Salt: sodium and chloride in livestock diets
Salt is sodium chloride, a feed ingredient that supplies sodium and chloride and keeps animals drinking and eating. Farmers offer it loose, as a lick block or mixed into the ration.
How do you give salt to cattle, sheep and goats?
Salt meets an animal's sodium and chloride needs and encourages it to drink and eat. You can offer it loose or as a block, or mix a set daily amount into the ration; count that amount in the mineral plan so you know the total sodium. Needs depend on species, production and climate, and clean water must always be on hand.
Questions from the farm
Can salt replace a mineral mix?
No. Salt supplies only sodium and chloride, while a mineral mix also covers calcium, phosphorus, trace minerals and vitamins.
How HerdMobile helps
Bring your animals, feed stocks and farm accounts together on your Android phone. HerdMobile keeps your daily work moving offline: record events, compare feed quantities and follow sales and payments in one place. Use your own feeds and herd information to prepare a ration, then keep a backup file under your control.
In HerdMobile you can add salt to your feed library with its amount, so it counts in the ration alongside the other minerals.
