How to Feed Glucosamine to Cattle

Glucosamine is often recommended to help relieve aches and discomfort in the joints of humans with arthritis. It is also used frequently in animals, including horses and cattle, to keep them mobile and healthy. Lack of mobility is the main cause of illness among cattle, so the use of glucosamine is common in these situations. Glucosamine helps to repair injured tissue, reduces swelling and helps the body produce synovial fluids which lubricate the joints.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer with Internet connection
  • Glucosamine powder
  • Measuring teaspoon
  • Feed bucket or trough
  • Scoop
  • Cattle feed
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Instructions

  1. How to Feed Glucosamine to Cattle

    • 1

      Locate sources for large quantities of glucosamine. Five-gallon buckets of glucosamine are available from many co-ops and farm-supply stores. There also are numerous online sources, including tractorsupply.com and americanlivestock.com.

    • 2

      Purchase the product and have it shipped to you, if necessary. Prices in 2009 generally hovered around $50 per five-pound bucket.

    • 3

      Decide which cattle need the product. If only a few seem to have symptoms, you might give the product only to those cattle. On the other hand, feeding it to all of them might help prevent joint pain in the first place.

    • 4

      Mix two teaspoons of the product into a cup of feed in a bucket or trough.
      The recommended dosage is two teaspoons of product per head for the first 14 days, and one teaspoon thereafter for maintenance.

    • 5

      Be sure that the glucosamine-laced food is the first thing the cattle have the chance to eat each day.