Supplementing dairy cows with calcium
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Supplementing with CALCIMATE™ is a very practical and effective way to get calcium into cows, although other types of calcium supplements are available (see table below).
Calcium supplements used in the New Zealand dairy industry
| Calcium supplement |
Approximate elemental calcium (%) |
| CALCIMATE™ |
38.4 |
| Calcium chloride.2H2O (dihydrate) |
27.5 |
| Dicalcium phosphate.2H2O (dihydrate) |
22.0 |
| Calcium sulphate |
23.3 |
CALCIMATE™ for dairy cows: How much is too much?
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Feeding very high rates of CALCIMATE™ unnecessarily for long periods of time won't cause a specific toxic problem for cows. Dietary concentrations of more than 1% calcium on a dry matter basis have been linked to reduced feed intakes and lower animal performance (NRC, 2001) but diets containing as much as 1.8 % calcium on a dry matter basis have been fed to non-lactating dairy cows with no apparent problems (NRC, 2001). This works out as the equivalent to supplementing a cow with 600g of CALCIMATE™ / cow / day if she was eating 18 kgDM pasture / day that contained 0.5% calcium. These supplementation rates are well in excess of standard recommended rates for NZ cows.
Feeding unnecessarily high rates of CALCIMATE™ may interfere with trace mineral absorption (especially zinc). Analyse calcium levels in your feeds and use the CALCIMATE™ Calculator to make sure that you've got your CALCIMATE™ supplementation plan correct.
CALCIMATE™- CALCIUM & THE DAIRY COW with SUE MACKY
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Written in conjunction with internationally recognised Dairy consultant Sue Macky of Dairy Systems, this booklet provides excellent information regarding the importance of calcium in your dairy cow's diet.
Click here to download the booklet
CALCIUM AT CALVING
An abbreviated flyer on the importance of Calcium in your cow's diet.
Click here to download the flyer