Vitamin B 12 responses to cobalt pellets in beef cows
Objective To assess the effectiveness of cobalt pellets in maintaining adequate vitamin B 12 in beef cows on pasture of low cobalt content. Design A field experiment in a herd grazing cobalt deficient pasture. Animals Mature Murray Grey cows. Procedure Cows were given a single oral dose of 0, 1, 2 o...
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Published in | Australian veterinary journal Vol. 75; no. 9; pp. 660 - 662 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
01.09.1997
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Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective
To assess the effectiveness of cobalt pellets in maintaining adequate vitamin B
12
in beef cows on pasture of low cobalt content.
Design
A field experiment in a herd grazing cobalt deficient pasture.
Animals
Mature Murray Grey cows.
Procedure
Cows were given a single oral dose of 0, 1, 2 or 4 cobalt pellets (30 g pellets containing 30% by weight cobaltic oxide) with a selenium pellet and a grub screw. Samples of blood, liver, faeces and milk for chemical analyses were collected at intervals over a period of 2 years after treatment.
Results
A single cobalt pellet raised liver vitamin B
12
concentration of cows above that of untreated cows for at least 28 weeks, and 2 or 4 pellets for 57 weeks. Plasma vitamin B
12
concentration was an unreliable indicator of the effectiveness of cobalt pellet therapy. Milk vitamin B
12
and faecal cobalt concentrations increased in response to cobalt pellet therapy.
Conclusion
These studies show that one cobalt pellet will prevent vitamin B
12
inadequacy in beef cows for between 28 and 57 weeks; two or four pellets will prevent inadequacy for 57 to 75 weeks. Milk vitamin B
12
concentration may be a useful indicator of the effectiveness of cobalt pellets in increasing the vitamin B
12
supply in lactating cows. |
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ISSN: | 0005-0423 1751-0813 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1997.tb15365.x |