| Show EFFICIENT f FEEDING el E MING AND Aw LIVESTOCK BA management al 1 by dr gustav emeritus 1 professor of animal husbandry university ol of wisconsin salt vital in milk production some months ago I 1 the striking sinking behavior of cows cow that had been deprived of salt in the lie pioneer salt requirement test teat by vr dr 8 M babcock soon after the turn of the century fiven though the tent cows cowa were more or less lens average producers they reacted drastically to a salt halt deficiency in their rations now near ly fifty fity years later drears 8 E smith and asso associates clates at cornell uni hersity have conducted a similar salt bait withholding test lest but with distinctly above aver bohstedt dr Bob age awe cows we might expect these cows cowa capable bl of producing rod 1 pounds of mix milk an annually to show even more severe symptoms of salt alt deficiency than the average a tested by doctor babcock Da Ba boock let us ua read what the expert menters themselves thema elvea have to say bay these theae cows cowa fed no su bup elemental plem salt sickly quickly showed a craving for alt t within two weeks they made marked of ef forts to get salt when teamed with block salt alt I 1 hey pro greased to the point of de proved appetites in winch which urine feces dirt and other ab normal objects were licked or consumed conr umed apparently in an at tt t ampt to get needed salt halt about the eighth serious lymp toms developed at this ling time algan to fail along with a precila precipitous tous deline in ody dy wight as well na as milk ii itla blui It lt ii cow 00 90 1 I x carne came so deficient that she was unable to stand had a body temperature of 1 96 F marked abnormality of heart beat and a complete ap all petite petit failure for both food feed and water the attending gave the opinion th that t death was war probable in a few hours A quarter pound of salt was presented to the fw cow and she consumed this avi lly at almut about 4 rpm p ra at 6 5 a in she was u up looked bright consumed feed 4 and water and aa went on to an uncomplicated recovery tills this surely is abundant proof that salt is in doubly ne cHary for animals that are bred for and capable of high perform once ance such animals sho should u id have one pet per cent salt in their grain ration along with free choice salt it available at all times questions question are cattle on spring pring pasture more apt to suf for from grass staggers than later on and can anything lie be done to prevent it or cuts cure it ansbert gross grass staggers also called grass and wheat poisoning depending dc ending on the nature of the pasture occurs in many parts of the country or of the world for that matter it suggests an imbalance of minerals in much of the lush green pasture especially c in reference to an excess of calcium which causes avail able magno magnesium to be less lesa well assimilated A drench of mag cesium sulfate epsom sulla suits is usually a successful treat ment it should be noted that rows cows on such pasture crave more salt than they do later on it is wm wise to humor them in this deppt and to tw be sure they have free access to salt at all times |
