Will cattle clean up the woods

[herofan]

I have an area that is about half grass and half woods and hasn't had cattle on it in over 10 years. It once was a beautiful are of large oaks, beech, maple, hickory, etc, with very little undergrowth. The woods were logged over ten years ago, and now there is a lot of undergrowth. There are still big trees, but the logging let in the sunlight and now there is a lot of undergrowth to the point its a thicket. Will cattle likely eat and trample down a lot of that over time?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Put them in the woods in the spring when the woods green up and agin in the fall.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I have an area that is about half grass and half woods and hasn't had cattle on it in over 10 years. It once was a beautiful are of large oaks, beech, maple, hickory, etc, with very little undergrowth. The woods were logged over ten years ago, and now there is a lot of undergrowth. There are still big trees, but the logging let in the sunlight and now there is a lot of undergrowth to the point its a thicket. Will cattle likely eat and trample down a lot of that over time?

Put some type of protien supplement out like a Pvm tub etc . And lock them in there for a few days . It might take a little time but they will eat it . I run my 60 head on a 90 acre clear cut that was cut 4 years ago . Some grass some vines small trees etc. I leave them in there for 10 days at a time as part of my rotational grazing . After about 2 days they will eat just about anything green . But my cattle have a lot of brahman in them.

 

[dun]

Depending on your soil you may be starting dow nthe slippery slope of killing the trees from soil erosion/compaction and root damage from hooves. The cows rubbing on the trees doesn;t do much damage other then polishing the trunks.

 

[Jogeephus]

They do a good job cleaning my woods just don't push them too hard or they will begin eating things that aren't good for them.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Your post doesn't say how big this area is. Some of the folks on the Board may not like this suggestion (only because it doesn't include cattle in the fix-it equation), but if you've got good tight fencing, and you know/can find someone with a herd of goats they'd loan or rent out, those caprines will clear out underbrush and crap that cattle won't eat, and the sun can shine back in. And they'll do it in pretty short order. Just a thought . . . . . .

 

[gonzo]

Don't need no goats kath like joe , says , don't pushm let them eat as much as they want and then givm acouple days of clean'n after that then rotate them out. Go back in 24-d whats left , if they didn't eat it it aint no good for'm . Then what I do is overseed the heavy damage, around the water tank, feed area , or any camp site. move stuf around and let'm back in a couple weeks . don't do this to an area you have $$$ trees in they'll be the 1st to go , just the way it go's . :cboy:

 

[Lucky_P]

Cattle are really poor foresters. If you value this piece of ground for timber production, don't put cows on it. The amount of forage a cow can get from 'woodland' pasture is usually not worth the potential damage to oncoming seedlings. Figures I've seen indicate that it takes 40 acres of typical Southeastern forest to produce enough forage to support one cow-calf unit.
I grew up with cows running in the woods, but don't do it here - my timber is worth more than what little gain I'd get running cattle in the woods, with them eating tops out of young seedlings, causing erosion problems, etc. My woodlands are pretty hilly, and there are already plenty of big gullies without cows promoting more.
Spring, in particular, is a dangerous time for cows to be browsing woodlands - especially if they're hungry - they'll eat any fresh green sprouts, including some pretty toxic stuff, like buckeye, oaks, etc., Then, in fall, acorns can pose a significant health risk to cattle that have access to woodlands containing masting oaks.

 

[James T]

I have an area that is about half grass and half woods and hasn't had cattle on it in over 10 years. It once was a beautiful are of large oaks, beech, maple, hickory, etc, with very little undergrowth. The woods were logged over ten years ago, and now there is a lot of undergrowth. There are still big trees, but the logging let in the sunlight and now there is a lot of undergrowth to the point its a thicket. Will cattle likely eat and trample down a lot of that over time?

Cows might help out by going for the grass but the grass won't have much nutritional value---> the protein tub that was already suggested. The other growth will not help the cattle and could very well hurt them. You would be better off mechanically taking out the growth you don't want and then planting grass in it's place. Or, get goats.

