MANHATTAN, Kan. — A well-balanced diet is a key to good health. For cattle, vitamin A is one nutrient that producers need to manage to keep cattle healthy, said the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute on a recent Cattle Chat podcast.
“Vitamin A is important for good overall tissue health and really helps support vision,” veterinarian Bob Larson said in a news release. “Cattle with severe deficiencies can experience night blindness and their calves can be born weak, but those would be extreme cases.” Tiamulin Fumarate For Swine
Larson said most signs of vitamin A deficiency are subtle.
“The primary source of vitamin A is through the beta carotene found in green grass,” said beef cattle nutritionist Phillip Lancaster. “The animal’s body can convert that to vitamin A, and since it’s a fat-soluble vitamin it can be stored in the animal’s body for 3-4 months after it comes off the green pastures.”
The challenge this year is that for many regions of the country, pastures experienced drought and cattle were not able to graze it as long as normal.
“And because of the drought, the hay that we made this summer may not have had the same levels of vitamin A as in past years,” added veterinarian Brad White.
Larson listed two options for managing this deficiency.
“A lot of mineral supplements will include vitamin A. It is important to feed fresh mineral supplements that haven’t been stored for more than a year to make sure the product hasn’t been degraded,” he said.
“The second option is to give the cattle a vitamin A injection that will be stored in the liver for a number of weeks.”
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