[Jacob-list] sheep minerals

[Linda]

I don't use the Goat and Sheep Mineral anymore as our supplier went to Sheep 
Minerals and Goat Minerals in separate bags which I much prefer.  But when I 
did get the Goat and Sheep it had a listing for ppm on copper, but the 
ingredients did not list any copper compound.  It did include grain byproducts, 
cottonseed meal, etc.  In fact the Sheep Minerals, which say "Copper - NONE 
ADDED" list pretty much identical ingredients.  I tend to believe that there is 
indeed some copper in my "none added" bag.  "None added" does not mean the same 
as being copper free.  
 
Merck lists the copper requirement for sheep at ~5ppm of the dry diet 
(referring to the total diet).  And goes on to says that this can be met by 
providing feed with this level or .5% copper sulfate in a trace mineralized 
salt.  I think that .5% is abit more than 50ppm.  It does go on to say that 
twice that level can cause toxicity in sheep.
 
I agree with Kate - there are lots of things to look at when figuring copper.  
Not too many people even think about the copper content in hay or look at the 
copper content in fertilizer.
 
Linda
 
Visit our flock of Jacob Sheep www.patchworkfibers.comwww.patchworkfibers.com


On Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:01:05 -0400, Kathryn Shirley wrote:
> Don't forget that different types of hay have different "uptakes" of 
copper.  Coastal tends
>not to uptake copper, alfalfa does.  Fescue and orchard grass also uptake 
copper, but
>generally small amounts.
>
>To make things more interesting, grains also uptake copper in varying degrees.
>
>I'd never feed a mineral mix that had added copper to sheep and goats--no 
matter who it was
>labeled for.  The levels of copper in this mix is what is recommended for cows 
and horses!
>
>If you are feeding pastures and/or coastal hay, then the mineral is probably 
safe, provided
>that they eat reasonable amounts of it.
>
>Kate Shirley
>Humbug Farm
>
>Linda wrote:  Hi Sharon, I'd be curious to hear the answer to this also.  I 
bought some
>minerals (probably the same brand) that had that listing.  The 5ppm harmful 
level of copper
>for sheep is, I believe, figured on the entire ration.  So the mineral mix 
would be harmful
>if that was all you were feeding.  When you figure in the grass, hay or grain 
you are feeding
>in addition to the minerals, the ppm calculates to a safe level.  (It's quite 
a different
>story if you are feeding Goat Chow with a level of 18 to 20 ppm of 
copper.)That's my thought,
>anyway. Linda
>Visit our flock of Jacob Sheepwww.patchworkfibers.com
>
>On Thu, 16 Aug 2001 22:07:56 EDT, SharHill at aol.com wrote:
>>Hi all,
>>
>>I bought some minerals labeled for goats and sheep.  I looked at the
>>ingredients when I got home and saw that it contains between 45 and 50 ppm of
>>copper.  I  know  that copper is toxic to sheep, but I don't know if small
>>amounts can be a problem. Does anyone know if I should worry about that
>>amount?  I don't see how they could label it for sheep if it is, but I
>>figured it would be better to be safe than sorry and ask for advice.
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>Sharon
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Jacob-list mailing list
>>Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
>>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-listhttp://www.pairlist.net/mai
lman/listinfo/jacob-list
>>
>>
> 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20010817/08ec15ff/attachment.html