FAQ's
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We strive to provide our customers with the answers they’re looking for. We have accumulated a list of FAQs from customer enquiries and feedback which may help you with the information you’re after. They have been categorised into the following categories for ease of use: General, Dose rates & application, Different water soil & feed types, Using Beachport with other products, Trace element questions, Product specific, Beachport with other animals and Animal health problems – does Beachport help?
General
All products have NIL withholding period and NIL ESI.
All Beachport Liquid Minerals supplements are approved under the Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System (PCAS).
PCAS Certificate – Download PDF
Find out more at PCAS FAQs
The Beachport range of products can be used in conjunction with traditional lick and block supplementation where deficiencies are extreme to make these products more efficient and cost effective.
The Beachport range of livestock liquid supplement products are designed to aid in deficiencies of trace elements and also aid in the conversion of both dry and green feed. The Beachport range of products should be used as a tool in your livestock program and should not be considered in any way a “silver bullet”.
This is because the glycerine will most likely melt/dissolve once put out into the trough (heated up) which will then cause an oily residue across the top of the water in the trough. This will be extremely bitter and the livestock won’t drink the water.
The likeliness of this happening is rare. The crystallisation of the product usually occurs due to extreme cold conditions like frosts. If the product is left in a cold environment, the Glycerine element in the product may turn hard on rare occasions. If this happens, the product is still perfectly safe to use and still 100% effective, just do not use the crystallised part of the product.
Dose Rates & Application
The dose rates remain the same as per the instructions on the drum or refer DOSE RATE instructions for the product you are using. Maximum dose rates for a breeder unit is 50 ml for cattle & 10 ml for ewes.
You do not work an average. Keep it simple and calculate each one at their correct dose. 20mls for 200kg and 40mls for 400kg.
If just pouring into water, the dose can be split evenly and poured into the trough over 3 days or you can split dose in half and apply every 3 weeks to ensure all animals get a dose.
Every animal has to drink – when using a block or lick, how do you know every animal is getting it?
The BLM dispenser is designed to be metered out over a 3 day period so all animals get a dose.
Our product goes in to the bloodstream and stays available for six weeks, then drops out slowly. So it’s not essential to do it exactly every 6 weeks but it is the ideal time to do it. Anything that spikes quickly drops quickly, which is why BLM is designed to drop slowly.
Depending on the water quality in rain water, it sinks low to the bottom of the trough. The harder the water, the higher it sits, but it will still cloud with movement. Cattle will always drink where the fresh water is coming in.
Split the dose up between the tanks/troughs that are being used the most and do it every 3 weeks instead of every 6 weeks to give them more of a chance to get it. Do not turn tanks off. Remember, the aniseed will attract the animals to the dosed troughs.
Monitor your paddock and where your animals drink from. Sheep walk into wind. If you have a tank for all water points, dose the tank (if it does not overflow). If you have an independent tank for each trough, pour equal amount into the tank.
A Turkeys Nest works like a dam and feeds to troughs. Unfortunately, you cannot use it in the Turkeys nest, because our product needs water movement to work. You can, however, use it in the troughs that the turkeys nest feeds.
You can split the dose when using multiple water points with large mobs and when animals are under extreme dietary stress to ensure adequate levels in animals.
DO NOT exceed 18L of product in a 20L drum or 8L in a 10L drum to ensure at least 2L is left for air pressure.
Our stainless steel dispenser is robust and simple to use, however, it is designed specifically for our products which have a specific gravity and viscosity. We can make no recommendations on its suitability with any other products.
This way it ensures that all animals will be getting the product. Do not pour all of the dosage in at once as it could be possibly too strong and it will deter the animals from drinking. If you are using the green cap in a yard scenario before transport, you can divide the dose by 3 and put it in morning, noon and the last at night.
Whilst the most efficient way of medicating the water is using the BLM dispenser, this is sometimes not an option. If you are pouring the product directly into the water, it is best if you can space it out as much as possible. You would be far better to divide the dose by 3 and pour a third into the trough in the morning, the next third that night and the last third the following morning. The more spread out the better.
The best way to use BLM in this scenario where the use of the BLM dispenser is not possible is to divide the dose rate by either 3 or 4. You would then put the 1st dose in the trough straight after the trough has been cleaned day 1. You would then repeat this step for the next 3 or 4 days after each time the trough has been cleaned.
Different Water, Soil & Feed Types
It doesn’t matter what the water quality is, it stays suspended in the water and will cloud with movement.
It’s not just a trace element supplement, it is also a feed conversion product, so whatever the feed, they are still going to get the benefit.
It’s not just a trace element supplement. It is a feed conversion product so whatever the feed, they are still going to get the benefit.
Using BLM with other products
Please note: Orally dosing is not an allowed application method due to APVMA regulations.
DO NOT mix with any other products when the application is done via the water supply.
If it has Urea in it, then DO NOT mix it with this product at all.
Under no circumstances should you mix another product with BLM products in the water supply at the same time – especially UREA!
Once the BLM is out of the trough (4-5 days), you can put the blocks back in the trough. Once again, the copper will become more available and may poison the stock. You can use Beachport Liquid Minerals in conjunction with licks and block (containing urea), just not in the water at the same time.
Beachport Liquid Minerals is a feed conversion tool, which means that animals are able to utilise anything that is going down their throats more efficiently. For example: If you were to put urea in the water at the same time as BLM, you will find that the Urea will become 60% more available. This can be quite dangerous as urea can poison stock. If you use copper blocks for algae treatment, take them out prior to putting in the Beachport Liquid Minerals product.
