Five experiments, involving 131 Shorthorn cows with their calves and 100 Shorthorn yearling steers, were conducted to determine the effects of selenium (Se) + vitamin E, and copper (Cu) administrations on the average daily gains (ADG) of cattle raised on feeds naturally deficient in Se. Se + vitamin E administered by either intramuscular injection to the cows during late pregnancy or orally to the calves at birth had no significant (P < 0.05) effect on ADG of the calves up to weaning age, although both treatments prevented deaths from muscular dystrophy (NMD). Similarly, neither implantation of Se under the skin of cows at mid-pregnancy nor inclusion of vitamin E or Se + vitamin E in the maternal mineral mix influenced weight gains of their calves. Yearling steers fed during the winter with either low-Se hay, or low-Se/low-Cu barley silage, and subsequently grazed on low-Se pasture during the summer showed no liveweight gain response to Se and vitamin E in mineral mix or to Se and/or Cu injected subcutaneously.