Magnesium and Calcium Utilization in Sheep Treated with Magnesium Alloy Rumen Bullets or Fed Magnesium Sulfate

House, W.A. and Mayland, H.F. (1976) Magnesium and Calcium Utilization in Sheep Treated with Magnesium Alloy Rumen Bullets or Fed Magnesium Sulfate. Journal of Animal Science. 42(2):506-514.

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Abstract

A metabolism trial was conducted to assess some effects of magnesium alloy rumen bullets and magnesium sulfate on magnesium and calcium utilization in wether lambs fed a basal, semipurified diet (800 g/day) that contained .08% magnesium and .42% calcium. Four sheep were assigned randomly to each of four treatments: basal diet only (BD); basal diet plus two commercial magnesium bullets per animal (AB); basal diet plus two experimental magnesium bullets per animal (EB); basal diet plus supplementary magnesium (1 g/day) as magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄). The bullets were administered at the beginning of a 9-day collection period. Both forms of magnesium supplementation increased (P<.05) plasma level, fecal excretion
and urinary excretion of magnesium. Mean
plasma magnesium levels (mg/100 ml) for the
respective BD, AB, EB and MgSO₄ treatments
were 1.9, 1.9, 1.7 and 1.9 initially, and 1.9, 2.6,
2.7 and 2.3 after 9 days of treatment. Fecal
excretion of magnesium was greater (P<.05)
and urinary excretion was lower (P<.05) in
sheep given magnesium bullets than in sheep
fed magnesium sulfate; differences between
treatments AB and EB were not significant.
Urinary calcium excretion tended to increase
with magnesium supplementation, but the
treatments had no effect (P>.05) on plasma
level, fecal excretion, or apparent retention of
calcium. These results indicate that magnesium
rumen bullets can provide substantial amounts
of magnesium to sheep. However, as indicated
by weights of bullets recovered from four sheep
fed the semipurified diet, or from six sheep fed
grass hay in another trial, the rate of decomposition
of the bullets in the reticulo-rumen was
highly variable.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0363
Subjects:	Animal > Animal health Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:51
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2017 18:38
Item ID:	310
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/310