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VaFarmgirl

18 Posts
Posted - May 25 2015 :  5:50:09 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
We have been feeding our girls wheat hay ( not straw, but wheat cut while green then baled). The vet said it would be low in magnesium and we should offer a high mag block. I also heard that supplementing Epsom salts would do the trick. Do you have any experience with feeding epsom salts and if so, do you know how much I should give? I don't want it to have a laxative effect

CloversMum

3486 Posts
Posted - May 27 2015 :  4:31:07 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
You may want to contact Michael Wicks at WicksLivestock.com. He might be able to offer some advice regarding magnesium and Epsom salts. Have you had a mineral panel done on your cows? Then you'd know for sure what your cows might need as far as supplements. I'd hate to be feeding extra supplements (and paying for them!) if they really didn't need them. Just some thoughts... we'll see the advice from the more experienced have to say!
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens
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Ron

4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever SD
USA
Posted - May 27 2015 :  5:26:12 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Good old fashioned Redmond mineral block should do the trick
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.
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CloversMum

3486 Posts
Posted - May 27 2015 :  9:44:44 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
And there you have it! The experienced have spoken. :-) Thanks Ron! I always have Redmond mineral rock out for my cows...they lick it down to nothing.
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens
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VaFarmgirl

18 Posts
Posted - May 28 2015 :  05:35:29 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Thanks guys! Expert advice as always!
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maryjane

7074 Posts
Posted - May 28 2015 :  05:39:58 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Every locale seems to have one or two minerals that the soil is low in. Yours must be magnesium. We're low in selenium. If you're doing a mineral mix, perhaps you can add a titch of magnesium to customize it for your locale. But I wouldn't give just magnesium. I think it's good to give minerals in a balanced supplement so you don't cause the next problem. Minerals have a tendency to bind up other minerals when they aren't fed in a balanced approach.
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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VaFarmgirl

18 Posts
Posted - May 30 2015 :  04:20:45 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Thank you MaryJane!
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