Livestock Management RANCHING
CATTLEMEN CATTLEMEN generations
serving for
to come...
per pound, and Net Energy of gain (NEg) from 47 to 52 Mcals per pound. “Good energy is very important,” he says. “One of
my preferences over the years has been to not use non- protein nitrogen in the fi rst 30 to 45 days, or 45 to 60 days when we’re trying to alleviate as much stress as we can, so they’ll adapt to the new environment. But as a preference, it can be used successfully.” His recommendation for trace minerals would be be-
tween 10 and 15 parts per million (PPM) for copper, and that can even rise to 20 PPM, depending on the status of the calf coming in. Zinc should be 100 to 150 PPM, manganese 75 to 100 PPM and selenium 0.2 to 0.3 PPM. “One of the important things about adding trace
minerals is bioavailability,” Hutcheson says. “With the exception of selenite, very little of the oxides are ab- sorbed. They may decrease the cost of the ration, but they’re not good trace minerals. “I recommend either a mixture of chelated copper,
zinc and manganese, or a mixture with all of these minerals in sulfate form. The best biological availability is from chelated minerals; there are several out there, although some have different characteristics.” He also recommends 0.4 to 0.5 PPM cobalt in the
ration. In the rumen, cobalt is changed to Vitamin B¹², which is necessary for the animal. In addition, the cobalt can improve appetite in some cases. The calves need to get salt, as well as calcium, phos-
phorus and potassium. The total mixed ration needs to be 1 to 1.5 percent of the diet and should be added to the hay. The calves need about 15,000 to 20,000 units daily
of Vitamin A. Hutcheson says that’s a little high but should be adequate for calves coming off dry pastures. If they’re coming off green pasture, Vitamin A could
be around 10,000 to 15,000 units per day. Vitamin E needs to be 125 to 200 units per day. He
cautions, “Remember, these are always formulated in parts per million or percentages and calves eat ‘amounts’. We have to look at how much the calf is eating and the level of the nutrients in the feed to make sure we’re get- ting adequate intake.” And fi nally, Hutcheson warns against over feed-
(405) 262-8800 •
www.okcwest.com 48 The Cattleman July 2015
ing the animal. He says, “It’s best to feed them so that they’ll clean up and get used to eating the feed and hay in the beginning, because if there’s a lot of hay or feed left over, that means they’re not eating it properly. Feed should be monitored every day during that fi rst period. Most people feed once a day, some feed twice a day, and there are some other combinations.”
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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