Every so often Copper toxicity raises its ugly head. I don’t know what it takes to make people aware that you can’t add additional copper to sheep rations. Sometimes it’s a mixing mistake and sometimes it is just plain ignorance but in any event sheep die and those that don’t need to be handled differently for an extended period of time so they don’t relapse as well. The merging of sheep and goats together is another problem as goats tolerate more copper than sheep. Sheep get adequate amounts in natural occurring feedstuffs. Goats may too but supplementing goats is a common practice. We have a selenium iodine premix that we mix with salt for sheep, I have long toyed with the idea of making one with copper for goats but quite frankly I don’t have confidence enough in people that a mistake won’t get made so for goats I recommend adding it to trace mineral cattle salt.
When toxicity occurs molybdenum levels need to be increased for a period of time and amount of stress reduced. Long term effects can be minimized by continued feeding of molybdenum at prevention levels. Treatment of clinically sick animals is unrewarding.
For more information on copper toxicity go to askavetsheep blog or Pipestone’s Veterinary Guide to Sheep and Goats.
