a host of nutrients are needed by cattle to support functions associated with life, and to grow, reproduce, and nourish their offspring (i.e., produce milk). a vast amount of resources have been expended to quantify the amounts of specific nutrients needed to perform these function so that economically efficient diets can be formulated. feeding diets that provide adequate, but not excessive, am...

Since 1994 till today a few up to date have been made on the NRC (1994) recommendations for trace mineral requirements of broilers. The high prevalence of skeletal disorders in modern broilers could be a consequence of the uncoordinated growth rate and mineral nutrition. The commercial companies of broiler production often use a huge safety margin of trace minerals in feed formulation, which wi...

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary inorganic and organic trace minerals in two levels of supplementation regarding performance, diarrhea occurrence, hematological parameters, fecal mineral excretion and mineral retention in metacarpals and liver of weanling pigs. Seventy piglets weaned at 21 days of age with an average initial body weight of 6.70 ± 0.38 kg were allotted in...

The new approaches of the animal production systems make managing the mineral nutrition a challenge. Versus the excessive, trace mineral supply in intensively managed livestock, well above the physiological requirements, is the no trace mineral supplementation of organic systems, which become highly dependent on trace minerals in the soil. Nowadays, in addition to the animal health perspective,...

The trace mineral nutrition of grazing cattle is complicated by several factors among which are the impacts of trace mineral antagonists in grazed forage and the reliance on predictable, uniform intake of free-choice mineral supplements. Numerous options are available to assist in the management of trace mineral nutrition of grazing cattle. In recent years, significant research efforts have bee...

Trace minerals exist in cells and tissues of the animal body in a variety of chemical combinations, and in characteristic concentrations, depending on the trace mineral consumed and the tissue in which the trace mineral is metabolized (McDowell, 1992; Underwood and Suttle, 1999). Concentrations of trace minerals must be maintained within narrow limits in a cell (McDowell, 1989, 1992; Underwood ...

The trace minerals zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium are components of a wide variety of enzymes and proteins that support metabolism, growth, production, and reproduction. Trace mineral supplements are added to dairy cattle rations to prevent mineral deficiencies, and supplementation has traditionally been provided in the form of inorganic salts. When these inorganic salts dissociate in th...

The nutrient quality of forage, particularly perennial warm-season grasses, is often lacking in trace mineral content to supply the requirements of most all classes of grazing cattle. Since forage is the most significant contributor to the trace mineral nutrition of grazing beef cattle, it is important to consider these deficits and how they may impact the performance of the cattle consuming th...

Dietary trace mineral sources and levels were fed to developing gilts to evaluate their performance responses during the growth phase, but treatments were continued into the reproductive phase in which subsequent reproductive responses were evaluated. In Exp. 1, three groups of gilts (n = 216) were used in a 2 x 2 factorial in a randomized complete block design (6 replicates) with treatment die...

INTRODUCTION Reproductive efficiency is a major factor that affects profitability in ruminants. The reproductive process consists of the male producing viable sperm, the female exhibiting estrus and conceiving, and proper embryonic and fetal development that results in the birth of a live offspring. A number of trace minerals are important in maximizing reproductive performance. Even marginal t...