—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 22,1977
16
• 2
• j
{MEDICINE AND
Urea feeding requires caution
EDITOR’S NOTE: The
concluding portions of
Medicine and Management
appearing in last week’s
issue were unintentionally
omitted. Titled “Urea may
lead to profits and death,”
the missing portions con
sidered areas of urea feeding
which should be managed
with caution. With apologies
for any inconvenience our
error may have caused,
we’re reprinting the vet
column in its entirety.
Urea can also be a poison
when added to rations in
excess or not well mixed and
should be handled with care.
Urea plus molasses liquid
formulations can be par
ticularly toxic when fed free
choice to undernourished
cattle without adequate
roughage.
Signs of urea toxicity or
poisoning develops very
rapidly, usually within 30 to
60 minutes after ingestion of
too much urea, which may
include gasping, excessive
salivation, grinding of teeth,
incoordination, weakness
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and collapse. Death often
occurs within a matter of
hours._
As with most things, there
is no way to say whether
feeding urea would be of
benefit as a hard and fast
rule. The answer would vary
with each and every dif
ferent feeding program and
costs of the products in
volved. One must weigh the
benefits, the possible bad
effects and remember, if the
decision is made to feed
urea, feed management
must be constantly and
carefully watched to avoid
potential problems.
Summer is past history
and Fall is well upon us.
There are two very critical
jobs to be accomplished
during these transition
months between the growing
season of Summer and the
feeding season of Winter.
One task is the culmination
of the harvest which started
in early Spring with Winter
rye, ptoceeded through the
Summer with small grains
and hay, silage harvest of
By CARL TROOP, VMD
early Fall, and finally the
com grain and soybeans
before the snow starts to fly.
The other task occurs as the
farmer stands back, takes
stock of the feed he has been
able to produce himself, and
decides what is going to be
necessary to purchase to
supplement his home grown
feeds.
The largest cash outlay for
purchased feed is by far
protein, and this is the area
farmers most often look to
when cutting comers or
cutting costs. However, the
management decisions as to
whether to substitute non
protein-nitrogen (NPN)
sources for vegetable
protein requires a com
pletely different line of
thought than it did a few
years ago. In the “good ole
days” (and this was not too
many years ago) urea was
cheap and could always be
substituted for vegetable
protein at a substantial
savings. Now with the in
creased cost of urea and the
rollercoaster prices of
11l
vegetable protein, one must
use his calculator to decide if
substitution of a NPN source
is economical at any one
particular time, and this
may change several times
during a year.
Protein is made up of
smaller units called amino
acids which in turn are made
up of several elements in
cluding nitrogen, which is
essential. Most animal’s
requirement of protein must
be satisfied by ingesting the
intact protein or amino
acids. It was discovered in
1891 that the bacteria and
protozoa of the rumen can
use non-protein nitrogen for
the formation of protein. As
the rumen microorganisms
multiply they manufacture
their own body protein,
mostly from the raw
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material of the ration
ingested. This bacterial and
protozoal protein .may then
be digested in the stomach
and intestine of the ruminant
host. So bacteria can take
nitrogen from a non protein
source such as urea, com
bine it with certain car
bohydrates to form protein,
which is then available to the
host animal. Early research
resulted in usage of non
protein sources of nitrogen
in the livestock industry
starting during World War
11. The question of whether
or not to feed urea or other
non protein nitrogen source
as a subsitute for some of
the natural vegetable
protein must be'made on
more than just economic
considerations. There are
many who would never feed
urea and feel that urea itself
is harmful and can cause
problems.
The facts are that urea
can be a cheaper substitute
for protein rich feeds or sup
plements (depending on the
prevailing prices) for any
animal with an actively
functioning rumen, ex
cluding young calves but
including cattle, sheep,
goats, camels, deer,
giraffes, and buffalo.
However extreme care must
be exercised to successfully
feed non protein nitrogen.
When feeding NPN you are
substituting a simple syn
thetic nitrogen containing
compound for some natural
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vegetable protein which also
contains vitamins, minerals,
carbohydrates etc. Such a
NPN ration should thus be
suitably fortified to insure
adequate phosphorus, trace
minerals, sulfur and soluble
carbohydrates (starches and
sugars) so as to provide the
rumen organisms adequate
buidling blocks to combine
with the nitrogen to make
the protein.
Urea must be fed only to a
limited degree, most figures
being given at about three
per cent of the concentrate.
Since rumen organisms
must adjust gradually to
urea feeds, introduction
should be gradual, usually
three to four weeks being
adequate.
9 CONSUMER
GUIDELINES
<’//
Careless use of booster
cables to jump start a disabled
car can cause personal injury
or damage the car's electrical
system. When used correctly,
booster cables are invaluable
for an emergency start. If you
jump start, have your battery
and electrical system profes
sionally checked as soon as
possible.
ccount