What are the disadvantages of feeding baking soda to cattle?

Feeding cattle excessive baking soda may cause alkalosis in the cattle. But feeding an appropriate amount of baking soda not only has no disadvantages but also has many benefits. So what are the effects of feeding an appropriate amount of baking soda to cattle?

What are the effects of feeding baking soda to cattle?

1. Adding an appropriate amount of baking soda to the feed of dairy cows can prevent or slow the decrease in rumen pH, thereby increasing milk fat percentage and milk yield, and can advance the peak milk production period of cattle. The effect is especially obvious for dairy cows fed silage (such as corn silage) year-round and those with a relatively high amount of concentrate.

2. Supplementing baking soda during the lactation period of dairy cows can also prevent ketosis, fatty liver, abomasal displacement and rumen acidosis, and it is also fairly effective in treating postpartum anestrus and mastitis in dairy cows.

3. Adding baking soda to the diet of beef cattle is beneficial to the digestion and absorption of cellulose and promotes weight gain in beef cattle, especially in high-temperature seasons or when feeding silage.

4. Adding 0.5% baking soda to the basal diet of beef cattle increased the average daily gain over the whole period by 8.7% compared with the control group, with appetite and feed intake both superior to the control group, and economic benefit increased by 17.3%.

When feeding, the baking soda powder should first be evenly mixed with the concentrate and then fed together with roughage such as forage grass; it must not be fed alone. For dairy cows, 80-150 grams can be added per head per day, and for beef cattle, 80-100 grams can be added per head per day.

Therefore, as long as attention is paid to the feeding amount of baking soda, there will be no disadvantages to cattle.