FREE CHOICE SUPPLEMENTS by Mike Mehren Ph.D.

The term ‘free choice’ means that a product is available to cattle all of the time. Hopefully this also means that it is put out for the cattle to eat all of the time. Keeping it stacked in the barn doesn’t do the cattle much good. Neither does putting it out where cattle don’t travel, bed down, or water.

Like any other kind of feeding, there is an art to it. The first part starts at the feed manufacturer. The manufacturer makes a product that he or she believes will be palatable to the cattle. Listed below are some of the variations that manufacturers use:

Some minerals are designed to provide trace minerals alone. Salt is the carrier. These minerals are used when forage quality is high and feed is green. No vitamins are added because the feed manufacturer believes that the feed will provide all the Vitamin A and Vitamin E that the cattle will need. They also believe that salt will attract the cattle to the product. These minerals are in block or loose form. The only difference would be in the binder needed to keep the block in a solid form.

In some instances cattle are grazing or being fed a ration where salt isn’t eaten. This might occur when grazing alkali ground, and can happen when being fed alfalfa hay. The reason cattle won’t eat salt at times is not clear.

1. In this instance the feed manufacturer may make a mix that contains a carrier plus . trace minerals. The carrier may be sodium bentonite or other natural mineral that
apparently doesn’t taste or smell like salt to the cattle.

Another group of free choice minerals are those that are most typically used when cattle are grazing dry mature forage, or are being fed quite a bit of straw. These are also fed prior to calving, during breeding, and during an A.I. or E.T. program. They would contain added calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sometimes potassium. They also have a trace mineral selection as well as Vitamins A, D, and E. The amount of salt in these products ranges from none to 40 or 50%. Most that are made specifically for the Northwest have added selenium, and no added iron. Those that are marketed nationally may have no selenium and iron has been added. Potassium is not needed in a large part of Oregon and Washington, but is quite important in the Southeastern desert country of Oregon. Forages grown there are quite low in potassium, while forages grown in the other parts of the Northwest may have excessive potassium. The extra potassium may lead to grass tetany when it is combined with low calcium and low magnesium forages such as grass hay or straw.

Another group of free choice supplements provide protein. These supplements come in forms such as liquid, block, tub, granular, and cube. They use characteristics such as taste and hardness to control intake. Some use ingredients such as salt and phosphoric acid to limit intake. Location and amount provided at any one time are also used to control intake. A good protein supplement should also provide calcium and phosphorus, trace minerals and vitamins A,D, and E. Some products that are on the market recommend that additional vitamins and mineral should be fed along with the protein
supplement. I don’t like this tactic, since we know not all the cattle will eat the desired amount of supplement in the first place. If we give them a choice of supplements, some will eat none of one supplement and lots of another. This defeats the purpose of providing a supplement that will benefit most of the cattle. Protein supplement intake is also affected by the amount and kind of forage available. One fall we put out a liquid supplement about the same time we got excellent fall rain. The forage turned green and the cattle wouldn’t even look at the supplement. However as fall moved on, the forage turned brown and the cattle started eating the supplement at a normal rate. If forage is in short supply, some groups of cattle will attack the supplement and eat way more than desired. During severe winter weather, cattle will try to use liquid supplement as a source of water. This can have deadly consequences.

What intake is normal? This seems to be a source of confusion, even though the manufacturer lists the normal range of intake on the label. This is listed in a section called FEEDING DIRECTIONS. Terms such as 2 oz to 4 oz daily and 1 to 2 lb daily describe what the feed manufacturer recommends. The table below shows how long a 50 lb bag of mineral will last cattle for 1 head to 100 head when 2 oz is consumed. Four ounce intake would be ½ that number of days.

NUMBER OF HEAD	50 LB BAG OF MINERAL	NUMBER OF DAYS
1	2 OZ	400
10	2 OZ	40
100	2 OZ	4

This table shows the same kind of data for protein supplements. NOTE: To provide enough supplement for low quality forage before calving, cattle should receive about ½ lb of actual protein. This means that a product having 20% protein needs to be consumed at the rate of 2.5 lb/day for 1 animal. This important concept is often overlooked.

# OF HEAD	% PROTEIN	PACKAGE SIZE	AMT NEEDED FOR 0.5 LB	# OF DAYS
1	20	50 LB	2.5	20
10	20	50 LB	2.5	2
100		5-50 LB (250 LB)	2.5	1

1	30	50 GAL (500 LB)*	1.7	294
100	30	50 GAL	1.7	3

1	24	200 LB TUB	2.1	95
100	24	200 LB	2.1	1

* if this was 500 lb of dry supplement, the numbers would be the same.

Some pointers from these tables:

Feeding a free choice energy supplement such as wheat, barley, or corn is really difficult, because cattle don’t eat a supplement at the same time or same amount daily when
they are on range or pasture. That can lead to serious bloat or other digestive problems if cattle really tank up. Feeds such as beet pulp, soyhulls, and wheat midds have been used successfully. Most of the energy from these feeds comes from digestible fiber sources rather than starch. The chance for digestive disorders is decreased.

Free Choice doesn’t mean set it and forget it. It takes monitoring like any other feed supplement. In some cases, it is the only way to get a supplement to cattle. Pay attention to details. Is the supplement in the right location? How much are the cattle eating? Finally, make an attempt to use the right product at the right time for the cattle and the feed that they’re eating.

Michael J. Mehren, Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist who will certify that a free choice diet of chocolate does not lead to 6 pack abs. He can be contacted by Email at mehrens@eotnet.net.