Intraruminal Selenium Pellet for Control of Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy in Cattle

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Abstract
Administration of an intraruminal Se pellet to a herd of pregnant crossbred cows was evaluated for controlling nutritional muscular dystrophy in an area of northern Ontario [Canada] with numerous losses of calves. Cows were winter-fed grass silage. Each spring cows and calves went to pasture. A single dose of intraruminal SE pellet was given to 80 cows during last 3 mo. of pregnancy the 1st yr only while the remaining 80 were controls. During 3 consecutive yr, efficacy of intraruminal Se pellet was evaluated by Se status of recipient cows and their offspring as well as by the incidence of nutritional muscular dystrophy. Se in plasma, as well as glutathione peroxidase in whole blood, in the cows administered intraruminal Se pellet, were higher than in the deficient controls. Ten months after intraruminal Se pellet treatment, SE in tissue was higher in treated than in untreated cows but within normal ranges. Before cows were turned out to pasture of the 1s yr, milk Se of intraruminal Se pellet cows were higher than controls. This technique of SE dosing was effective in raising the Se status of the progeny. There was no evidence of nutritional muscular dystrophy in calves from Se-dosed cows, while 15 calves born of the untreated cows showed clinical symptoms of nutritional muscular dystrophy.
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