How do you feed mineral?

[Bossroo]

Well after reading that I am glad I just grass and hay feed mine and the lambs are ready for slaughter at 7 to 8 months old. The only thing they get is a shot of selenium at birth - thats it - no creep feed and no grain of any kind - feedlot lamb yuc

corn fed lamb is the best

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As anyone well knows... marbling of fat between muscle fibers in all animals is what imparts flavor and juiciness to the meat. Grain is used to increase the marbling of fat in animals before butchering ... = MORE FLAVOR AND JUICINESS ! In addition... when animals being sold in the marketplace, they are graded as to amount and quality of finish/ marbling. The higher the grade the more $$$ the animal carcass brings.

 

[kfacres]

corn fed lamb is the best

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As anyone well knows... marbling of fat between muscle fibers in all animals is what imparts flavor and juiciness to the meat. Grain is used to increase the marbling of fat in animals before butchering ... = MORE FLAVOR AND JUICINESS ! In addition... when animals being sold in the marketplace, they are graded as to amount and quality of finish/ marbling. The higher the grade the more $$$ the animal carcass brings.

what they said

but afraid we are preaching to the deaf on this board most of the time in terms of promoting grain fed.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, because I do feed grain sometimes, BUT, I will say the best beef I ever ate was from a grass fed and finished steer. He was a Hereford/Holstein cross, and the meat was SO tender and flavorful. We didnt' even need knives, just a fork to cut the meat! It was delicious.

Besides, taste is a personal thing, so you can bring up the point that marbling makes all the difference, but there are those of us out there that prefer grassfed and finished meats because we like it better.

And let's not forget, those who have a niche market for grass finished animals get WAY more money than anyone who sells meat at a sale.

 

[kfacres]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, because I do feed grain sometimes, BUT, I will say the best beef I ever ate was from a grass fed and finished steer. He was a Hereford/Holstein cross, and the meat was SO tender and flavorful. We didnt' even need knives, just a fork to cut the meat! It was delicious.

Besides, taste is a personal thing, so you can bring up the point that marbling makes all the difference, but there are those of us out there that prefer grassfed and finished meats because we like it better.

And let's not forget, those who have a niche market for grass finished animals get WAY more money than anyone who sells meat at a sale.

I'd argue that the breeding stock sales fetch more than double or triple those of what grassfed person sells for-- and they're all grainfed./

I sell my butcher lambs to the sale barn for $100 bucks each- someone else sells their organic, grassfed ones for $150 each- but yet I sell the other 75% of my lamb crop for an average of $500. Who makes more?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, because I do feed grain sometimes, BUT, I will say the best beef I ever ate was from a grass fed and finished steer. He was a Hereford/Holstein cross, and the meat was SO tender and flavorful. We didnt' even need knives, just a fork to cut the meat! It was delicious.

Besides, taste is a personal thing, so you can bring up the point that marbling makes all the difference, but there are those of us out there that prefer grassfed and finished meats because we like it better.

And let's not forget, those who have a niche market for grass finished animals get WAY more money than anyone who sells meat at a sale.

I'd argue that the breeding stock sales fetch more than double or triple those of what grassfed person sells for-- and they're all grainfed./

I sell my butcher lambs to the sale barn for $100 bucks each- someone else sells their organic, grassfed ones for $150 each- but yet I sell the other 75% of my lamb crop for an average of $500. Who makes more?

Don't change the subject. We were talking about grainfed vs. grassfed market animals, not breeding stock. I don't give a rat's patoot what you get for breeding stock animals. Any yahoo with half a brain knows that breeding stock animals go for more money than any terminal animal. Besides, someone who is raising grass finished meat wouldn't give a dollar for breeding stock animals who have to be slugged grain in order to finish. There are animals with grassfed genetics that go for a LOT of money.

And I've yet to meet anyone who would sell a grass finished organic lamb for the measly price of $150.

 

[bluebirdsnfur]

Like myself, a lot of folks on here have sheep for pets, lawn mowing, and for wool with no intention of breeding. I am here to learn what is the best way to care for my 'pet' sheep. =-)

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

Don't change the subject.

Pretty sure we were talking about minerals on this thread anyways. I didnt reply when it turned into corn fed vs. grain fed vs. grassfed.

Going back a few days and a few posts.. The manna pro I use has salt in it. Didn't realize they made minerals without salt.

 

[kfacres]

Don't change the subject.

Pretty sure we were talking about minerals on this thread anyways. I didnt reply when it turned into corn fed vs. grain fed vs. grassfed.

Going back a few days and a few posts.. The manna pro I use has salt in it. Didn't realize they made minerals without salt.

yes, you can buy a straight P mineral, as well as straight Ca if you need it. It's recommended to feed a 2:1 Ca ratio in rations, and if feeding by, or co-product feeds-- most often you'll have to add extra Ca to get that 2:1.

most often, mineral mixes come in a somewhat calculated, formulated mixture, but as Pipestone says-- it's mostly flavoring agents and filler, so they sell more mineral.

In almost every mineral mix- salt is the main ingredient, b/c they use it as a consumption limiting factor-- the more salt you put in, the less that animal consumes. Most often, it's tried to calculate what the animals needs per day- along with salt to get a good ratio.

Back when I fed mineral around here, I offered multiple ports for mineral-- each mineral got it's own bunk-- so the sheep could choose what they needed.

However, since switching to the Pipestone protocol, I have not only experienced a healthier bunch of sheep, but a much smaller mineral bill. There was a time, we were consuming over a pound of mineral per head, per day-- across 50 ewes weighing around 200 pounds each. After reading the bag, most minerals call for an intake of 2 or 3 ounces.

 

[Royd Wood]

Don't change the subject.

Pretty sure we were talking about minerals on this thread anyways. I didnt reply when it turned into corn fed vs. grain fed vs. grassfed.

Yes I was talking about minerals when I stated I dont use any - just good old grass and hay is all I said after reading the pipevet post and I aint going to appologise for the corn / grain fed comments by others

 

[NachoFarm]

Lol, I always love it when a debate breaks out on a post. I learn lots!
So just to bring it back around though, did anyone look at the info I posted about the mineral we purchased? I'm just curious about its quality and since it doesn't contain salt (or filler from what I can tell) does it have anything in it that I should research more, or be concerned about? We are also offering salt separately.