Livestock Management RANCHING
Ionophores — Not Just for Feedyard Cattle
By Gilda V. Bryant A
RE YOU LOOKING FOR A PRODUCT that helps grazing cattle pack on weight and reduce
complications from bloat and coc- cidiosis? Then supplementing with ionophores just might be your tick- et. What are ionophores? This feed additive with the fun-
ny name has been fed to feedyard cattle since the late 1970s. With a reputation for being safe for the animal and the consumer, it has helped calves gain weight during the fi nishing process while reducing complications from acidosis, bloat and coccidiosis. Now ionophores are available for cow/calf or stocker operations. Although ionophores are classi-
fi ed as antibiotics, they are a class of additives commonly fed to cattle to improve feed effi ciency and rate of gain. They work like antibiotics because they have a detrimental ef- fect on gram positive and hydrogen producing bacteria in the rumen. These also happen to be the mi- crobes that reduce the beef animal’s ability to utilize energy. “The bacteria that ionophores
are effective against are the ones that tend to be more problematic in the animal in terms of rumi- nal effi ciency, especially when we move from a forage diet to a high grain diet,” explains Steve Blezinger, PhD, PAS, (Professional Animal Scientist), a nutritional and man- agement consultant. “Ionophores select against those bacteria that produce various gasses — carbon
64 The Cattleman November 2013
dioxide, methane and hydrogen. By feeding ionophores, you actually reduce that gas production.” Thanks to this unique action on
these gas-producing and other bac- teria, the net effect is an increase of the rumen’s benefi cial microbial population. This appears to be es- pecially true for those “bugs” that consume nutrients and produce benefi cial energy sources such as protein and organic acids in the rumen. During this process, the remain-
ing bacteria actively become more effi cient, requiring less feed to pro- vide the same or more energy to the animal. This often results in a decrease of dry matter intake. “Because we have shifted the
rumen energetics in a positive di- rection, rumen function becomes more effi cient,” adds Blezinger. “And subsequently, to meet the animal’s energy requirements, [this] reduces the amount that is necessary to be fed. It’s a really complex system.” Although ionophores aren’t rec-
ommended for very young animals or those intended for the veal mar- ket, cow/calf and stocker operators can feed them to older calves, es- pecially after weaning, until they are transported to a feedyard. For 2 to 3 cents per head per day, pro- ducers may see as much as a 15 percent increase in average daily gain due to the more effi cient use of proteins and other nutrients. Other advantages include reduced prob- lems due to bloat, and ionophores
may prevent coccidiosis in cattle up to 800 pounds. Ionophores aren’t just for calves.
They positively affect reproduction in the beef cow herd by helping cows gain body weight with im- proved body condition scores after calving as a result of improved nu- tritional (energy) status. “On breed- ing cows, you have to be careful of forage quality,” Blezinger advises. “My rule of thumb is if you’ve got average or better forage quality you can benefi t from feeding an iono- phore.” Field trials show that cattle graz-
ing on good quality forages tend to gain, while those animals that are fed poor forage with lower nutrient levels either don’t gain or even lose weight. Blezinger advises producers to skip feeding ionophores when inadequate forage and poor forage quality are all that are available to the herd. Animals require only very small
amounts of ionophore to receive benefi ts. Classifi ed as a medicated ingredient, the government regu- lates the manufacture of products that contain ionophores. As a word of caution, producers that run hors- es with cattle should know that products that contain ionophores are toxic to equines. Ionophores are available for
farm and ranch cattle in a variety of forms of feeds and other supple- ments including free-choice min- erals. Minerals including an iono- phore are easily added to a mineral
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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