Seawater & Stock Health

Seawater contains a vast array of minerals (see chart below). It is very similar to the make-up of human blood. Rene Quinton did research in the late 1800’s around deep-sea water and proved numerous health benefits from using a water later termed Quiton’s Plasma. He also performed an experiment on a dog where he replaced the dogs’ blood with his Quinton’s Plasma, although controversial it is said the dog lived for another 5 years. You can read more about this interesting topic here.

https://quintonmedical.com/marine-therapy/rene-quinton

But what does this have to do with farming and animal health? Here at Chaos Springs we try to not only provide interesting information about farming and ecosystem management, we also like to give you some real-life examples of how our practices have proven some of these ideas to hold true.

Small moveable seawater trough

We have been supplementing our dairy heifers here at Chaos Springs with seawater for nearly 20 years. We simply gather it from the inlet at Anzac Bay during an incoming tide and then distribute it to our animals in small moveable troughs (see image above). We limit the amount they can take but they have access to it most of the year. This provides the very important sodium for animal health but also a broad range of minerals and micronutrients. There are many other benefits of seawater. Salts in seawater produce a high level of ions in solution making them electrolytes. Electrolytes are crucial for body processes like conducting nerve impulses, contracting muscles, hydrating, and regulating pH levels.

Although the water we give our animals is not the same as the deep-sea water that Quinton was using, we believe it provides an excellent supplement for our animals. We also use it in all of our liquid fertilizer applications around our pastures, orchards and gardens as well as in our compost.

Animal health at Chaos Springs is excellent and there has not been a vet on the farm in many years. We believe if you have easy access to seawater it is one of the bests additions you can make for your over all farm health.

Seawater mineral content chart