Salt and Trace Minerals for Livestock, Poultry and Other Animals

CHROMIUM HELPS WITH STRESS

Recent research with humans and mice has shown that various stress factors such as high glucose intakes, low protein diets, infection, strenuous exercise and trauma increase the urinary excretion of chromium. Chromium supplementation in mouse diets has been effective in reducing stress-induced losses of zinc, iron, copper and manganese in urine. Chang and Mowat, (182) showed that adding 0.4 ppm chromium from high-chromium yeast improved weight gains and feed efficiency in stressed feeder calves. In addition, supplemental chromium also decreased serum cortisol and improved immune response in stressed calves. In one Canadian study, chelated chromium reduced morbidity to less than one-third of that in the control group.  In more recent studies where chelated chromium was used alone or in combination with multiple vaccines, the significant improvements were only found with the combined treatment of chromium and multiple vaccines (259). An additional benefit may be that lower levels of antibiotics would be required for the treatment of sick feeder cattle. Chromium under some conditions has improved cattle performance without the stress of transport (276).  Chromium could well be the next trace element routinely added to salt. 

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