 

[highgrit]

I like the way the woods look after the cows have ate it down. But like Jorgee said don't push them to hard, lots of stuff to get them sick on. When I put mine in the woods, I put hay out also and it seems to work good. Your hay will last twice as long and when it doesn't move them out.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

I have an area that is about half grass and half woods and hasn't had cattle on it in over 10 years. It once was a beautiful are of large oaks, beech, maple, hickory, etc, with very little undergrowth. The woods were logged over ten years ago, and now there is a lot of undergrowth. There are still big trees, but the logging let in the sunlight and now there is a lot of undergrowth to the point its a thicket. Will cattle likely eat and trample down a lot of that over time?

Cows might help out by going for the grass but the grass won't have much nutritional value---> the protein tub that was already suggested. The other growth will not help the cattle and could very well hurt them. You would be better off mechanically taking out the growth you don't want and then planting grass in it's place. Or, get goats.

 

[Jogeephus]

I think many people would be surprised at the nutritional value of some of these native plants we view as weeds. Beautybush, in the spring, has a TDN that rivals alfalfa. Wiregrass in the spring is high in oils much like cotton seed but its free. Why not use it? Good points about damage to the woods but not everyone has the same problems. We don't have significant erosion problems and as long as I don't feed hay in or near the trees then there is little chance the cattle will pose a problem to the trees. Here, its 20 acres of woods per cow for year round grazing. Not very productive I agree but if you can economically fence the woods and allow them to take what they can - its free food and free gain so I see no reason not using it. I use the woods as a pressure relief valve. I don't plan on using them but when I get in a tight then I turn them loose in the woods and I may not see them again for three or four weeks which gives other things time to grow and they do wonders for the woods. In fact, the more the eat down the brush the more they promote forbes and grasses. I have a wonderful stand of wild ryegrass they love to eat.

It takes some getting used to. Biggest thing is not to push them hard on the woods. I also did get two snake bites this year but the old gals hobbled around for a couple of days looking for sympathy from me but saw I wasn't giving any and they shrugged it off and are fine now.

Everyone's situation is different but if you can use it without damaging your woods then I think your operation will be all the better for it.

 

[agmantoo]

I permit my herd to have access to areas in the woods from time to time. I like to be able to see into the trees and the cattle eat the poison oak and clean up the small trees. Silvopasture is a recognized and promoted method of combining forestry and grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial manner.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

That is a pretty sight, Agmontoo! Our woods here are totally different than yours -- most of our trees in wooded areas have needles.

 

[BILL CLAYLAND]

I let mine in an area we've been trying to clear , I use the wood for firewood, there are 2 cisterns down there and it was over 10 years ago cattle were in there and it was clear down there. Its only about 4 acres. They do like it in the summer with all the shade, and grass from ares where we cut is doing pretty good considering.
We also have alot of brush that they really dont mess with too much.

 

[HOSS]

I have a 20 acre piece of woods that adjoins my pasture. It is not fenced off from the cattle and they can come and go into the woods as they please. They spend most of their time on the grass but they will spend a significant amount of time in the woods eating the leaves from the sawbriars. They really like those for some reason. This patch of woods has been select cut so there is a ton of brushy under-growth. They like the shade and the edible plants. It keeps it halfway cleaned up with trails though it so I can walk in there when I want to. I have found that snakes will avoid cows when they can for fear of being stepped on so my snake population has really decreased. I have had no snake bites yet thank goodness. I did see a copperhead last week but no shakeytails so far.

 

[Taurus]

I run my cattle on the pasture that has forest, there used to be full of bushes, especially the ones with thorns but now the forest is basically empty with some aspens and young trees. Once seen the cows knock down small trees to eating leaves despite of having hay laying around and have access to the grass.

 

[herofan]

I permit my herd to have access to areas in the woods from time to time. I like to be able to see into the trees and the cattle eat the poison oak and clean up the small trees. Silvopasture is a recognized and promoted method of combining forestry and grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial manner.

Beautiful! That's how ours looked 20 years ago. Now you can barely walk thorough it.

 

[fitz]

Mine have access to woods and do fine. They like it during the hottest part of the day.
Years ago the old people here would turn the cattle to the woods this time of year to fend for themselves. Wouldn't worry about 'em til fall. Don't you know they were some rangy rascals.

fitz

 

[inbredredneck]

holsteins can kill trees up to 30" in diameter before they will eat the grass around the tree.