MINERAL SALTS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 178, 23 February 1933, Page 2

MINERAL SALTS

And the Fart They Play in Providing Healthy Cattle While insufficient or incorrect feeding may be responsible for many of (lie troubles that affect dairy cattle, to the absence of minerals in their teed may be traced many of the diseases which at times are the bane of the dairy farmer.

Thus mineral deficiency is frequently responsible, lor abortion in the herd. A heavy producing cow in calf, unable to supply the foetus with the essential elements may abort, and will in any case produce a poorly nourished, 1 weakly calf. Distinction, however, must ibe made between ibis form of 'ab'ortion and that known as Bang’s ‘disease, whichi i 6 directly caused by the infect.on of the'.cow; Vith ! the micro-organism, : sthaciUnsi abortus; ■ ■' :

Othel*' pathological conditions ~ produced by mineral deficiency include sterility. A high-producing cow. during a prolonged perod of lactation, especially if in calf, and on a mineral deficient ration ,may deplete her mineral reserves to such an extent that she may fail to breed during the following season. Tuberculosis is another condition for which mineral deficiency is, in many instances, primarily responsible. It has been noticed that amongst tuberculin tested cows those that react to the test are largely of the heavy milking type. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that these heavy milking cows, owing to the demand placed upon them for mineral elements, and their diet being deficient in those elements, they rob their reserves and lay themselves open to infection. Milk fever is due to a deficiency ot calcium in the blood. The normal calcium of the blood varies between , milligrammes and 11 milligrammes per 100 c.c. of serum. It is quite invariable for the individual. The beginning of lactation and particular !y the secretion of colostrum, which is exceedingly rich in calcium, removes a great quantity of calcium from the blood, in fact, were not a reserve supply drawn upon, the drain of colostrum and early milking is sufficient to remove all the calcium from the blood The severity of an attack of milk fever is, in all cases, directly proportional to the fall in the calcium level of the blood; . Osteomalacia is caused by calcium and phosphoric acid deficiency m the body. It is a disease arising from nutritional disturbances which cause an increased absorption of lime salts from the bones and the substitution of the liquified hone tissue by Osteoid tissue, from which swelling occurs. Fractures occur efisily. Deformities occur most frequently in the pelvic bone and the spine. . The atfected animal becomes gradually emaciated, not only because of her poor appetite, but also for the reason that calciu raplays an important part in metabolism. The articular cartilages lose their substance, joints become enlarged and rattling sounds are heard when the animal moves. . Disease due to mineral deficiency usually takes a very chronic course, and the symptoms are rarely recognised until a fairly advanced stage has been reached. The characteristic signs of mineral deficiency in cattle are digestive disturbances, periodic diarrhoea, enlargement of the abdomen capricious appetite, licking and chewing bones, earth, bark of trees, I manure, etc, As the disease pm gresses in many cases a depraved -ippetite develops for decomposing material, such as rotting animal cai - Mineral deficiency is most pronounced in the case of young growing cattle, one of the first effects ot mineral deficiency being retardation cl growth. The calf, unable to develop sound, healthy bone and tissue, becomes stunted and potbellied, the hail is rough and dry, the bones soften anti symptoms of rickets may appeal. It- is therefore evident that the minI eral nutrients are just as important | factors in the diet as are proteins, ' carbohydrates, fats and vitanijnes. t i would well repay the dairyman to pay i particular attention to the mineral rei quirements of his cattle and to ma >.e j every endeavour to ensure that they I receive a constant and adequate supj ply of these all important elements. I pastures, unfortunately, are 1 more or less deficient in mineral elei ments, particularly those in coastal ! areas, and it is in these latter areas that the greatest amount of dairying is carried on. Mineral deficiency of pastures may be efficiently and economically balanced by supplying to the animals a supplementary mineral mixture, eilhei mixed with their feed, in cases ot ! hand-feeding, or in the form ot a lick when pasture fed. The supplementing i of mineral elements to tfie diet ot milking cows has been proved to be of definite value, as the following one of many instances will show. To determine the effect of mineral supplements on milk yield, ten milking cows were fed for 30 days on a basal ration known to be mineral deficient. During this period the average individual daily milk yield was 16.8 lb., the fat content being 3.65 per cent. These cows were then feci 1 a mineral supplement along with the basal ration for a further 30 days. During this second period the average individual milk yield was 20.2 lb., with an average fat. content of 4.02 per cent, which was an increase of 3.4 lb. ,ot milk per cow per day with an .average increase in fat content of .37 per cent, ■fc-