Heifers eating oat seedheads?

[Douglas]

Is this a problem? I have some heifers in the neighborhood of 700 lbs, cleaning up ryegrass/oat pasture. I noticed today they are pretty much only consuming the mature oat seadheads. Trying to get reseeding going on this pasture. Manure texture and color very different than before. Do i have to worry about over consumption?

[KNERSIE]

No, we graze oats to fatten culls routinely without any problems, don't let them go hungry before letting them into the oats

[Douglas]

Sounds like you do this on purpose vs. accident here. Do you find it is cost effective for your purpose of fattening culls?
Thanks for the repsonse.

[KNERSIE]

Sounds like you do this on purpose vs. accident here. Do you find it is cost effective for your purpose of fattening culls?
Thanks for the repsonse.

Very much so, mature animals fatten in a very short space of time grazing on mature oats. You could use a variety of other small grains as well, its just that the oats seed stays better in the seed head than the other small grains and has hardly any risk of accidosis. Wheat especially is prone to causing accidosis, more so in sheep than cattle.

[Douglas]

The really do fatten up, my heifers look like they are bred with less than a week grazing oats.