Yes, you can mix with molasses. If you have water anywhere where they can use it, then water medication is far more effective for even uptake of the product.
Yes, but it only needs to be done every 6 weeks, following the dose rates on the drum. You don’t have to do it as a constant daily dose. The feed is only the carrier.
Let the stock do the talking. The Beachport Liquid Minerals will help utilise the lick/block.
Beachport Liquid Minerals takes this step out putting amino acids in liquid form straight in to the rumen and readily absorbable into the blood stream due to the fulvic acid. The microbes are also getting an advantage by way of the fulvic/ amino acids.
The simple answer is yes, everything that the urea supplement can do, Beachport can do but it can also be used in conjunction with a dry urea based product. However, what it will do is drop the consumption of the dry supplement. Urea in licks is broken down in the rumen and turned into amino acids by microbes in the rumen.
Trace Element Questions
PLEASE NOTE: Orally dosing is not an allowed application method at all, due to APVMA regulations.
All products except the Black Cap contain Selenium and yes, our products can be used safely with selenium products that are slow release products.
Most of the top end of Australia is phosphorus deficient and phosphorus deficiencies are one of the main contributors of lack of production in livestock in the region.
All our products include feed grade trace elements, seagrass extract, and fulvic acid and are naturally derived ingredients. As well as our traditional range, we do have 2 NASAA certified organic products which are our Organic White Cap and Organic Green Cap products.
Product Specific
Aniseed is added to the product to get animals to bypass paddock water and drink at the supplemented water supply.
White Cap can be used all year round as it is beneficial for feed conversion for both dry and green feed. If animals are drinking from a trough, they are getting the advantages of year-round supplementation.
In combination with sulphur and nine essential amino acids and other essential trace elements, White Cap helps with feed conversion (both dry and green) and aids in trace element deficiencies.
Blue Cap is for temperate climates. White Cap is for sub-tropical and tropical climates prone to phosphorus deficiencies.
White Cap and Blue Cap share the same base formulation, but White Cap has added phosphorus.
White Cap has the same essential trace elements and amino acids that assist with feed conversion and production, but with added phosphorus and sulphur to help with trace element deficiencies.
Green Cap contains more fulvic acid, one of nature’s most powerful electrolytes. It also has a high amino acid level which stimulates the rumen, lowers stress, and calms animals down.
The concentration of the product may be too high if poured straight into the trough instead of using the BLM Dispenser, so in future, we recommend using the BLM Dispenser or try splitting the dose (morning/night).
However, the Green Cap can be beneficial for schooling and transporting untrained or stressed horses for a calming effect.
We recommend our Red Cap supplement for horses as it is specifically designed for their general health and faster recovery after strenuous exercise.
Do not use within 2 weeks prior to horses racing. Red Cap is designed for rehydration and recovery after work or stress.
BLM with other animals
If you still have concerns, then during peak times when the kangaroos are around in large proportions, add an additional 10% per dose per animal. i.e. 400kg animal dose is 50mls + 10% is equal to 55mls per animal dosage.
- Kangaroos tend to only drink every 3-4 days as they have the capacity to retain water far longer than stock
- Kangaroos are transient so will drink from various water points in the area and are not reliant on any one point
- Kangaroos have the capacity to travel many kilometres in a 24 hour period
- Beachport Liquid Mineral’s products will dispense over a 3 day period and stock will receive their 6 week dosage during those 3 days (unlike other inline systems which require continuous dispensing), therefore it is only 3 days per month when the kangaroos could be a problem.
It has the same effect as sheep, so you can dose goats the same as you would for sheep.
Beachport Liquid Minerals products will not harm dogs.
BLM Red Cap has been used on camels. Simply use the same dose rates as horses.
It’s perfectly safe for emus to consume.
Animal health problems, does BLM help?
‘Big Head’ is a disease due to the animal being low in calcium, mainly in Northern Australia. Our product does not have the levels of calcium it needs to get better, but put into the water and used with other products will help with absorption and retention.
Use our White Cap + Phos as they are phosphorus deficient.
No. Bloating is not a trace element or feed conversion issue so BLM can’t help with bloat.
Our Red Cap would not help with this condition. It is recommended to shift the animal from the current environment or to use repellents, insecticides or anti-inflammatory drugs.
‘QLD Itch’ is an itchy, annoying skin condition. Itching is the main sign of the condition. The usual cause of Queensland Itch is a hypersensitivity to the bites of sand flies (midges) of the species Culicoides.
This disease occurs when stones, usually comprised of phosphate salts, lodge in the urinary tract and prevent urination. We advise that BLM will not cure ‘water belly’ and will require a vet to treat but regular use of BLM will aid in the prevention of the disease.
Poor feed, high nitrate feed or poor health all may contribute to damaging the papillae. Using BLM Green Cap will still feed the “bugs” in the rumen and the animal will still absorb and benefit from it, but the animal will not perform as well as an animal with a fully functioning rumen. It will not fix the issue but may help.
It is vital for the rumen to start developing from birth by stimulating it with roughage and/or grain ASAP. This will set the animal up in the future for optimal health and FEC. The rumen is often referred to as a fermentation vat and is covered by little hair like things called papillae, which are there to absorb the nutrients into the animal. If the papillae in the rumen are damaged or don’t develop properly from birth, they do not grow back.