Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Grass Tetany......It's Bad

Checked the cows yesterday afternoon, and found one dead and another down. I suspected grass tetany, but I've been feeding high-mag mineral for a while, so thought the cows would have had enough magnesium in them. Called the vet and he came out and gave the one that was down a couple of bottles of magnesium, and she immediately jumped up and ran off. He said he's already had several calls about it, even from farmers who'd been feeding the high-mag mineral.

We've had wet and warm weather, and I put fertilizer on the pastures a few weeks back, so they have greened up earlier than normal. That leads to grass tetany, even though I'm feeding hay all the time. Anyway, going to go and buy some feed and some straight magnesium, and pour it over the feed, and hopefully get a good dose down them before I lose another one.

The cow I lost was number 683, my pet cow that would always come first when you called, bringing the others along. This is the first case of grass tetany that I have had that I can remember. I always start feeding the high-mag mineral in early March and continue until about June. But, this has been an unusual year weather wise. I'm kicking myself in the but for not checking them first thing yesterday morning, as I've been doing, but I didn't feel good all day yesterday, and put it off. Might not have done any good, but I'll always wonder about it.

The high mag lick tubs treat us better than the mineral.

Hate to hear you lost the cow, James.

At least you have a handle on the problem sounds like.

Jim, yeah, I try and keep those tubs out. Kinda expensive... but it shows.

I may have to try the lick tubs, but the mineral has always worked for me. However, it's never too late to try something new.

We keep mineral out for them usually. Usually has good magnesium in it.

The tubs seem to be more universally consumed. Even calves will use them.

We have lost calves to grass tetany.


Russian wild rye was a bad one....but any abnormal spring or winter can cause trouble.

James, I see more problems when just Nitrogen is applied to pastures-a lot of our pastures up here get short of Phosphorus-it seems that the ground that has good levels of P don't have as many problems.

And straight salt seems to be a pretty good immediate fix. Hi-Mag mineral often has a palatability problem, and some cows won't use it like they need to. Tubs can help here as they incorporate stuff that tastes good to mask the magnesium. In the short term Sodium in the salt seems to be able to "fill in" for the Mg.

I'm always leery of internet advice-so I encourage you to ask your vet about it. Good luck, sorry about 683.

Sorry to hear that. We use mag blocks all winter and have not had problems with it for a long time. The lick barrels sound like something to use I think.

Sorry to hear about your cow. The old matriarchs are hard to lose. Don’t beat yourself up to much.

We just wormed and rotated cows with calves to a new pasture yesterday evening and Grass Tetany has been what I was thinking about the last several weeks, what I was thinking about last night when I went to bed, and what I was thinking about this morning. We just use mineral blocks and the pasture has a fair amount of clover which I think helps. ....I'm still anxious for daylight to check them....not sure why it's on my mind so much this year.

Well, I'm trying to cover all the bases that I can. Going to start feeding some sweet feed with sweet high-mag mineral poured over the top, and I put out a lick tub as well. Normally, we start feeding the high mag mineral here about a month before the grass starts coming out........but this has not been a normal year by any means, and the grass is coming out several weeks earlier than usual. I've also had hay out all the time, so I thought I'd be safe.

As most of you know, raising cattle can be challenge, and when things are going good, you don't worry as much. I've had a good year so far with no calving problems, plenty of hay, and no ice or very cold weather to deal with................then grass tetany hits. That's farming for you, as it is the unexpected that can smack you down, just when you things are going good. Like JMCUBIC, I sitting here now waiting for daylight so I can check them again.

I know a local cow vet that has been doing it 50 years. He told us give your cows free choice salt 365 days a year so they have it in their system when the grass starts growing. Must people that have trouble around here their cows are starving for salt.

I keep a mineral feeder out year round, with both blocks and loose mineral. The standard practice here has always been to switch to high magnesium mineral before the grass greens up and feed that for several months, then go back to the regular mineral.

I've been feeding hi mag for weeks and haven't had any problems.