Will They ?

[Gwenhwyfar]

I've been doing some research on feeding cattle
"Whole Cotton Seed",( we are in the last month of winter and a drought that wont end)
My problem is my cattle are in an agistment paddock with horses the owners of these horses are not interested in feeding them and I have no alternative but to A. feed the horses also or B. give my cattle something the horses wont eat. In an Ideal world I would go for plan B.
I have been told that Horses will not eat Whole Cotton Seed.
Does anyone know this to be true :?:

 

[dun]

Other then rocks and manure I never saw anything a horse wouldn;t eat.

 

[msscamp]

Other then rocks and manure I never saw anything a horse wouldn;t eat.

I've seen a few horses that would (and did) eat manure.

Gwenhwyfar, you also have option C) finding someplace else for your cattle, D) if you have the facilities, drylotting your cattle, E) drylotting your cattle until you can find other pasture, F) having a conversation with the owners of the horses - if you have not already done so, possibly G) notifying the authorities of the neglect taking place where the horses are concerned, and of course H) selling your cattle until you get things worked around to where you are not dependent on other people for grazing/containment of your cattle.

PS If you have a bull with your cattle, I believe whole cottonseed will render a bull infertile. I know it's been discussed on here before, you might want to do a search.

 

[buckwheat_87]

We feed whole cotton seed in the winter and we have 2 horses runnin with one herd of our cows. The horses have never acted intrested, they smell of it and then walk away.

 

[Gwenhwyfar]

Thankyou all for your prompt reply's.
Yes that is what I have been told also, depends on the individual horse I suppose, some will learn to eat anything. Not even sure if my spoilt cattle will eat it either, Guess it will be another "Trial and See" deal.
The cattle are not in bad condition, just starting to slip a little and I would rather keep them topped up, as opposed to trying to bring them back, because they will calve in the spring.