Dietary manipulations or other oral treatments are, in many cases, the most efficient solution to the problem of trace element deficiency diseases in farm animals. Such approaches are particularly effective against chronic primary deficiencies where there is simply not enough of the required element in the diet to satisfy the animal's needs.

In some situations, however, notably severe and acute deficiencies, parenteral injections of a supplement provide the best methods of restoring normal mineral concentrations in the deficient animal's tissues. Parenteral supplements are also particularly effective against many secondary deficiences in which factors in the diet convert apparently adequate dietary concentrations of the required element into an unavailable form: their effectiveness arises because absorption from the alimentary canal is bypassed. Injectable trace element supplements have also proved particularly useful for short term supplementation during periods when there is a great demand for the element, for instance during pregnancy. One further advantage of the parenteral route of supplementation is that a known amount of the element is introduced into the animal's system.