Occurs if cattle consume <0.5g P/kg dry matter. Phosphorus. Much of the soil in northern Australia is naturally low in phosphorus, leading to deficiency in cattle. A dietary phosphorus deficiency can affect milk production, feed consumption and animal performance. Prevention of deficiency requires the adequate dietary provision of calcium, but young birds should not be fed a high calcium layer diet as an excess of dietary calcium can tie up phosphorus making it unavailable, and may result in rickets. Clinical signs: Pica (eating bones and other rubbish), poor growth, soft bones and … Phosphorus is found in many parts of the animal's body, and is an important part of energy transfer. Primary phosphorus deficiency in phosphorus-deficient range areas and vitamin D deficiency in calves housed for long periods are the common circumstances. The initial effect of a phosphorus deficiency is a fall in blood plasma phosphate levels, followed by the response mechanism of calcium and phosphorus being withdrawn from the animal’s bones. Cattle normally have adequate phosphorus intake due to high phosphorus fertilizers being used, but as this changes, so will the amount of available phosphorus. Generally, the calcium content of poultry feeds of plant origin is low. Furthermore, as forage plants mature, their phosphorus content declines, making mature and weathered forages a poor source. Vitamin D deficiency is the most common form of rickets in cattle raised indoors for prolonged periods in Europe and North America. Lactating cows and young growing cattle. And, in some areas low in phosphorus, cattle … "Cattle really only crave phosphorus and salt, but in cases where soils are high in salt, cows won't go after those high-sodium products. Low phosphorus levels in cattle can be tolerated for a short amount of time but if the deficiency is seen for a long time, it can cause serious problems. The rumen will likely be phosphorus deficient before the animal’s body has mobilized bone reserves. In this experiment, the 0.31 per cent P diet supported milk production equal to the higher P diets for only the first two-thirds of the lactation. There is also a trend towards the use of lower phosphorus crops being fed to cattle. Phosphorus deficiency can also affect the quality of cattle’s bones and teeth. Phosphorus may be deficient in some beef cattle rations, because roughages often are low in phosphorus. It should be remembered that phosphorus deficient cattle may show varying degrees of unthriftiness long before classical signs such as bone and joint deformities appear. FOR many producers in northern Australia, phosphorus (P) deficiency is a serious nutritional issue for cattle herds and can cause major losses in productivity and profitability. The balance between calcium and phosphorous is key. Phosphorus has been described as the most prevalent mineral deficiency for grazing cattle worldwide. Eating dirt was often associated with a phosphorus deficiency in cattle and somewhere along the line, phosphorus became associated as “a health and breeder mineral.” Consequently, feeding phosphorus to dairy cows, over and above their essential phosphorus requirement for maintenance, reproduction and milk production became the mainstay of dairy ration balancing. Deficiencies of phosphorus have long been associated with reproductive problems with cattle, and in many cases phosphorus was overfed as a hedge against these problems (Fluharty, 2005). One of the issues that can occur with the health of the cattle due to a phosphorous deficiency is that their appetite is reduced. History of very limited superphosphate application on soils naturally deficient in phosphorus.