A Study of Cobalt Deficiency in New Hampshire with Sheep

Abstract

A paired experiment was carried out with lambs in an attempt to substantiate field studies which indicated a widespread cobalt deficiency in New Hampshire. Although, with very few exceptions, only borderline deficiency cases were encountered, the average gain in weight of the animals receiving cobalt was approximately two and a half times that of the controls.Differences in gain in weight appeared to be due to differences in feed consumption.Although blood counts were not found to be reliable for detecting borderline cases of this deficiency, analysis of blood serum and certain tissues for cobalt did appear to have potential value for this purpose. It is concluded that cobalt deficiency can result from feeding low cobalt hay such as found in New Hampshire and that the effects of even a border-line deficiency are of considerable importance. Copyright © . .