with the applicator guns, I have three applicators here and ordered all sure bolus certain that one would fit, the all sure bolus is two thin bolus so very loose in the gun bloody frustrating forking out another 40 euros for a gun, my own fault for changing bolus

blue5000 · 22-04-2021 4:54pm

jfh wrote: »

Lads can I ask what ye do with the applicator guns, I have three applicators here and ordered all sure bolus certain that one would fit, the all sure bolus is two thin bolus so very loose in the gun bloody frustrating forking out another 40 euros for a gun, my own fault for changing bolus

You could try keeping the cows head level as you put the gun in. PIA I know.

patsy_mccabe · 22-04-2021 8:38pm

This is the gun for the Allsure Cattle boluses;

https://www.agridirect.ie/product/allsurecopasure-balling-gun

I bought one about 2 weeks ago. €41.50 including delivery. It does work well and seems well built.
Both boluses, black and green, go into it together.

d.colbertait · 25-11-2021 12:03pm

Hi all. I'm actually doing a PhD developing a new mineral bolus. Would it be ok if I was to post a small survey I have regarding bolus use/feedback? It takes an average on 2minutes to complete

Seanhorse91 · 04-12-2021 9:59am

Going dosing the cows later on for worms. While there in I was thinking of giving them their boluses as they’ll be calving from January. Would it be ok to do so or would there be a fear they’d cough them up?

White Clover · 04-12-2021 10:48am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118267499#Comment_118267499

Administered correctly they shouldn't cough them up. Place the bolus gun at the top of the gullet and pull the trigger. Watch for them swallowing and job done.