Dairy Cow Minerals

Bazzer007

Hey lads, looking for advice on the best pre and post calver minerals to get. Normally buy Calsea 15kg mineral blocks. Any alternatives? I've looked at adding tablets to water and we put the odd bag of gold pre calver from the co op over the silage but worried about wastage. That bag costs €40 and block normally €30. Thanks.

whelan2

I don't give any minerals to the milkers any more. There are minerals in the nuts and coarse ration they get. Haven't used them for the last 3 years and all's good so far. Use the calsea pre calving blocks and iodine in water for dries

Bazzer007

Thanks mate. Do you use dissolvable iodine tablets or pour a solution into their drinking water? I'll try to get the best deal to buy a crate of pre calver Calsea blocks this week. Sound out.

whelan2

Bazzer007 wrote: »

Thanks mate. Do you use dissolvable iodine tablets or pour a solution into their drinking water? I'll try to get the best deal to buy a crate of pre calver Calsea blocks this week. Sound out.

1cc per cow per day of lugols iodine into the drinker

orm0nd

whelan2 wrote: »

I don't give any minerals to the milkers any more. There are minerals in the nuts and coarse ration they get. Haven't used them for the last 3 years and all's good so far. Use the calsea pre calving blocks and iodine in water for dries

any source for the block holders prefarbly on line ?


used Agrictech DC elite here in the past but they hiked the prices

whelan2

orm0nd wrote: »

any source for the block holders prefarbly on line ?


used Agrictech DC elite here in the past but they hiked the prices

Grassland agro supply them to me

yewtree

Bazzer007 wrote: »

Hey lads, looking for advice on the best pre and post calver minerals to get. Normally buy Calsea 15kg mineral blocks. Any alternatives? I've looked at adding tablets to water and we put the odd bag of gold pre calver from the co op over the silage but worried about wastage. That bag costs €40 and block normally €30. Thanks.

Use a basic enough dry cow mineral here €17 a bag. Get the vet to look at the label to make sure it's OK. Have no issues post calving.

jfh

whelan2 wrote: »

1cc per cow per day of lugols iodine into the drinker

excuse the ignorance, but why iodine, is that for fertility?

whelan2

jfh wrote: »

excuse the ignorance, but why iodine, is that for fertility?

No for stronger calves at birth. Great job

ganmo

yewtree wrote: »

Use a basic enough dry cow mineral here €17 a bag. Get the vet to look at the label to make sure it's OK. Have no issues post calving.

Or stick it up here and we can have a look.
Some ground can get away with a poorer looking mineral than others due to what minerals are in the soil.
In an ideal world we’d each be getting our silage tested and a mineral made up to supply the rest(it sometimes works out cheaper)

visatorro

whelan2 wrote: »

No for stronger calves at birth. Great job

I'm giving the iodine pour on when I dry off. Happy with results. All guard bolus aswell. I had problems with still born calves before.

satstheway

whelan2 wrote: »

No for stronger calves at birth. Great job

Can you give to Miller's or only dry?

orm0nd

visatorro wrote: »

I'm giving the iodine pour on when I dry off. Happy with results. All guard bolus aswell. I had problems with still born calves before.

Low iodine causes problems with the thyroid gland. Often the new born calf if born alive will be unable to breathe, and die straight away.

whelan2

satstheway wrote: »

Can you give to Miller's or only dry?

I just give to dries. Some people spray iodine on the milkers flank once a week

mahoney_j

whelan2 wrote: »

I just give to dries. Some people spray iodine on the milkers flank once a week

I also add it to water for milking cows daily throughout the breeding season

Keepgrowing

No pre calving minerals or treatments used here. Cut them out some years ago to no ill effects.

alps

mahoney_j wrote: »

I also add it to water for milking cows daily throughout the breeding season

Spray it on their flank and also at the top of their udder where it attaches to their body...great soakage there..