Composition and formulation of mineral mixture for

feeding of dairy animals.

Manoj Sharma
Deputy Director (Training)
Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kapurthala , 144 620,Punjab (
India)
drmanojsh1@gmail.com
The total mineral requirement of an animal is partially met through the daily
ration being fed by the dairy farmer. However, in order to get optimum production
from the domestic animals , the ration must be supplemented with the mineral
mixture. The minerals required by the animal body are calcium, phosphorus,
magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese, sodium, chlorine, iron, copper, cobalt,
iodine, sulphur and molybdenum.

According to Bureau of Indian Standards, at least 90 per cent of material

(mineral mixture) should pass through 1.18 mm IS sieve and should have the
following specifications.

Parameter Limit

Moisture Max. 7.0 %

Calcium Min. 32.0 %

Phosphorus Min. 15.0 %

Crude fat Max. 1.0 %

Fluorine Max. 0.06 %

Acid insoluble ash Max. 1.0 %

The meal should be free from Salmonella and Anthrax spores. The other
specifications are given in Table 2.
Table 2. BIS Specifications for mineral mixtures containing salt (Type I) and without
salt ( Type II) for supplementing cattle feeds.

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Sr.No. Characteristic Type I Type II
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1. Moisture, % by mass ,max. 5.0 5.0
2. Calcium, % by mass ,min. 18.0 23.0
3. Phosphorus, % by mass ,min. 9.0 12.0
4. Magnesium, % by mass ,min. 5.0 6.5
5. Salt , % by mass ,min. 22.0 -
6. Iron, % by mass ,min. 0.4 0.5
7. Iodine as (KI) , % by mass ,min. 0.02 0.026
8. Copper, % by mass ,min. 0.06 0.077
9. Manganese, % by mass ,min. 0.1 0.12
10. Cobalt, % by mass ,min. 0.09 0.012
11. fluorine, % by mass ,max. 0.05 0.07
12. Zinc, % by mass ,min. 0.3 0.38
13. Sulphur, % by mass ,max. 0.4 0.5
14. Acid insoluble ash, % by mass ,max. 3 2.5

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A formulae is given as under in order to formulate mineral mixture

at domestic level, a dairy farmer can make use of this formulation by taking care
of the quantities mentioned of each chemical salt.

Table 3. Formulation of mineral mixture without salt for dairy animals.

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Sr. No. Ingredient Kg./100 Kg.

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1. Di calcium Phosphate 55.0

2. Lime stone powder 30.0
3. Magnesium Sulphate 10.0
4. Ferrous Sulphate 2.0
5. Copper Sulphate 0.5
6. Manganese Sulphate 0.5
7. Zinc Oxide 0.25
8. Cobalt Sulphate 0.08
9. Potassium iodide 0.10
10. Sodium thiosulphate 1.57

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Rate of feeding mineral mixture to different categories of animals.

Type of animal Rate of feeding

For growing animal 15-20 g/d

Low milk producers (less than 5 Kg.) 20-30 g/d

Medium milk producers ( 6-10 kg.) 30-50 g/d

High milk producers (11-20 kg.) 50-70 g/d

Pregnant animals about 100 g/d

Method of feeding of mineral mixture

1. Mix 2-3 kg. of mineral mixture per 100 kg. of concentrate.

2. In case a deficiency is noticed , feed mineral mixture @ 50 g /d in the daily
morning and evening diet.
3. Try to feed green fodder throughout the year by following a suitable cropping
scheme.