Anything you shouldn't feed to cows?

[Anonymous]

Have some garden residue and have been feeding to the cows...Corn fodder I'm sure is fine. But what about Purple Hull Pea hulls and other things? Are there things like that you shouldn't feed them?

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[Anonymous]

potato tops, rhubarb leaves, tomato tops, are questionable to bad.

carrot plants, brassicas, bean plants, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard are fine but palatablity is questionable. They may stick their nose in the air... just like your kids.

carrots are fine and cornplants are relished with great glee.



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[Anonymous]

Certain plants are highly poisonous. Japanese yew or in fact any yew is very toxic. Foxglove, hollyhocks, the big flower spikes that are biennial, Delphinium? (can you believe it's been a loooonnnngggg day?), certain weeds, tobacco....contact your regional ag office for a full list for your area!

 

[Anonymous]

> Be cautious how much green sweet corn fodder you feed at one time. We have had cows bloat. Our vet blamed the high sugar content in the green corn. We still feed it in smaller quantities and closely watch the cattle.

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[Anonymous]

Vicki

I thought that one could feed fresh tobacco leaves to worm cattle. Not true?

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[Anonymous]

Frankly, I don't live in a major tobacco area, I don't smoke, in fact I have asthma to smoke (and pigs!) so I'm not big on tobacco to begin with, but it is a known teratogen, which means it causes birth defects when fed to cattle or pigs at higher levels. What's not certain is what happens at lower levels... Add in all the carcinogens in the stuff and frankly, I'd prefer insecticides going into the cattle. If someone is organic and feeding the stuff, consider diatomaceous earth. They're both only marginally effective but at least DM is safe to the fetus!