Mowed Pasture With Toxic Weeds, How Long To Keep Cows Off?

[TexFarmer]

Today I mowed one of my pastures with a lot of toxic horsenettle/silverleaf nightshade that popped up during this drought we're having here in Texas. The weed is toxic to cattle even once it's dried (an animal can be poisoned by eating 0.1 to 0.3 percent of its weight). My cows don't touch it when it's growing in the pasture but I'm concerned with it chopped up and drying in the sun it might increase the palpability and my cows might munch on it. Are my concerns legitimate and if so, how long should I keep my cows off the pasture after today's mowing?

 

[cowboy43]

Where did u get that information, I have mowed such weeds and never removed cows or had a problem..?

 

[TexFarmer]

Here's where I got the info:

https://rangeplants.tamu.edu/plant/silverleaf-nightshade/
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/ethnobot/images/silverleaf.html

It also contains the steroidal glycoalkaloid solanidine used in hormone synthesis. Glycoalkaloids from members of the nightshade family have been shown to be effective in variety of medical applications, including limiting growth of certain cancer cells

Maybe I shouldn't have mowed it down, I might be sitting on a gold mine..

 

[cowboy43]

A person never gets to old to learn, all new information to me. Like I said I have never to my knowledge had a problem after mowing and leaving the cows on the mowed area. It is hard to kill with a herbicide .

 

[cowboy43]

A person never gets to old to learn, all new information to me. Like I said I have never to my knowledge had a problem after mowing and leaving the cows on the mowed area. It is hard to kill with a herbicide .

 

[jschoolcraft86]

I just mowed down quite a bit of nightshade not long ago and my cows have been turned out on that pasture for a couple weeks without issue. I can't stand that stuff.

 

[5S Cattle]

I never knew the stuff was toxic. Shredded a bunch of it, never had a problem

 

[ccr]

we spray grazon pd in spring, but still get a few silverleaf night shade. we go back later and spot spray (it does seem harder to control than most of the other weeds). got a friend that said several of his cows died one year, but he probably had overgrazed his pasture. my understanding the cattle don't eat it unless that is all there is to eat.