Not disease - weed??

[angus9259]

This is a new thread from the cow that had diarrhea and losing condition. Her stool showed no parasites, blood no Johnes, no rectal temp. Pulled her off and put her on hay - she's doing better. Have some yearling bulls a number of unrelated pastures away also losing condition rather surprisingly now. Is it something in the pasture with these wet/dry weather swings? Vet found a lot of pollen spores in the cow's stool probably from one of the two plants pictured below coming in strong in my pasture. Any knowledge of these weeds?

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii11 ... /weed2.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii11 ... /weed1.jpg

 

[M.Magis]

I recognize the first, but don't know the name. The second just appears to be crabgrass.

 

[angie1]

I believe it is what we call waterhemp ~ you can confirm the identity here. We have plenty in our pastures here, and it has never been a problem that I have heard of, but it looks as though it can be.

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wee ... r_hemp.htm

 

[hillsdown]

I think Angie is right about the water hemp ,looks like the pic in the link she posted.

Sorry angus, I can't help. Have you taken a few plants into your local crop specialist. I have been doing that all spring and summer as with all the moisture we have had new things here that I have never seen before. Thankfully none were noxious.

 

[angus9259]

It is waterhemp according to the pic and, right now, it is in abundance. Haven't seen as much of it before as I do now - probably the odd year. I'm in that time of year when I'm pushing the cattle to eat their far fields down in entirety as I bring them closer to home for the winter and they're probably being "pushed" into eating more of this as well. I'm gonna put a bale of hay in each field to see if that helps spread their diet out a bit.

 

[dun]

The first one looks like spiny pigweed (aka Spiny amaranth, Amaranthus spinosus) if it is it's really toxic but cows generally won;t touch the stuff. Same family as water hemp, probably just as toxic. http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/amasp.htm
The second one looks like goosegrass http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/goosegrass.html

 

[1982vett]

The first one looks like spiny pigweed (aka Spiny amaranth, Amaranthus spinosus) if it is it's really toxic but cows generally won;t touch the stuff. Same family as water hemp, probably just as toxic. http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/amasp.htm
The second one looks like goosegrass http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/goosegrass.html

Ding ding ding ding.....I do believe we have a winner........... :lol:

 

[TexasBred]

The first one looks like spiny pigweed (aka Spiny amaranth, Amaranthus spinosus) if it is it's really toxic but cows generally won;t touch the stuff. Same family as water hemp, probably just as toxic. http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/amasp.htm
The second one looks like goosegrass http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/goosegrass.html

Ding ding ding ding.....I do believe we have a winner........... :lol:

First one looks like what everone around here calls careless weed.....not desirable but never had any problems from it.

 

[angus9259]

The first one looks like spiny pigweed (aka Spiny amaranth, Amaranthus spinosus) if it is it's really toxic but cows generally won;t touch the stuff. =

I don't think they were touching it . . . . at first . . . but as the green goes, they turn to it maybe? I can see they've been eating it. I'll tell you what, some of them look like they've fresh through a drought. Skin and bones. And it happened fast.

 

[angus9259]

Symptoms of poisoning from these plants doesn't seem to match though. They don't mention diarrhea and rapid weight loss.

 

[cross_7]

Symptoms of poisoning from these plants doesn't seem to match though. They don't mention diarrhea and rapid weight loss.

like other have said the plants look like pigweed/careless weeds.
the only dangers i know of from the weed is nitrate or prussic acid poisoning and both cause death fairly quick.
any blood in the diarrhea,constipation, mucus type dicharge in the diarrhea ?
are they eating any type of oak leaves or acrons ?
what your describing is acorn or oak poisoning. (diarrhea and weight loss)

 

[cross_7]

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publica ... A-3104.pdf

i had a place that had sand shinnery on it and it was a problem to manage.
other places where there are lots of oaks and acorns have a simular problem
mostly i tried to supplement them with hay so they wouldn't get enough tannins to be a problem.
supplementing would probably work not matter the problem.

also check your mineral program

 

[dun]

Something strange about pigweed. After it is dried it doesn;t seem to have a negative affect on cattle. We had a field that was almost all pigweed. I baled it and the neighbor hauled it to his place and used it to fill guleys and erosion ditches. His cows discovered the stuff and ate it like candy. The only negative affect he had/has is now his pastures are grown up in a lot of pigweed from the cows reseeding the stuff.

 

[angus9259]

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-3104.pdf

i had a place that had sand shinnery on it and it was a problem to manage.
other places where there are lots of oaks and acorns have a simular problem
mostly i tried to supplement them with hay so they wouldn't get enough tannins to be a problem.
supplementing would probably work not matter the problem.

also check your mineral program

I had thought of acorn poisoning but dismissed it. The cow was on a field w/o acorns and her diarrhea was green. The bulls WERE on a field with acorns - but there was plenty of pasture. I've never had a problem, considering perhaps that there was enough pasture to eat that the total quantity of acorns couldn't amass the problem. Their diarrhea isn't dark colored either - no blood, etc. I have a good (at least expensive) mineral program. I've never really found what is conclusively a good program. Perhaps it's a combination of a number of things.

 

[TexasBred]

Cattle 'hooked' on acorns usually don't have manure at all...just a stream of brown water with a few chewed up acorn hulls in it.

 

[cross_7]

the shinnery(shin oak) problem i had was when they ate the leaves.
they would lose condition, diarrhea with some blood and mucus.
a bad case they would lie around the water trough and had a crusty snot on their noses.
i would try and feed hay until the leaves matured and were less palatable.
i think the same thing happens with oak and new growth after a wet period and after a frost and leaves drop and are consumed heavily the tannin acid builds up.

 

[Beefy]

the weeds look like pigweed and goosegrass to me. my cows eat both all the time.
symptoms to me sound like coccidiosis, which can be hard to detect in a fecal sample. (i find it very hard to believe NO parasites were found in ANY stool sample.)

 

[Sir Loin]

angus9259

I suspect you are barking up the wrong tree.
Cattle are hardy animals and they are not stupid to the point of committing suicide by eating something they know is making them sick, unless of course it tastes good.

If I were you, I would take them off everything you are feeding them, except for grass and hay and see what happens.
:2cents:
SL

 

[angus9259]

angus9259

I suspect you are barking up the wrong tree. USUALLY THE CASE. I SUSPECT YOU COULD BE RIGHT
Cattle are hardy animals and they are not stupid to the point of committing suicide by eating something they know is making them sick, unless of course it tastes good - YOU HAVE SMARTER CATTLE THAN ME.

If I were you, I would take them off everything you are feeding them, except for grass and hay THAT'S ALL THEY ARE ON - AND MINERAL. IN FACT, THEY WERE JUST ON PASTURE - I USED THE HAY TO ALLEVIATE ANY ISSUES THEY MAY BE GETTING IN THE PASTURE and see what happens THE HAY HELPED.
:2cents:
SL

 

[angus9259]

(i find it very hard to believe NO parasites were found in ANY stool sample.)

Why? I worm twice a year, everything on pasture and pastures are not overrun, no other cattle or livestock anywhere in the vicinity, closed herd, pastures are rotated for cleanliness, good mineral program - do they have to have parasites?