Animal feed recalled due to the presence of excessive copper!
Whether you are a farmer, rancher or a breeder, you would want the absolute best for the animals you depend on for your livelihood. However if you have been feeding your cattle, horses, goats or sheep with Kountry Buffet 14% Text or Provider 15% Pellet manufactured by CHS Inc. then I have some shocking news for you. During an internal review where the company got their products tested by an independent laboratory, it was discovered that both of these products contained excessive amounts of copper, which may cause copper poisoning in livestock, which is a potentially fatal condition.
As stated already, the recalled products are called Kountry Buffet 14% Text and Provider 15% Pellet. They were manufactured between September 2015 and October 2015 at CHS Inc’s feed mill at Harrisburg, OR. The Kountry Buffet 14% Text is sold in a brown bag with a salmon-colored label and the Provider 15% Pellet is sold in a brown bag with a yellow label. At the time of recall, they were already distributed to 42 customers in OR and WA.
The lot numbers of the recalled product are as follows.
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Copper is an essential nutrient for most animals because of the following reasons.
It helps in the generation as well as the repair of connective tissue between bones. This prevents animals from growing lame with age.
It helps in the formation of red blood cells and allows it to be transported to all parts of the body.
It helps in the production of melanin, which protects the animal from the sun.
It helps in the proper functioning of the central nervous system.
There is a cliched saying that too much of anything can be a bad thing and this is certainly true if your livestock receives too much copper in their diet. If your animals’ diet is overloaded with copper, they will suffer from copper poisoning, which has the following symptoms:
Abdominal pain, or colic.
Depression
Dark or blood colored urine.
Paleness or jaundice. This may appear on the gums, eyes and even on the skin.
Low milk yield in cows and goats.
Lack of appetite, which will result in weakness.
Death. If necropsy is performed on the animals after death, it will show that the liver would have a bronze color and the kidneys will be “gun-metal blue” in appearance.
As indicated earlier, the Kountry Buffet 14% Text and Provider 15% Pellet are used to feed cattle, horses, goats and sheep. Among these animals, sheep are most vulnerable to copper poisoning and horses tend to be most resilient.
There have not been any reported illnesses or death that may have been caused by the consumption of the recalled products. However, if you have fed the recalled product to your animals, we would suggest that you contact your veterinarian right away, as the symptoms of copper poisoning take a while to manifest.
CHS Inc. is urging their customers who are in possession of the recalled products to stop feeding their livestock with the same and to return it at the place of purchase for a full refund. If you have any further questions about the recall or copper poisoning in general, you may contact the company at +1 (800) 398-0327, Monday through Friday between 08:00 AM and 05:00 PM (CDT). Further information is also available on their website.
Animal feed recalled due to the presence of excessive copper! was originally published on freshbeak.com