Meds and Minerals, the 'cheap' way.

Right, time now for a brief look at some of the medications and Minerals that I use. Before I start, I would like to say that the whole point of doing this cattle thing is to produce an Animal that which later will be eaten by somebody. So, if this is the end, ergo it must then justify the means of course. Except that I don't do it that way  because the meat results in being that of a poor quality.

What I really mean is that there are tons of breeders that use shortcuts and I don't. Below is an illustration of the 3 most common items that I use:

Okay from left to Right, we have the Antibiotics (Water soluble), the Wound spray and lastly the Mineral block.

And from Right to Left:

The Mineral Block

A mineral Block is a large block of salt that has been mixed with a variety of Minerals and cemented together to form a block. The block is the hung inside the Animals enclosure and the Animal would walk up to it and lick the block, thus dissolving the salt and mineral with its saliva.

This method is cheap. because the blocks are easily available. The 'downside' is the cement used to bind the mineral to the Salt, which some say negates the whole purpose of the exercise, but from a practical standpoint there is no other method of simply providing such minerals unless there is the need to spend more money on all kinds of feed, c/w all kinds of  unverified claims. No, Mineral Blocks are far better and far cheaper simply because they are tried, tested and have been shown to work such that even I'm convinced of their efficacy. 

Below is a typical composition of such a block, which although there are variations on the Market, all have the same delivery method as described above.

Mineral Blocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes withe the Large blocks for Large animals and smaller blocks for smaller ones. Some blocks are cubes, but also some blocks are shaped like a torus. The principle remains the same and the result is a delivery method for diet supplementation that is cheap and easy.

The Wound Spray

The wound spray does what it says on the tin as it is a spray used on all kinds of wounds. Mostly it is effective against Maggots and the such. However used properly and with proper animal care, the wound spray can heal almost any type of wound eliminating the need for expensive intravenous injections but not replacing the need for such types of medications.

The spray is only suitable for small to medium sized wounds that are only superficial.  As for any kind of severe wound, this would require more spray and also some kind of external ointment/bandaging, especially in the regions around the hooves of the animal.. The whole point of the spray is to be able to quickly disinfect a wound such that it does not become a breeding ground for Maggots.

As for its cost, its much cheaper than employing a vet. The key is of course is the conditions in which the Animals are kept, because bad conditions lead to deterioration of the animals internal resistance to external factors and a wound of any kind accelerates it even further, to the point where its possible that the animal might die. Keeping the conditions clean and treating any such wound is essential to successful breeding and that goes for all livestock large and small.

The Antibiotic

The Antibiotic is a medication that in my experience is only useful to supplement the Animals internal resistance to disease. It comes into its own during the tropical rainy season here when the incidence of parasites is very high. Otherwise, during the dry periods, antibiotics are nowhere to be found on my farm.

Antibiotics are NOT cheap to buy, but because of this ability, they are essential to breeding.

The usage is quite simply to dissolve the contents of the bag into the Animals drinking water. Now this depends on the animal of course, some don't like drinking adulterated water whilst others couldn't care. Eventually of course all animals have no choice but to drink what water is supplied.

The efficacy of the medicine is simply that of a supplement, meaning it will make it harder for parasites to dig in their heels, but the animal should be of a healthy condition or if not, a condition that is not rapidly deteriorating due to lack of care. Antibiotics also have a withdrawal period of 30 days from application, this is especially important if the animal is going to be cut for meat.

Disclaimer

These medications are not the be all and end all of Animal Care. In fact, there is no substitute for good care, supplementation and overall due diligence on the part of the breeder to produce a healthy animal that when cut for meat, will produce a quality food that is lean and healthy to eat.

Of course there are those who preach otherwise, and in my experience there are too many people looking for the easy way out. Look, its really simple: you get out what you put in. There are NO shortcuts and anyone claiming miracles in my experience is a crook and a thieving bugger. Just remember that and you can't go wrong.