or clover, supplied an adequate 

 quantity of cobalt for dairy cattle. 

 Grass hays from the same areas 

 failed to do this. 



In the Southeast some native 

 plants take up and store large 

 quantities of cobalt in their leaves. 

 Swamp blackgum and the pepper 

 bush are examples. Cows and 

 sheep free to graze large areas of 

 woodland- will browse such plants 

 and obtain their cobalt require- 

 ments. These animals, confined to 

 small pastures on cobalt -deficient 

 soils, may not obtain enough cobalt 

 from the vegetation and will sicken 

 and frequently die. 



How much cobalt 



do ruminants require? 



Forage containing 0.1 part per 



million of cobalt will supply the 

 needs of cattle or sheep. Both 

 ruminants require about 0.1 milli- 

 gram of cobalt per day for each ion 

 pounds of body weight. If a 100- 

 pound lamb eats '2\ 2 pounds of hay 

 daily, it will obtain the minimum 

 requirement of cobalt from forage 

 that contains 0.09 p. p.m. of cobalt. 

 However, if the forage contains 

 only 0.03 p. p.m. of cobalt, the lamb 

 will receive about one-third of its 

 minimum requirement per day. 

 The balance of about 0.07 milli- 

 gram of cobalt must be fed as a 

 supplement. 



What are the symptoms 

 of cobalt deficiency? 



Symptoms of cobalt deficiency in 

 cattle are hard to detect. The prin- 



ciple one is gradual loss of appe- 

 tite. Sometimes a cow on lush 

 pasture will refuse to graze, even 

 though it is starving to death. Or, 

 it may refuse hay or grain. As a 

 result of starvation, it becomes 

 anemic, weak, and emaciated, and 

 develops a rough coat. 



Why do ruminants 

 need cobalt? 



The food of ruminants must be 

 broken down in the rumen by 

 micro-organisms such as bacteria 

 before the nutrients can be utilized. 

 As a byproduct of this function, 

 some micro-organisms manufac- 

 ture vitamin B 12 . which contains a 

 small quantity of cobalt. If the 

 food contains no cobalt, the micro- 

 organisms that produce vitamin 

 B 12 cannot thrive and multiply. 

 This results in a change in the 

 types of rumen bacteria, and di- 

 gestion is inhibited. Moreover. 

 lack of vitamin B 12 causes anemia 

 and similar disorders. 



As soon as cobalt is added to the 

 ration, rumen organisms again be- 

 come active. They produce the 

 vitamin B 12 required by the animal. 

 The organisms transform the 

 feed components — protein, carbo- 

 hydrates, and fat — to forms that 

 the animal can use. 



How can cobalt deficiency in 

 ruminants be corrected? 



Cobalt deficiency in ruminants 

 can be corrected in a number of 

 ways. 

 • Adding cobalt to the feed. 



