[Jacob-list] hay

[Neal and Louise Grose]

I think I should have said in regards to Johnsongrass that it can also cause
Prussic acid poisoning after it has been damaged by frost or cut for hay.
This is the same as "Wild cherry poisoning". Johnsongrass should not be
grazed or fed for hay for several weeks after it has been frost killed or
cut.

 Nitrate poisoning is generally not a problem unless the forage has been
heavily fertilized and then harvested before the nitrogen has had a chance
to be turned into protein. This also can be a problem if the weather is
highly variable: the grass takes up nitrogen after a rain and then cool, dry
weather shuts the metabolism back down.

If either nitrate or Prussic acid poisoning are suspected, getting IMMEDIATE
help from a vet is very important. The animal will be lethargic (or
sometimes hyper-excited) and the blood will be either bright red or very
dark red (I don't remember which is which).

Neal

----- Original Message -----
From: "Neal and Louise Grose" <nlgrose at yadtel.net>
To: <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] hay


> "Weeds" is relative. (Isn't everything.) Our sheep routinely clean up the
> lambsquarter, pigweed, smartweed, blackberry briars and poison ivy but
leave
> Bermuda grass, pokeweed and Mexican Tea weed. Keep in mind that many herbs
> are actually poisonous in quantity. Be wary of leaves from trees. Maple
and
> wild cherry leaves are fine while fresh, but are deadly when wilted.
>
> Alfalfa palatability is entirely dependent on the ratio of leaves to
stems.
> The leaves are higher in nutritional value than the leaves of
orchardgrass,
> but the stems are lower. As the plant gets older, the stems gradually
become
> more like wood. The same process takes place in older grass. The idea is
> that metabolism shifts from energy production to holding up seeds.
>
> Grasses that tolerate warm weather such as Bermuda grass, fescue and
millet
> are fairly low in palatability compared to cool season grasses like
> ryegrass. (An exception to this is crabgrass and Johnsongrass...great
stuff
> for grazing, were it not for the nasty business of nitrate poisoning after
> frost.)
>
> Neal Grose
> North Carolina
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "gf" <fayg at mebtel.net>
> To: "Linda Bjarkman" <patchworkfibers at alltel.net>;
<stonecroft235 at juno.com>;
> <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
> Cc: <bob at helplion.com>; "Dave Cowan" <davecowan at yahoo.com>;
> <smorgue at aol.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 5:38 AM
> Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] hay
>
>
>
>
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