Cut Grass Question

[mjdtexan]

Around here I cut my lawn (the two acres that are not pasture) and my parents lawn next door (one acre) once a week. Can those fresh lawn clippings be fed to cows and if so is it the same nutrishion (sp?) as a cow forageing? I know its probably a silly question.

 

[mjdtexan]

Of course.



What do you think hay is?

TNMasterBeefProducer, I really wasnt sure. I did figure out from this site that hay comes from different types of fields. For a person not really exposed to raising livestock you really have no reason to give it some thought. When I was a wee kid, the man who raised me had a cow or two on occasion but I really had no interaction with them. We did raise a few hogs and I was involved with that. Back then we could go to the grain tracks in Channelview and shovel up corn by the RR tracks and we fed them slop. I remember we raised the hogs on a wood platform that we could spray off daily and that was my job.

I am thinking the grass would need to be fed to the cows right away, no? I dont have bailing equipment and I no if you keep grass in plastic trash bags that stuff can get pretty rank. Its a lot of grass and it might help me to keep some cost down. Maybe?

 

[c farmer]

I was told no grass clippings because the cows can not tell the differance between the grass and any weeds that might be harmful to them. When out in pasture they know what they can eat and what not to eat.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

The only thing would be if the lawns were sprayed or had some kind of chemicals applied to them. Then you would not want to feed it to the cows.

 

[c farmer]

Honestly I have never heard this. Would it not be the same as feeding hay with weeds in it? I get a few weeds every now and then in my hay. Some of it is horse nettle and what not. The leaves are always dead and what not. I have cows eat the hay and they aint dead yet and they do not go around eating horse nettle. So I disagree.

I agree with you, thats just what I was told along time ago by an old farmer. So I dont feed grass clippings.

 

[chippie]

If it is St. Augustine grass, it will not have very much nutritional value. If you treat your lawns for weeds or insects, I wouldn't feed it.

 

[jkwilson]

I've always been told not to feed grass clippings because they were chopped too fine and would cause bloat and that they can overconsume and clog up their plumbing. True or not, I don't know, but I'd rather somebody else be the guinea pig.

 

[spinandslide]

I feed cut grass to my calf..never hurt her.

 

[FFACOWGIRL]

I started feeding my heirers cut grass. I have found that if you use a mower that grinds it up fine they wont eat it. Especialy if it has dirt/stones mixed in. I have a lawn mover that is basicly a weedwaker under a lawn mower body. it leaves the cut grass in longer pices. i mow a few strips a day. rake it up and dump it in a pile over the fence. Definately don't cut it all and try to bag it. and they wont eat it if you don't rake and feed it quickly(within a few hours). once it dries up its gone.

 

[mjdtexan]

Thanks all. I am gonna try it. Going to Tractor Supply this weekend to get t-post and barbed wire to make the pasture secure for calves (2) that we are going to purchase in March. Gonna start going to the auctions and just watching to see how things go.

Kinda eggcited actually.

I noticed that the lawn is not ready to cut this week. The growing has slowed down. Since I got interested in calves I have been watching the pasture and my lawn closely.

 

[ScottP]

Here's a Video on Forage, pretty useful stuff like when to cut, what's best for the cow

http://www.24-7agtv.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=0&id=67