OT Cattle feed, mildewed hay

Have fed some real garbage looking junk you might call sudan hay to cattle and most of the time they liked it but it had already cured when the rolls got wet. So there wasn't any mildue to my recollection. It was just wet and ugly and smelled bad.

What does it take to make a cow sick on hay? How raunchy can it get?

FYI these animals are on pasture that contains Fescue and other native grasses that provide some Vitamin A and they get 20% cubes 2-3 times a week in the winter.

Thanks,

Mark

Thanks,

Mark

We had a neighbour do it. When it is really dry it pretty well disintegrates going throught the harvestor. A bush hog may work as well, I have done that with some old straw windrows.

Thanks,

Mark

Thanks,

Mark

Cattle can tolerate quite a bit, but then it comes down to what you (and they) are gaining. If the stuff is too bad, the cattle will not benefit from it & then it would be cheaper to burn it than to feed it to them.....

--->Paul

Thanks,

Mark

First of all I am really sorry that this happened, bad situation with not good solution. Also, take my thoughts for what they are, I havent seen the hay and havent done any tests.

As a rule, cows will not eat hay that is so moldy it will make them sick if given a choice. By always letting them have access to some other hay they will pick and choose, either that or roll it and use it for mulch.

Greatest hazards in 'regular hay' is botulism. IT takes moisture contents above 70% for this (not like to happen, but it only takes a tiny bit of botox). Other concerns on sudan are the micotoxins. Pink molds would be indicative of T2/vomitoxin (mainly a concern about repro problems in heifers), grey molds (penicillins), and faint black spec molds (aflatoxin, powerful carcinogin). There are some other potentially unidentified mictoxins but thos ewould be the big 3. By al means get it dry, this more than anything else will reduce spoilage problems. Good news, except for botulism it is unlikely to kill cows, and it is hard to kill a cow with botox (I lost 2 horses to it feeding out of the same rings as 100 cows and none of the cows ever even looked ill). Cows are much more tolerant than horses. I can pull out my old notes on micotoxins, see what else comes up and what labs test for what.

Thanks for the reply,

Mark

I run a couple hundred head of herford, shorthorn, and limosine all with a brahma mix. I have pushed moldy, mildewed, rotting hay in a ditch just to get it out of the way. The cattle crawled into the ditch to eat it rather than the good dry bermuda that I fed in the field. Not a one ever looked ill. They were selective of what portions they would eat and what they left. I think they can determine what will make them sick.

With the cows being cubed the hay is mostly filler anyway. So if it were me I would just feed it where it is out of the way and let them eat what they want.

Most important is get it out of the field so you can get the next cutting of (hopefully) better hay. I know how you feel I got some laying down and weed coming up through what should have been cut weeks ago. With all the rain (eastern Oklahoma) it has been impossible. It looks hopeful this weekend though.

Hayman has a good point with the horses though. They cannot withstand near as much as a cow.

Good Luck,
Clay

Thanks for the reply.

Mark