Is there any relatively easy treatment for acorn toxicity?
- Thread starter greybeard
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JW IN VA
Well-known member
Dad had a big loss from acorns in the late 70s on a rented farm with a big white oak area. Lost six market weight calves and one cow. All we knew to do for them then was dose with mineral oil to coat the digestive tract and help get them passed on through. Careful to shut cattle away until the deer cleaned them up after that.
Sheep used to go to the mountain after them in the fall. Lost very few.
Sheep used to go to the mountain after them in the fall. Lost very few.
OP
OP
greybeard
Well-known member
Interesting..
Texas A&M Forest Service
Water Oak
Quercus nigra
Secondary Names:
Pin Oak
Leaf Type: Deciduous
Texas Native:
Tree Description:
A large tree to 90 feet or more and a trunk to 3 feet in diameter, with a dense, round crown of dark green foliage.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs along the borders of swamps and streams and on rich bottomlands in East Texas, west and south to the Colorado River.
Leaf:
Simple, alternate, 2" to 4" long and 1" to 2" wide, obovate or slightly three-lobed at the outer end, bristle-tipped, thin, dull bluish-green above and lighter green beneath, persisting on the twigs late into winter. Juvenile leaves are highly variable and have a mix of sharp teeth and rounded lobes.
Flower:
Separate male and female flowers appear on the same tree in spring when the leaves begin to unfold; male flowers are borne on a yellowish catkin 2" to 3" long; the female flowers are less conspicuous and clustered on a short stalk.
Fruit:
An acorn, requiring two years to mature, 0.5" to 0.75" long and wide, light brown or yellowish-brown and enclosed only at the base in the thin, saucer-shaped cup.
Bark:
Smooth, light brown to dark gray, with many thin scales over the surface; developing broad, smooth plates on older trunks.
Wood:
Heavy, hard, and strong, light brown in color, with lighter-colored sapwood; utilized chiefly for crossties, fuelwood, and pulp.
Similar Species:
Willow oak (Quercus phellos) has narrow, linear leaves and rougher bark; laurel oak (Q. laurifolia) occurs only on very wet sites and has semi-evergreen, elliptical leaves.
Interesting Facts:
Along with several other oaks, water oak is commonly referred to as "pin oak" because of its similarities to the true pin oak (Quercus palustris), except for leaf shape. This name is almost generic for any unknown oak species.
Texas A&M Forest Service
Water Oak
Quercus nigra
Secondary Names:
Pin Oak
Leaf Type: Deciduous
Texas Native:
Tree Description:
A large tree to 90 feet or more and a trunk to 3 feet in diameter, with a dense, round crown of dark green foliage.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs along the borders of swamps and streams and on rich bottomlands in East Texas, west and south to the Colorado River.
Leaf:
Simple, alternate, 2" to 4" long and 1" to 2" wide, obovate or slightly three-lobed at the outer end, bristle-tipped, thin, dull bluish-green above and lighter green beneath, persisting on the twigs late into winter. Juvenile leaves are highly variable and have a mix of sharp teeth and rounded lobes.
Flower:
Separate male and female flowers appear on the same tree in spring when the leaves begin to unfold; male flowers are borne on a yellowish catkin 2" to 3" long; the female flowers are less conspicuous and clustered on a short stalk.
Fruit:
An acorn, requiring two years to mature, 0.5" to 0.75" long and wide, light brown or yellowish-brown and enclosed only at the base in the thin, saucer-shaped cup.
Bark:
Smooth, light brown to dark gray, with many thin scales over the surface; developing broad, smooth plates on older trunks.
Wood:
Heavy, hard, and strong, light brown in color, with lighter-colored sapwood; utilized chiefly for crossties, fuelwood, and pulp.
Similar Species:
Willow oak (Quercus phellos) has narrow, linear leaves and rougher bark; laurel oak (Q. laurifolia) occurs only on very wet sites and has semi-evergreen, elliptical leaves.
Interesting Facts:
Along with several other oaks, water oak is commonly referred to as "pin oak" because of its similarities to the true pin oak (Quercus palustris), except for leaf shape. This name is almost generic for any unknown oak species.
Lucky_P
Well-known member
There you go! Common names.
That last sentence says a lot. I frequently see folks refer to Willow oak (Q.phellos) as 'pin oak', too.
Along those lines... to many people if it's an evergreen with needles... it's a pine... regardless of whether it's a pine, spruce, juniper, Thuja, hemlock, etc.
That last sentence says a lot. I frequently see folks refer to Willow oak (Q.phellos) as 'pin oak', too.
Along those lines... to many people if it's an evergreen with needles... it's a pine... regardless of whether it's a pine, spruce, juniper, Thuja, hemlock, etc.
EasTex
Well-known member
I did not know cattle could die from acorns. Guess I need to sale my cows because I have a lot of oak trees that I am not cutting down.
Silver
Well-known member
A lot of people also assume that just because a tree has needles that they won't shed them every fall
callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
Lots of years we have a complete cover of acorns on the ground. And the cows eat them. In fact I can remember my grandfather commenting on how the cows should be ok for a while, they're eating acorns. Idk.. apparently it's a thing but I've never seen it.
