Pat Coleby

[sheepy]

Hi all I've been reading Pat Colebys guide to healthy sheep, she recommends that dairy sheep receive 2 grams of copper per head run through their feed per week and 2 teaspoons of dolomite per head per day, does this sound okay? She also says that coloured sheep need more copper, up to 6 times as much as white sheep.
Sheepy
PS Favourite ewe (Bertha) gave birth to Quads this morning, 3 boys and 1 girl, 2 black and white, one white and one brown and white. Bertha is a 1st x dorper and the father was pure East Friesian. I think that the biggest quad had his own placenta and the other 3 all shared one, there was 1 huge placenta and 1 smaller one at the birth site, there might have been another one but I didn't look too closely.

[eieiomom]

I am unfamiliar with that recommendation. I raise East Friesians and crosses in the states and many of them are colored. I would be hesitant to add addtional copper to their diet unless you have frequent problems with copper deficiency.
They may be more tolerant of copper than other breeds, but unless they show signs of deficiency you might end up with serious problems in your flock.
Some breeds do handle excess copper better than others, but I think a lot depends on your area and what copper is already being supplied through other means of nutrition.

Congrats on your quads, make sure they all get their share of colostrum !

[Ross]

Adding copper is one of those things you really need to consult a vet for, guessing could have disasterous results. I've heard of copper deficiency in a dairy flock not so far from here but that hardly confirms the advice.

[sheepy]

I don't think her recommendation is for deficient animals, it's a base point you give more if they are deficient. She is considered the natural animal care Mecca around here..........I might see if I can contact her. Bertha has rejected the smallest quad, he's now in my living room
Sheepy

[sheepish]

Trace minerals occur naturally in differing amounts in different areas. It is dangerous to apply blindly a blanket formula for any area. For example, we live near a town called Limehouse. It would be a waste of money and effort to apply dolomite to our feed as the calcium/magnesium levels are high. Other areas are naturally high in copper, adding it supplementally may push the levels over what is acceptable.

[Ross]

Well exactly, so a blanket statement that dairy flocks should have added copper is not only too general in value, but flies in the face of conventional thinking............... which might have been the author's intent? Your vet can asses your flock and really that's what he/she is there for. Reading these ideas anywhere is great, because you can look for things you might not and better understand what your vet may try and discuss with you. As long as you have a communicative vet!

[thatcompchick]

It would depend on a lot of things - forage only? adding grain? what does your water look like??

I would recommend having a water sample done - check for iron and sulfur. Then have your feeds analyzed - things like alfalfa have high levels of molybdenum which limits copper absorption. Doesn't matter how much is in the soil - it's what they are eating...

I'm working with an analyst who custom mixes minerals based on individual breed requirements - testing is only $32/feed type (I'm doing 3 since I have 2 distinct hays and then the pasture) I know we're already high in iron in the water - and it did affect the goats dramatically last year. With the black sheep, we need a higher copper input.

The testing I'm submitting through Dairy One, which I used before - they send you all the packages etc. www.dairyone.com

Then we're working with BK Sheep - on referral from Oogie MacGuire - the biggest west coast producer of BWM's. - His site is www.bksheep.com

Good luck! Basically, it's going to end up less for us to supplement because we are giving a bunch of stuff we don't need with the general mixes - and then there's the obvious lack of stuff we do need and the resulting health response. I'm looking at probably $75/every quarter for 'perfect' mix. We went through all this last year with the goats and a nutritionist - and it ended up more expensive because they wanted me to buy their product and it had a lot of stuff I didn't need in it - prepackaged stuff...not to mention all of the tubs and 99% of the blocks have animal byproducts in them, which I can't use with my certified naturally grown...

Hope that helps!

Andrea
www.arare-breed.net
www.gotgoaties.com