CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP

[plbcattle]

I just moved my cattle to a new place that I bought. it has the best looking grass on it. the cows are going to town on the grass. checked the cows last night and they were gine. this morning one heifer looked drunk. she couldn't hardly get up and when she did she shook and fell down. I called the vet and he came out and instantly said she had Dallas grass poisoning. we tried to give her an anti inflamitory but she got away. later in the day a couple more cows were having the same symptoms. I am bush hogging the grass to get rid of the seed heads. he said they get moldy and the cattle eat them and get sick. he said he has never seen a cow die from this and normally are back to normal within 24 hours. have any of you heard of this or know of any treatment or side effects of this. the cattle are hard to treat because they can't walk to the pens to treat them and they can still get around good enough to avoid you. thanks

 

[Kelly]

Can you get them moved to a different pasture or paddock w/ hay & water until to get a hold on it? If you can set up a little catch area in the area you would have a better chance to catch them and treat them with what the vet reccomended. I hope everything turns out o.k.

 

[Texan]

I am bush hogging the grass to get rid of the seed heads. he said they get moldy and the cattle eat them and get sick. he said he has never seen a cow die from this and normally are back to normal within 24 hours. have any of you heard of this or know of any treatment or side effects of this. the cattle are hard to treat because they can't walk to the pens to treat them and they can still get around good enough to avoid you. thanks

PLB, you need to try to get them on another pasture if you can. Try not to run them too much. Your vet is right in that they should get over it with time and something else to eat. Shredding the seed heads doesn't always help unless the seed shatters off pretty easily and falls to the ground. Shouldn't affect all of them, because you usually have some seedhead "browsers" that will get enough to show symptoms while the rest won't.

I've never seen one die either, but I suspect that you could kill them trying to treat them. Time and a change in diet is probably the best bet, in my experience. Check out this link in the Merck. Dallis, bahia and florida paspalum are all members of the paspalum family. Good luck!

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/212111.htm&word=Paspalum

 

[TheBullLady]

We've got Dallas grass scattered around our pastures, but I've never had this happen! I wonder what makes them want to eat the seed heads? I remember a few evenings ago we were sitting out in the yard, and one of the heifers came by and was eating the seed heads off the Bahia. I never realized it could be toxic.

 

[Campground Cattle]

We've got Dallas grass scattered around our pastures, but I've never had this happen! I wonder what makes them want to eat the seed heads? I remember a few evenings ago we were sitting out in the yard, and one of the heifers came by and was eating the seed heads off the Bahia. I never realized it could be toxic.

Doubt if you would notice with Brahmans heck they can live off barb wire and tree bark. :lol: :lol: Just kidding

 

[TheBullLady]

... don't forget prickly pear and sagebrush!

:lol:

 

[plbcattle]

well after a sleepless night and all morning recruiting anyone who has ever owed me anything. We showed up with tractors and bushhogs to get the seedheads knocked down. all teh cows seem much better. I have one cow that had a calf right at the begining of her symptoms. she barely licked her calf clean and abandoned it. so today i take the calf around the affected cow and she won;t let the calf nurse. she knows its her calf but is just out of it mentally. I am bottlefeeding this calf and I was wondering when the effects from the posion wear off if she will start to nurse her calf. any sugestions. Thanks

 

[Ann Bledsoe]

well after a sleepless night and all morning recruiting anyone who has ever owed me anything. We showed up with tractors and bushhogs to get the seedheads knocked down. all teh cows seem much better. I have one cow that had a calf right at the begining of her symptoms. she barely licked her calf clean and abandoned it. so today i take the calf around the affected cow and she won;t let the calf nurse. she knows its her calf but is just out of it mentally. I am bottlefeeding this calf and I was wondering when the effects from the posion wear off if she will start to nurse her calf. any sugestions. Thanks

If the cow's not being nursed by the calf, you'll need to milk her out at least once a day to keep her from drying up.

Ann B