> The attached link has a good deal
> of information on Johne's. You
> will need Adobe Acrobat Reader yo
> read it. You can get it free from
> "http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html".
> The one thing it does say is that
> it isn't seen until cattle reach
> 3-4 years of age. Feeding a lot of
> grain can cause the rumen to
> become inbalanced so that forage
> cannot be utilized as efficiently
> as it should. When we feed grain
> other then to finish a steer we
> feed high levels of corn gluten,
> it doesn't upset the rumen balance
> dunmovin farms I think they answered your question about the johnne's disease itself but I've learned that it is not safe to feed grain to males in cows or goats and maybe others. It causes urinary calculating or stones to form and unless it is just a steer for butchering could cause you problems down the line. Also it can cause a problem called acidosis which makes the rumen an acidic place and the natural bacteria that breaks down the cows feed will die off and it won't gain weight unless it is receiving enough grain to live on. It's other forms of forage won't do it any good because the bacteria that break it down will die off according to a book I was reading on the subject.(Raising Beef Cattle by Heather Smith Thomas)
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