The determination of mineral requirements of sheep and cattle

N.D. Grace

Applied Biochemistry Division, DSIR, Palmerston North

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1984, 44: 139-142

In determining a mineral requirement an attempt is made to measure the minimum dietary intake of the mineral that is necessary to maintain health and the desired level of production.

Two approaches can be used to determine mineral requirements: (a) observation from practical feeding studies where the animal's response is related to the dietary level of the mineral under investigation (b) by calculation using data obtained from mineral balance studies where the losses in the urine, faeces and sweat, together with the amounts absorbed, are measured with other investigations to determine the mineral uptake by body tissues and foetus and the amounts secreted in the milk.

Keywords: NZSAPAB; Sheep; cattle; minerals; requirements

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Last Updated 03-05-1997