Grazing Radishes and Turnips

[lukem86]

Planted about 7 acres of radishes and turnips, with a little annual ryegrass as a cover crop after some grazing corn this summer.. Just turned the cattle into it yesterday. They are standing by the fence bawling and are not eating. Are these things that unplatable to cattle or are mine just whining?

 

[backhoeboogie]

Just don't stand too close behind when they start eating it.

We can't plant turnips anymore around these parts. They are feral hog magnets. Back when we did, many cows got after them.

 

[showing71]

We planted turnips a few years back to give the cows something to eat in a pasture that we were getting grass established in. They never touched the stuff. They had access to 40 acres of turnips and 10 of grass, they stayed in the grass the entire time until they got rotated to a new pasture.

 

[dun]

It's probably an aquired taste. If they have never had them and there is anything else even weeds, they'll most likely just ignore them. We planted them about 5-6 years ago along with rape. The deer appreciated it but the cows wouln;t touch them.

 

[turklilley]

My cows were slow to start eating turnips, after they got started, they couldn't get enough. I had 9 acres. They ate the tops first, then started eating the turnips, rooted them out like pigs. That ground looked like it had been plowed. That was not all they had to eat either, but they would spend half a day looking for missed turnips.

 

[Jogeephus]

Yes, its an acquired taste and it does take them a little time to see how good they are but like said once they start eating them they don't want to stop. After grazing brassicas mine will even search out wild turnips which no cows seem to want to eat. Its good feed.

 

[upfrombottom]

They will hit them hard after a good frost and they begin to wilt. The sugar content will go up after a frost or freeze.

 

[Douglas]

Give them another day and they will be fine. Usually the second or thrid day they will go after it. Not to worry.

 

[pdfangus]

as a kid one of my daily fall jobs was to pull turnips and throw em over the fence to the cows.

cows would come running and it was comical to watch the young ones figure out how to eat a 6 or 8 inch turnip.

 

[Anonymous]

The leaves on both are bitter tasting until first frost as mentioned just like rape plants. But they are high in nutrition, and even if they taste bad the cows will eat them, but hold yer haty after the first frost!

 

[3MR]

They are good feed once they figure it out and like previously mentioned; they will dig for them once they figure out the really good part is under ground.

Turnips that is, I have no idea about the radishes, but would guess its the same.