[Jacob-list] Copper

[Linda]

Just a few notes -

Two of my fleeces showed signs of copper deficiency this year.  I feed a whole grain mixture and had NOT fed mineral salt for a few months.  I have fed sheep mineral salt for the 10 years that I have had sheep except for those months.  This is the first sign of deficiency I've seen.  I will not make that mistake again.

Some chemical fertilizers (I read labels at my local feed stores while waiting for my feed to be loaded) have copper added and some don't.  That makes a difference in your forage, your hay and your grain.

Some sheep mineral/salt mixtures say "no added copper."  That does not mean they are copper free. Many of the mixes that say no copper added don't give you a ppm. As Fred says, you will find copper in grain, forage, etc.  Many of the mineral mixes have ingredients like "grain byproducts".  Some of these mixes will give you a ppm on copper, but will not show copper sulfate as an added ingredient.  That ppm will sometimes be very high.  Remember that the 5 to 8 ppm is on the TOTAL feed intake.  Unless you are feeding nothing but the mineral mix (in which case you won't have to worry long about copper intake as you will have plenty of other problems!) that is not the ppm of your ration.  I don't mean to be simplistic here, but I recently heard of someone that was so afraid of copper toxicity that they didn't feed any salt at all - not even the plain old white kind.  

If I fed a prepackaged sheep ration, I would not feed a mineral mix.  

Kathey - both my feed stores carry a mineral mix that is just for sheep (not sheep and goats).  If you want me to get you a bag, let me know.

Linda

PS - we have a new baby!!  Ok, it's a donkey foal and not a Jacob lamb, but she is so cute, we are bragging everywhere.




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