Limited trace minerals are provided through the cow’s milk, so it’s imperative that the calf receive adequate trace minerals in utero.⁵ Trace minerals transferred from cow to fetus in the third trimester have a major impact on calf health and trace mineral status in the first 100–150 days. Multimin 90 supports both cow and calf by providing zinc, copper, manganese and selenium to the cow in preparation for birth.

During the last trimester of pregnancy, the cow mobilizes trace minerals from her liver into the bloodstream for placental transfer to the fetus’ liver. When the calf is born, it will have 3–4 times the liver trace mineral level of the cow — so ensuring the cow is well supplemented in the third trimester to provide for cow-to-calf transfer is critical. Proper trace mineral status at birth positively impacts the calf’s^6,7:

The trace mineral status of a pregnant cow or heifer helps support pregnancy in utero. Poor trace mineral status of the cow/heifer may result in:

Neonatal Calf Diarrhea (scours) is responsible for 80% of sickness and 57% of deaths in unweaned calves in the United States.^9,10 This problem has a significant impact on calves’ health and is a major driver in profitability, so prevention is key.

A University of Georgia study⁴ indicated that supplementing pregnant heifers and cows with trace minerals and a scours prevention vaccine, before calving, tended to improve colostrum quality. Calves that received better quality colostrum from cows who received Multimin 90 and scours vaccination pre-calving, tended to have more specific antibodies for better scours protection.