For millions of years, ruminants have successfully roamed their environment, seeking out and eating plants and minerals. Does that mean their grazing and browsing descendants have the nutritional wisdom to find exactly what they need, when their bodies need it? Well, the answer is both yes…and no. Let’s learn more together about what drives livestock to eat what they eat, and how we can help our animals not just survive, but thrive.
Nutritional wisdom or intelligence is the ability to sense a nutritional need within the body and know how and where to find input to fill that need. The theory suggests that animals instinctively select foods based on their biological and chemical composition. According to Beth Burritt (Utah State University Cooperative Ag Extension), this “genetically programmed instinct” is actually based on body feedback they get after eating something. The more immediate the feedback, the more instinctual the food choice appears. For instance salt, as an essential electrolyte, is one substance that animals appear to instinctively crave:
“When an animal eats salt, it dissolves into sodium and chloride ions, and is immediately absorbed into the bloodstream. Feedback from sodium is almost instantaneous, so fast that it may appear the animal instinctively recognizes sodium.” (Beth Burritt, USU)
This is why salt is such an effective carrier for other minerals. A lot of essential trace minerals take longer to enter the bloodstream than salts, resulting in weaker and less intuitive cravings.
Many factors influence food selection and feeding behavior in your cattle, goats and sheep…and remember the more immediate the feedback, the stronger the drive.
Understanding the combination of these preferences in your cattle, goats, and sheep can provide a little insight as you make mineral program decisions for your animals. Over the years, many different mineral practices and schools of thought have emerged:
No matter what program you choose for your ruminants, it is important to understand that no mineral is an island; no mineral acts alone. There is a complicated web of interactivity between everything your animals eat; some of these mineral interactions amplify while others can restrict the function of their fellow minerals.
The term mineral antagonist describes minerals that can bind up others and make them biologically unavailable if their levels are too high. For example, did you know that too much molybdenum, sulfur, or iron can actually cause a copper deficiency even if your animals eat the right amount of copper? The solution to a copper deficiency is not always “add more copper,” the solution is to balance copper, molybdenum, sulfur, and iron intake. Calcium and Phosphorus are other minerals that have to be carefully balanced to prevent hypocalcemia (milk fever) in females and urinary problems in males.
Learn more about mineral interactions and antagonists for each ruminant class below:
Animals do have a natural drive to find and consume what they want or need, but it can be expensive and risky to put them 100% behind the wheel. There are a lot of complicated mineral interactions at play in their bodies, it is best to not completely trust them to find single nutrients they may be missing. According to the University of Florida (UFL) extension:
“Cows will seek salt, but that does not translate to an understanding of mineral requirements. In that scenario cows will select minerals based on palatability, not necessity; so, whichever mineral disappears is the one that had more salt and tasted best.”
Remember that animals don't eat to prevent deficiencies, only correct. The Kinder Goat Breeders Association has found that:
“Dr. Fred Provenza and Dr. Richard Holliday are among the most avid champions [of]...individual mineral feeding and nutritional wisdom. Even their observations and studies on the topic illustrated that the animals did not seek out certain minerals until they were deficient, sometimes severely deficient, or imbalanced.”
Left to their own devices, by the time your animals find what they need, serious health and production problems may already appear. The safest, and most cost effective practices, offer balanced mineral mixes that animals can easily access everyday. Depending on the size and behavior of your herd or flock, these mixes can be offered free choice/free access all day, or measured out to make sure everyone gets their fair share.
Pica is an eating disorder that causes animals to chew on or lick non-food substances, such as: rocks, dirt, wood, plaster, feces, and even bones. Pica is frequently seen as an animal's desperate attempt to correct a mineral deficiency. However, pica can be caused by more than just mineral problems, it can also be related to lack of fiber, negative energy balance, or protein deficiency as well. If you see pica behaviors in your animals, it is best to consult with a nutritionist or vet as you make adjustments to your feed, grazing, and mineral program.
It can be really tempting to offer mixes with a lower salt to mineral ratio, hoping that will prevent deficiencies. Most minerals, by themselves, do not taste or smell appetizing. UFL has found that:
“putting more of a mineral in a supplement just to increase the concentration in the supplement does not always equate to a superior product. Greater inclusion rates without appropriate balancing of other minerals can lead to interactions and antagonisms that undermine the effectiveness of the mineral supplement.”
Balanced trace mineral mixes with a higher salt to mineral ratio encourage intake while still protecting the delicate balance that prevents deficiencies, and with a lot less excreted waste.
There are a wide variety of reasons your animals’ mineral intake will fluctuate, and not all of them are connected to nutritional wisdom. Mineral intake can change due to:
Redmond knows that when your animals feel good, you feel good. We believe that livestock animals do have an innate drive to find what they need to survive, however after generations of managed care they benefit from being steered in the right direction. Redmond's mineral program uses their instinctual drive for delicious electrolytes to guide them towards naturally balanced minerals. In fact, our ancient sea minerals mirror the profile found in healthy animal blood, both in type and concentration, which is why they are so efficient at preventing deficiencies. When given the choice between Redmond and other mineral mixes, animals choose Redmond every time. Our unique blend of 4 essential electrolytes and over 60 trace minerals, captures your animals’ search for taste and palatability, and gives you the peace of mind that they are getting what they need, when they need it.
With mixes balanced to match the needs and mineral interactions of each livestock species, Redmond has something to offer every ruminant herd, large or small. Check out what Redmond can do for:
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