Ergot pics

[Knapview]

Thanks Rod - we have so many questions right now and it's tough to find answers to them all. We have pulled the hay we were feeding, otherwise they are on corn silage, wrapped oats and red clover (just bought this week so not the source thank goodness), steam flaked corn and commercial top dress so we can at least keep them going reasonably well until we get some more answers. We do have some neighbours that have offered some square bales so will draw home a couple of wagon loads tomorrow to get us through. I guess our real concern right now is determining what kind of issues we may have with the cows that are bred. It's tough to figure - the whole herd has been on the same hay and for some reason, this one heifer calf gets gangrene - we had two bulls and another heifer all born around the same time and they were fine. No rhyme or reason that we can figure.

Take care,
Deb

 

[Beefy]

some cattle seek out the seedheads to eat and thereby get more concentrated ergot, whereas others are less selective. i know the cow whos teats rotted that i had would go through a field and nip off the seedheads. would be harder to do with hay, but still possible. also youve got your aggressive feeders that get more of what they like than the others...

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

The oats would be an alarm for me, and I'd probably pull that. I don't know if corn can get ergot or not. I didn't see anything in my travels that indicated it could, but I wasn't looking for it either. Your local ag rep or elevator agent would be able to tell you for sure.

As far as what animal got it, I think it boils down to size (my two smallest calves got hit the hardest. Less body mass, so if they got a morsel of ergot it would "go" alot further) and possibly heart fitness. Ergot poisoning leads to a gradual restriction in the blood veins in the extremities and the reproductive organs, hence the reason it resembles freezing, and why the animals abort.

As far as the cows that didn't abort, my vet told me that the animal will eventually recover and return to normal (unless necrosis had set in on the extremity). I would have to believe that if the cow hadn't aborted, then pulling the feed has probably allowed you to dodge that bullet.

Rod

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

Now that I've got more time, a couple more odds and ends that I picked up along the way:

- ergot poisoning in hay and silage isn't completely understood yet. There have been cases where hay/grain that was to be silaged was sent in for testing. It came back 20x the recommended level for ergot. After spending 6 months in silage, the ergot level dropped in half.

- acceptable ergot levels in feed vary between .2% in wheat/rye all the way down to a few parts per billion in alfalfa hay. I can't find out why its more acceptable in the hotter feeds, unless it allows the rumen to process the ergot into waste versus poison. Any vet on the list able to comment?

- ergotted seeds release a spore that can be every bit as poisonous as the ergotted seed itself. Its referred to as musty ergot. What I don't know, and hope to have answered some day, is if the hay test performed in Missouri tests for musty ergot spores.

- ergot poisoning can occur in a single dose, or can occur over time. You can't tell from looking at the animal whether it was single dose or slow poisoning, as the flesh will only show signs of when necrosis began. I don't know if they can test the animal after death to determine it, but I'd find it unlikely.

- lastly, since ergot affects the reproductive organs in females and extremities in all animals, I'd really like to know if it affects or permanently damages a bulls reproductive organs/abilities. Its not a big deal for me this year, as both my bulls are likely going for hamburger, but it would still be nice to know.

Rod