If you’re looking to add more vitamins to your cow’s diet, consider supplementing it with vitamin E. While cows in their first lactation can get by with a medium dosage, older cows need higher levels to improve their reproductive health and reduce the risk of mastitis at calving. There are several sources of vitamin E supplements for cattle. This article will cover a few. Hopefully, it will help you decide if it’s the right option for your herd.
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500,000 to 1 million IU of vitamin A
Vitamin A is an important part of the diet of beef cattle. Cows can suffer deficiency of vitamin A and other vitamins if they are fed low-quality feeds. To find out if your cows are deficient in vitamin A, you should conduct a forage analysis. A veterinarian can also perform a liver biopsy to determine the vitamin status of your cows. The amount of vitamin A supplement that your cows require depends on the age, weight, and production stage.
Vitamin A supplementation can be given orally or through injection. The injection method is effective in increasing vitamin A stores in the liver. A single injection can give up to one million IU of vitamin A to a cow. A single injection is usually sufficient for a healthy cow, but in cases of severe vitamin A deficiency, it may be necessary to repeat the injection once a month.
1 million IU of vitamin E
Several different tocopherols have varying biological activities in cattle. Alpha-tocopherol is the principal form with the most biological value. Other tocopherols vary in potency from one third to a hundredth of the alpha form. However, common assays do not distinguish between these different forms. Alfalfa meal, green leafy forages, and whole grains are excellent sources of vitamin E.
Vitamin E supplementation has a variety of benefits for cattle. In some cases, it increases growth rate and improves animal health. However, supplementation should never replace proper vitamin and mineral supplementation in the diet.
1 million IU of biotin
Adding a vitamin E supplement to cattle feed is an important step in improving vitamin and mineral status. A well-formulated supplement will improve the animal’s overall vitamin and mineral status. However, if cattle are wintered, the supplement will not have an immediate effect during the 90-150-day spring grazing season. During this time, forages are rich in highly available nutrients and are unlikely to react to the supplement.
Vitamin E occurs naturally in feedstuffs, and small amounts are stored in the body. It is also found in the liver and adipose tissue. Vitamin E functions as a biological antioxidant and is important for muscle growth and development. Cattle need between seven to twenty-seven IU per pound of dry matter and 50 to 100 IU daily.
Prepartum injection of vitamin e in dairy cows
Prepartum injection of vitamin E in dairy cows has been found to be beneficial for lactating females. This supplement has been shown to reduce the incidence of retained fetal membranes, improve pregnancy rates, and reduce the interval between calving and conception. However, studies have shown contrasting results.
In one study, prepartum injection of vitamin E and selenium reduced the risk of placental retention. However, no significant changes were observed in clinical mastitis. However, the serum concentration of vitamin E and tocopherol was higher in treated animals than in control cattle at seven days post-injection. These results suggest that vitamin E and selenium pre-injection may be beneficial for lactating dairy cows.
Another study looked at the effects of prepartum vitamin E on lactating dairy cows. In this trial, cows were given Vit E in the jugular vein at birth and then evaluated for the presence of ROP and retained placenta after the treatment. In group D1, higher plasmatic levels of vitamin E were found compared with those in group A. The group D group was given vitamin E only once. The control group received no treatment with Vit E.
500,000 to 1 million IU of vitamin D
Cattle that are deficient in vitamin A, D, or E should be supplemented with vitamin A. Vitamin A can be given as an intramuscular injection into the muscle or rumen, or in a 50,000-IU dose administered as a feed additive. Injections of vitamin A do not seem to be toxic to beef cattle at high doses.
Vitamin D in feed can be animal or plant-sourced. Cattle can produce cholecalciferol through photosynthesis in their skin. The optimal wavelength of UVB light for this process is between 295 and 300 nm. After the skin has synthesized cholecalciferol, the vitamin is transported to the liver where it is hydroxylated to form 25-OHD or calcidiol.