Guess a person could sprinkle Lyme on the acorns? We have predominantly oak trees on our land and I haven't heard of acorn poisoning until this article. My family also had cow's since the 50's, which is way before my time. We have several kinds of oak, walnut, cherry, sycamore, hickory and Ash trees .
kenny thomas
Well-known member
It seem to me that some cows eat them and some don't. Good grazing seems to lessen the effects. Maybe none of the cows were ever taught to eat them by the previous generation.
Scottish Highlands and Long Horns.
We are in the land of live oak trees. In certain years the ground beneath them is solid acorns. I can say with out a doubt we have never lost one cow to acorns. I can't say I have even even seen them eat them. The will skin any oak leaf that groes with in reach though.
In these cases are acorns the best source of food going? I wonder what draws the cattle to them.
I'm thinking Brahmans may have a higher tolerance for them. Apparently green leaves and other plants can cause the same effect. Brahman cattle will go right down a brush line eating on leaves and things if the need to with no I'll effect.
In these cases are acorns the best source of food going? I wonder what draws the cattle to them.
I'm thinking Brahmans may have a higher tolerance for them. Apparently green leaves and other plants can cause the same effect. Brahman cattle will go right down a brush line eating on leaves and things if the need to with no I'll effect.
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Cowsout
Active member
My property has a lot of oaks and this year and last year those oaks produced an incredible bounty of acorns. Both my horses and Angus browse on them and none have ever shown any adverse effects. The cattle have a roll of hay to munch on, and there's still some grass, so they aren't feeding exclusively on acorns. FWIW.
TexasBred
Well-known member
I've got probably 50 oaks in my pastures and the cattle eat them without any problems. But I've also visited places that had lost cattle from the acorns. The darn cows would literally be standing under the trees waiting for the next acorn to fall. All with very runny diarrhea full of acorn shells and all poor as snakes.
OP
OP
greybeard
Well-known member
That, is the usual symptom. Poopy rears and black tail switches. The cattle that will eat them love them but the acorns run right thru them, which is why they gorge themselves on them. They aren't retaining much sustenance.
I don't 'know' that breed specifics has anything to do with it, but my beefmasters wouldn't eat 'em but about 1/4 of my simm/char cows would and did. The char/angus cross cows here now (pasture is leased to a neighbor) are worse about it than any I've ever seen. He doesn't feed near as much hay as I did tho.
I had heard of acorn poisoning but that is all, this thread has been very informative and timely. I spoke with a customer/ friend yesterday, he had purchased two bred heifers from us. I asked how they were doing he said heifers were ok but both lost their calves needless to say I was shook, he paid good money for those heifers. i of course wanted details we all know sometimes a heifer will just lose a calf and the how could be any number of things. He said he had a necrospy done and found that they died from the heifers eating acorns which caused renal failure in the fetus. I admit until that conversation I had only heard of it but never though much about it. We have oak trees here but I have no idea what kind and not A lot of them.
Nesikep
Well-known member
talking to some ranchers around here, one guy didn't feed his cows for too long going into the winter, so they went into the forest to eat ponderosa pine needles
Couple days later he had 100 aborted calves... Some cows will browse on them for fun, but most won't.. either way, I've waged war against pines around my grazing fields..
I've had a number of abortions from them, one every year or two, so not like it was a sweeping disease, we'd figured they'd fought, slipped, fell, etc... then I found there was a certain timeline to it.. a few days after a heavy snow, where the branches of the trees would get weighed down and they could reach them again. since then, I've done everything I could to keep them away from pines, cold, wind, rain be darned, they're not going in the draws for shelter.. haven't had any since!
Once they get the taste of something it can be really hard to break them of the habit
Couple days later he had 100 aborted calves... Some cows will browse on them for fun, but most won't.. either way, I've waged war against pines around my grazing fields..
I've had a number of abortions from them, one every year or two, so not like it was a sweeping disease, we'd figured they'd fought, slipped, fell, etc... then I found there was a certain timeline to it.. a few days after a heavy snow, where the branches of the trees would get weighed down and they could reach them again. since then, I've done everything I could to keep them away from pines, cold, wind, rain be darned, they're not going in the draws for shelter.. haven't had any since!
Once they get the taste of something it can be really hard to break them of the habit
OP
OP
greybeard
Well-known member
Nesikep..how far along (? trimester) were the aborted calves?
If pine needles were a problem here, I'd be in deep pooh pooh. (but, maybe I HAVE had abort problems from them over the years and just never knew it because I didn't find an aborted fetus?)
Most of the pines I have, the limbs are way up there, but recently, I've got a lot of little pine seedlings popping up..
If pine needles were a problem here, I'd be in deep pooh pooh. (but, maybe I HAVE had abort problems from them over the years and just never knew it because I didn't find an aborted fetus?)
Most of the pines I have, the limbs are way up there, but recently, I've got a lot of little pine seedlings popping up..
EasTex
Well-known member
If acorns and pine needles kill them, then I am screwed!
Don't worry. You won't have one die of acorn toxicity. Until you do. Then you will. But, until then, you're fine. Don't worry about it.
