MINERALS DEFICIENCY IN CALF Introduction: Mineral constitute 5% of total body weight

MAJOR MINERALS:
CALCIUM:
Required for healthy bones and teeth, muscle contraction, nerve impulse stimulation , blood clotting, enzyme activation, ion transport in cell membranes, cardiac rhythm, and hormone secretion. Approximately 99% of the body's calcium present in bones and teeth. Rickets(young animals). Osteoporosis (older animals). Milk fever or lambing sickness is a disease associated with a deficiency of calcium. Vitamin D is critical because a deficiency of vitamin D in the feed prevents the proper utilization of calcium. Excess calcium reduces the absorption and utilization of Zinc. Excess magnesium decreases calcium absorption, replaces calcium in the bones, and increases calcium excretion.

POTTASIUM:

Maintains the right concentration of salts in the body fluids, and the acid balance of the body. Involved in nerve signals

Excess potassium is normally excreted from the body (usually in the urine). High intakes of potassium may inhibit magnesium absorption and cause magnesium deficiency.

MAGNESIUM:
Grass tetany is most common in lactating cows grazing lush spring pastures. The reduction in standing forage magnesium concentration can be substantial during the winter months. While phosphorus magnesium may be in adequate amounts in the soil, plant uptake is slow due to the cool, wet conditions .Cows depend on a frequent supply of magnesium from the feed since mobilization of magnesium from the bone is not very efficient. Grass tetany can occur more frequently older cows during early lactation than younger cows in the same pasture.

IRON:
Component of haemoglobin (transports oxygen round the body) Major role in energy metabolismThe most widely recognized symptom is anaemia
(observed as pale pink membranes round the eyeIron toxicity is not common, as the animal usually reduces it absorption of iron when it is overloaded, and increases its absorption during times of iron need.

SELENIUM:

Prevent oxidation damage to the cells of the body Involved in the functioning of the immune system Protection against heavy metal toxicity

These deficiencies will probably only occur if the soil is deficient in selenium and livestock are only fed pasture grown on those soils. Extreme care should be taken if supplementing the diet with selenium, because it is extremely toxic and the margin between required dose and toxic amount is small.

ZINC:
Component of several enzymes Involved in cell replication Production, storage and secretion of hormones Involvement in the immune system Involved in maintain Component of several enzymes
DEFICIENCY SYMPTOM: inflammation of the nose and mouth, stiffness of the joints, swollen feet, parakeratosis

MANGANESE:
Manganese is involved in many reactions occurring in the body. Deficiency can cause Retarded growth Skeletal abnormalities Reproductive failure Loss of co-ordination in the newborn

COBALT:
Cobalt is a compThe rumen micro-organisms make enough of this vitamin to meet the there is a sufficient supply of cobalt. This is usually the case, as most feeds contain some cobalt requirements foronent of Vitamin B 12 (cobalamin) Excessive cobalt can be toxic, but there is a wide margin of safety between the nutritional requirement and the toxic amount.

IODINE:
Iodine is found in small amounts throughout the body but its only known function is as a component of thyroxine. This is a hormone that is responsible for increasing the animals growth and metabolic rate.

Goitre (swelling of the neck). Breeding animals give birth to hairless, weak or dead young.
Some of these goitrogens inhibit the incorporation of iodine into thyroxine, and the symptoms cannot be alleviated by supplementing the diet with more iodine. Iodine toxicity can occur even at relatively low concentrations of iodine in the diet (50 mg/kg or less for calves)

By R.GANESH BSA-10-018