IRON, COPPER, COBALT AND MANGANESE REQUIREMENTS IN MILK-FED CROSSBRED CALVES

A balance study was conducted to determine the requirements of iron, copper, cobalt and manganese in crossbred calves. Six calves were fed milk average 10 percent of their body weight and were supplemented with 15 g mineral mixture daily. A balance trial was conducted at $2\frac{1}{2}$ months of age. The primary route of excretion was through digestive tract as 99.87, 80.99, 77.27 and 99.94 percent of Fe, Cu, Co and Mn were excreted through faeces. The requirements of Fe, Cu, Co and Mn were computed using the respective mineral balance data and were found to be 169.60, 7.20, 4.48 and 8.89 mg/kg respectively.