Acorns?

[BAGTIC]

I am new at this.

I know deer, pigs, tukeys, squirrels, etc all eat acorns but will it hurt cattle if they eat too many, how ever much that is. We have a bumper acorn crop this year and my animals all hanging out under the oaks vacuuming acorns like they were popcorn while ignoring perfectly good grass.

 

[Scotty]

Yes. It is a condition called acidosis. More dangerous when the acorns are green, jsut fallen off the trees. The dried ones can hurt also. Anything cattle start eat and get to muc hof right off the bat is not a good thing. New feed stuffs should always be slowly introduced. I they are camping out under the tree I suggest feeding some free choice hay or better get them away from the tree.

 

[stocky]

If you cant keep them away from the acorns, make sure they have plenty of hay or grass to eat to cushion those sharp pointed acorns that cut the stomach lining and set up infection. Generally, after a good hard freeze, the acorns will not cause problems. Fresh green ones can kill cattle. It is true that deer, turkey, pigs, and squirrels will get fat on acorns, but cattle will starve or die sometimes

 

[Caustic Burno]

If you cant keep them away from the acorns, make sure they have plenty of hay or grass to eat to cushion those sharp pointed acorns that cut the stomach lining and set up infection. Generally, after a good hard freeze, the acorns will not cause problems. Fresh green ones can kill cattle. It is true that deer, turkey, pigs, and squirrels will get fat on acorns, but cattle will starve or die sometimes

Pin Oak and Live oak acorns are deadly due to the tannic acid and a cow will eat them till she kills herself. No problem with red oak and white oak acorns as my pastures are full of them plus woods that are fenced off.

 

[stocky]

Caustic, I dont mean to seem disagreeable, but red oak and white oak are the trees most common here. White oak give the most problems for us. I know of cattlemen who have cut every white oak on the place after losing cattle to them. I have been with a vet when he cut open a cow that was packed tight with white oak acorns and starved to death along with the infection from not being able to digest anything. Most of the time, here, the poison comes from the infection from the slicing of the stomach lining from the sharp point on the acorns. The animal will be sluggish and lose weight and have the scours and might live for a month before dying from infection, no matter how much medicine you give it. Others will heal and get well. Sometimes the acorns pack and starve the cow. The "acorn poisoning" is much worse in a drought where there is little grass to cushion those sharp points.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Caustic, I dont mean to seem disagreeable, but red oak and white oak are the trees most common here. White oak give the most problems for us. I know of cattlemen who have cut every white oak on the place after losing cattle to them. I have been with a vet when he cut open a cow that was packed tight with white oak acorns and starved to death along with the infection from not being able to digest anything. Most of the time, here, the poison comes from the infection from the slicing of the stomach lining from the sharp point on the acorns. The animal will be sluggish and lose weight and have the scours and might live for a month before dying from infection, no matter how much medicine you give it. Others will heal and get well. Sometimes the acorns pack and starve the cow. The "acorn poisoning" is much worse in a drought where there is little grass to cushion those sharp points.

Just the opposite here my cows are grazing white oak acrons right now. Might be a regional difference in soils or something.
I have acres of red oak bottoms fenced in the pasture with no problems. A live oak acorn is a dead cow here.

 

[Limomike]

My cattle have eatten acorns for years... no problems at all.
But I do have alot of grass for them to eat.. so that maybe the solution.

 

[Jogeephus]

I believe it has to do with the amount they eat. If you have plenty of grazing and they nibble at them there is no big problem. However, if that is all they got to eat and they gorge themselves you feed the buzzards. Same with wild cherry.

 

[lilmac]

My place is coverd with post oak, red oak, and blackjack. Last year we had a bumper crop of acorns, the ground crunched when you walked and like Bagtic said the cows would eat them like popcorn.
My cows are LH, and LHX. They roam between pastures of bermuda, bluestem, and even a small pasture (5 acre) of fescue. I feed them a small amount of range cubes every day just to keep them comming up so I don't have to go find them and check on them. They had no ill efects of the acorns, in fact they are just as slick and fat as always. I don't know if the breed has anything to do with it, but I have always heard that longhorn will thrive where most cows will starve. The LH are like me, they will eat anything, and get fat on it. :lol:
The cows that I worked out west were angus, and herfords. They would eat acorns from scrub oak when they could find them, but not that many to find.
Anyway just my 2 cents worth, which is not much.
Mac

 

[Limomike]

Lilmac,
I doubt the breed has anything to do with it... I think it has to do more with the amount of consumption as well as what else there is to forage on. My cattle like yours have plenty of grazing of bermunda, fescue, lespedeza mix. so, I doubt the acorns would affect them as much as others.