Animal feed and livestock minerals

Bone weakness in cattle has many possible causes, including an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D shortage, other mineral imbalances or disease. It needs a veterinarian to diagnose before any supplement is chosen, and a feed analysis to see what the ration already supplies.

Calcium and phosphorus sources used in feed include Di Calcium Phosphate. Feed use requires a grade confirmed in writing for that use. Send your nutritionist’s specification with the enquiry.

If a regular supplement is not improving bone strength, the ration may be out of balance in another mineral, the supplement may not be the form the animals absorb well, or the cause may not be nutritional. A feed analysis and a veterinary check will show which.

The ratio between calcium and phosphorus often matters as much as the amount of each. An animal nutritionist can balance the ration against your feed analysis. See Di Calcium Phosphate.

A single ingredient that supplies both calcium and phosphorus can replace two separate purchases. Compare the delivered cost per kilogram of calcium and of phosphorus, and have your nutritionist confirm it keeps the ration balanced before switching.

Taskon publishes Di Calcium Phosphate at 18% Ca and 20% P. Feed use requires a grade confirmed in writing for that use; send the specification your nutritionist requires.

Thin eggshells are commonly linked to calcium supply, the age of the flock, heat stress, vitamin D, or disease. A poultry veterinarian or nutritionist should check the flock and the feed analysis before the ration is changed.

Calcium intake, and how it is supplied during the day, affects shell quality, but heat and disease can cause the same result. Treat nutrition as one line of inquiry. Send your nutritionist’s specification if you need a mineral source quoted.

Poor weight gain in poultry is more often caused by energy and protein levels, feed intake, water, housing conditions or disease than by one missing mineral. A poultry nutritionist should review the feed formula and a veterinarian should check flock health.

Trace minerals are part of a balanced ration, but a shortfall in energy, protein or intake is the more common cause. Taskon supplies mineral inputs against a nutritionist’s specification, with feed grade confirmed in writing.

Taskon Industries manufactures individual mineral salts, such as zinc, copper, manganese, iron and cobalt sulphates, rather than finished premixes. Premix makers buy these as inputs. Feed use requires a grade confirmed in writing, and export feed ingredients must meet the destination market’s rules.

See Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate, Copper Sulphate Pentahydrate, Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate, Ferrous Sulphate Monohydrate and Cobalt Sulphate. For export, see the export overview.

Mineral blocks that soften and crumble have usually absorbed moisture, because several ingredients in them draw water from humid air. Storing them covered, dry and off the ground usually helps. The block’s formula and binder are a question for its manufacturer.

Taskon supplies mineral ingredients, not finished blocks. The storage section of each ingredient’s Material Safety Data Sheet gives the conditions to keep it in.

Pellet durability depends mainly on the pelleting process: conditioning, moisture, die, cooling and the formula’s binding properties. It is a feed mill process question for a pelleting specialist rather than a mineral ingredient question.

Taskon supplies mineral ingredients and does not advise on pelleting. Send the mineral specification your formula requires and we will quote against it.

Animals refusing water can be reacting to high salt or mineral content, odour, taste, contamination or temperature. Have the water tested by a laboratory, provide another clean water source meanwhile, and involve a veterinarian, because low water intake quickly affects health and production.

This is a water quality and animal health matter. Taskon does not advise on treating drinking water for animals. A water testing laboratory and a veterinarian should decide the next step.

Heavy losses in an aquaculture pond are an emergency for a qualified aquaculture specialist or fisheries officer. Green water with deaths can point to an algal bloom and low oxygen at night, but disease and water chemistry must be tested on site. Increase aeration and get expert help now.

Taskon Industries does not advise on pond treatment, and chemicals should never be added to a pond without a specialist’s diagnosis, because the wrong one can make losses worse. Contact your local fisheries department or an aquaculture health specialist.