As a feed additive: Magnesium oxide is mainly used in dairy cow feed, followed by pig and chicken feed. Magnesium is the main cation in cells as a coenzyme factor in enzymatic reactions and participates in the main metabolic pathways in the body.
Extracellular magnesium is essential for normal nerve conduction, muscle contraction and bone mineral element deposition in animals.
Function for dairy cows: Magnesium oxide is the most widely used source of inorganic magnesium in ruminant feed. It is an alkalinizing agent that can increase the pH value of the rumen, increase the intake of blood metabolites by the mammary gland, and increase the milk fat rate.
Studies have shown that adding baking soda and magnesium oxide in proportion to the diet can effectively adjust the pH value of rumen fluid, so that dairy cows have a better rumen environment, obtain the best production performance and feed conversion efficiency, and thus increase milk production.
Effects on chickens: Newborn chicks can only survive for a few days when fed a diet completely deficient in magnesium. When fed a low-magnesium diet, chicks grow slowly, lethargy, pant, shortness of breath, short-term convulsions after being frightened, and eventually lead to temporary coma or death.
For laying hens, egg production will drop rapidly when magnesium is deficient. Hypomagnesemia results in excessive use of magnesium by the bones, smaller eggs, lighter shell weight, and decreased magnesium concentrations in the yolk and shell. Studies have shown that the thicker the eggshell, the higher the concentration of magnesium in the eggshell, so appropriately increasing the concentration of magnesium in the diet of laying hens can improve the quality of the eggshell and increase the weight of the egg.
Function for pigs: Due to the continuous improvement of pig breeds and productivity, the nutritional requirements of magnesium should be increased accordingly. MgO-supplemented diets of growing-finishing pigs improved growth rate and pork quality, including pork pH, color, and reduced PSE pork.
Functions for freshwater fish: Freshwater fish need to supplement magnesium properly in the feed because the amount of dissolved magnesium in the water is insufficient.