Improve immunity with Multimin

Vets and farmers are very accustomed to managing trace mineral levels in stock to avoid losses incurred due to clinical deficiency. Signs of these deficiencies include scours/illness from copper deficiency or poor growth rates/ill-thrift associated with low levels of selenium. There is significant opportunity out there to take trace mineral management one step further and shift the focus from just preventing deficiency towards ensuring levels are sufficient for optimal performance. This is mostly achieved through the role of trace minerals in supporting a high functioning immune system.

MultiMin is a combination trace element injection of copper, zinc, selenium and manganese which has been designed for use in achieving this goal. A significant amount of trial work has been done showing that during periods of stress and immune suppression, the use of Multimin can reduce disease.

Research done in New Zealand has shown that the use of MultiMin can have dramatic effects on the amount of disease seen in newborn calves. Four large herds were enrolled in the study and newborn calves were injected at pick-up with either 1ml/50kg MultiMin or a control treatment. Keep in mind these were calves born from herds where the trace element status of the herd was assessed with liver biopsies in the Autumn and deemed very good.

The calves were monitored over the next 140 days for levels of disease, mortality and weight gain. They received further doses of either MultiMin or the control at days 35 and 70 but most of the really impressive gains were made from that first dose over the first 35 days of life. Calves in the Multimin treated groups were half as likely to experience disease compared with their pen-mates in the control group (7.5% disease in the treatment group vs 15.6% disease in the control). This is huge! Calves that didn’t receive the treatment at birth were twice as likely to experience disease in the first month of their life (twice as much scours, navel-ill, perinatal disease).

This has proven to be a simple, cost-effective option for improving immune function and reducing losses in your newborn calves!