Best way to feed magnesium oxide

Producer Question from 2012

Q:  What is the best way to feed magnesium oxide? What should you mix it with? (July 3, 2012)

A:  Magnesium oxide, which is fed to cattle to manage against grass tetany, is not very palatable. Commercial grass tetany mineral supplements will contain a product that will encourage cattle to eat it.

Feed the mineral according to label direction and begin feeding it about 35 to 40 days before cattle are turned out to pasture.

If the cattle do not want to eat the mineral, visit with the feed dealer to determine what can be done to encourage intake. Sometime they will have you add a small amount of soybean meal. The amount may be as little as one to two pounds in a 50 pound bag. In this case make sure the SBM is mixed uniformly. Also, start with small amounts of SBM as you do not want cattle to over consume. Grass tetany mineral is usually expensive.

Dr. Rick RasbyDr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science
Animal Science, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE