Phosphorus deficiency in cattle on two farms in Canterbury

Authors: Clark RG
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 22, Issue 1-2, pp 14-16, Jan 1974
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Growth/development, Locomotor, Disease/defect, Minerals/elememts, Nutrition/metabolism, Toxicology, Pest/pesticides
Article class: Clinical Communication

---

Abstract: Phosphorus deficiency in cattle has been reported from a number of countries, but there has been little reported in the veterinary literature on this condition in New Zealand. Webster (1932) described infertility in cattle in the Waihi area which was associated with pica and low phosphoric acid in the soil. The signs described by Blood and Henderson (1968) include retarded growth, reduced fertility, osteophagia, and, in the later stages, osteodystrophy. As a rule, these signs appeared when blood inorganic phosphorus levels had fallen from the normal 40 to 50 mg/l to 15 to 30 mg/l, or lower in severe clinical cases. Marginal deficiency may be accompanied by normal blood levels. This paper reports phosphorus deficiency on two farms in Canterbury, associated with draught conditions over the summer and autumn of 1972, following 3 years of prolonged periods of drought.

---