Trace element deficiencies were causing the Hanson family some serious health and production challenges on their suckler herd. Ten years on, Tracesure boluses have made a significant difference.
Jack Hanson farms alongside his parents, Owen and Julie, in the northwest of Herefordshire. Fields Place Farm is home to a mix of 80 suckler cows, 350 breeding ewes, cider apples and arable.
Tracesure boluses solve a selenium deficiency in breeding cows
“Hereford is renowned for being short in selenium and cobalt. These are two of the main ingredients in the Tracesure boluses along with iodine and copper”, says Jack. “We were finding that we had too many retained placentas after calving. Calves were just a little bit ill thrift – not just quite getting up and sucking quick enough. We were seeing orangey coats in the summer due to copper deficiency”.
“We started giving our cows Tracesure boluses about a month pre-calving. We feel that gives them enough time to take in those minerals and get the mineral levels in the blood right before calving. That covers us then up until a month after the bulls go in”.
“In the 10 years of using Tracesure, we’ve managed to get our calving period down from nearly 6 months down to 3 months. We are seeing calves getting up and sucking quicker. We hardly get a retained placenta anymore. So, things definitely making a big improvement”.
“We did have a spell a couple of years ago using a different brand of bolus when we couldn’t get hold of the Tracesure boluses. We didn’t really get on with it. We thought the calves didn’t have enough vigour when they were born. We then went back to double bolusing with Tracesure Cattle to get enough into the cows just over 600 kilos. It got a bit difficult as you’re bolusing them twice – the first time is not too difficult but the second time they really don’t want to do it. So, I’ve gone to the new Tracesure Cattle XL bolus and its easier as I’ve only got to do it once. It’s a win-win really”, says Jack.
Tracesure boluses solve a selenium deficiency in calves
“We were also getting a problem with a selenium deficiency in young calves at about two months old. That was causing white muscle disease, and we had to euthanise a few calves because of it. We use the Tracesure Calf 4 in 1 boluses, and they are definitely looking better in themselves. They have shinier coats and good vigour in them”, adds Jack.
A word from the farm’s supplementation specialist
Lauren Evans, ANIMAX territory manager for Jack’s area, has been offering Jack supplementation support over the last couple of years.
“During the last year or so of working with the Hanson family, it’s a real pleasure to see the cows continue to perform really well off Tracesure boluses. That’s what my job is all about”, says Lauren. “The Hanson’s keep some really cracking cattle, and because of their high performance potential, it’s really important that they are nurtured with sufficient levels of trace elements. Without these, digestion, immunity, reproduction, health and development evidently suffer. The Tracesure Cattle XL bolus has also helped bring their labour down, which is really important in today’s high pressure farming environment”, concludes Lauren.
