The use of molybdenum for the prevention of nutritional copper poisoning in housed sheep

An experiment was designed to investigate the practical possibility of incorporating small quantities of molybdenum salts into the high copper diets of intensively fattening lambs to prevent or reduce the gradual accumulation of copper from feed. At slaughter (14 weeks of age) lambs which had received Mo supplement (7.7 ppm Mo) showed liver copper levels which were 40.1 per cent lower than those in the control group which, in turn, presented a mean liver copper concentration near the upper limit of the normal range for adult sheep. Changes in blood ceruloplasmin and SGOT levels and in the comparative rate of accumulation of liver copper indicated that the addition of ammonium molybdate to the concentrate diet might be a useful method of reducing the risk of nutritional copper poisoning in housed sheep.