results of cottonseed?

[beefmaster44]

i just started feeding my cattle cottenseed with salt has anyone seen any real results with the mixture?

 

[dun]

Cotton seed can cause sterility in bulls. I beleive its caused by a fungus in the seed.

The stuff that causes sterility (temporary) is gossypol

dun

 

[tryinhard]

Been suplimental feeding cottonseed for 6 yrs now, never had one go sterile, I think most of that happens farther north, not sure why, but never had a problem with it. Have bought bulls that were sterile, why, can't say. My son is feeding cows n 2 bulls cottonseed now, and they will take care of business, I'm sure, have seen it too long now, have neighbors who have feed aslo for years no problem.

tryinhard

 

[dun]

Been suplimental feeding cottonseed for 6 yrs now, never had one go sterile, I think most of that happens farther north, not sure why, but never had a problem with it. Have bought bulls that were sterile, why, can't say. My son is feeding cows n 2 bulls cottonseed now, and they will take care of business, I'm sure, have seen it too long now, have neighbors who have feed aslo for years no problem.

tryinhard

It depends on the % of cottonseed in the mixture. Not sure what it is that it needs to be kept at or below.

dun

 

[milkmaid]

I don't remember the percent offhand... but I believe in pounds, it's no more than 5-8lbs/hd/day for mature cattle, and 1.5-3lbs/hd/day for calves. Shouldn't feed it to unweaned calves whose rumens aren't completely functional yet, because of the possibility of toxicity. Going over the recommended amounts can result in sterility in bulls and/or cardiac arrest in cattle.

FWIW, If you're feeding whole cottonseed, the stuff's pretty light and, for lack of a better word, fluffy. It's got a lot of volume and not a whole lot of weight.

 

[Scotty]

Cotton seed can cause sterility in bulls. I beleive its caused by a fungus in the seed.

The stuff that causes sterility (temporary) is gossypol

dun

The seed can also be tested. Some varieties have higher than normal amounts of it. I beleive this is do to gene stacking in BT cotton. Texas A & M are researching a strain of cotton with no gosypol so it can be used for human consumption.

 

[Travis B.]

We feed about 4 lbs. per cow per day, bulls and all, and have never had problems with it. Cotton seed prices are also up this year. We paid $120 for a ton a few weeks ago, and it wasn't near that much last year.

Travis Bryan

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

If I remember correct, it is only harmful to GROWING young bulls.