Thistle in hay

Anonymous-0 · Jul 15, 2012

Mowed some hat today and it had some thistles in it. Am wondering if I bale it for hay, will it give cows a sore mouth? If I round bale it and grind it would that make any difference. Man wants to sell it, hay is scarce, so I can't be to choosey. Thanks for any comments. Harold

Anonymous-0 · Jul 15, 2012

they're just like you - they'll eat around what they don't want.

paul · Jul 15, 2012

It hasn't posed a problem over the decades. I'd prefer not to have thistles, but......

--->Paul

JRSutton · Jul 15, 2012

They'll be fine.

Not sure I'd give them a steady diet of the stuff, but a little certainly isn't going to bother them.

Like my goats - they'll chew rose bush stems like they were licorice sticks.

I don't know how they do it - but it somehow doesn't bother them

LAA · Jul 16, 2012

They will eat it and thats the problem -- after cows eat the weeds out of hay they excrete the fertilized seeds and you wind up with whatever weed it is in your pastures.

showcrop · Jul 16, 2012

I make it a point to spray thistle, along with milkweed, morning glory and a few others, with Roundup whenever I see them. It takes only a few minutes, and keeps them from spreading. So far as spreading weeds with manure any one who has ever done a spring seeding knows that the weed seeds will be very plentiful in the ground with out manure.

northvale-PA · Jul 16, 2012

sheep actually eat the tops off Canada thistle green. I bale it and they eat it. Not a problem but I do hate the stuff.

Wheat Farmer · Jul 16, 2012

The problem I have seen is that a big bunch in one spot of the bale will mold fast. If I know it is in a bale I will feed that first. I HATE WEEDS.

fixerupper · Jul 16, 2012

Those animals have a pretty tough mouth. When I was feeding hogs I was changing a light bulb in the barn with hogs chewing at my pant legs. When I unscrewed the bulb I accidentally let it drop in the straw on the floor. A few seconds later I heard a pop and then a crunch, crunch, crunch as a hog was chewing on it.

Years ago before we had the herbicides we have today we had more thistles in the hay and we just baled them up and fed them, unless the thistle patch was real thick. Jim

RodinNS · Jul 16, 2012

Cows are pretty good at sifting out what they don't want. You'll have some thistle to clean up when they're done. That's about it.

Rod

Traditional Farmer · Jul 16, 2012

Once they dry out they must not be sticky anymore to a cow as cows will eat them once they dry when I mow off a pasture

LAA · Jul 16, 2012

Weeds won't be plentiful if you keep the weeds mowed and sprayed and the source of weed seeds off your land to begin with.

Mike (WA) · Jul 16, 2012

Horses will eat the tops off, too.

I think thistles used to be listed with feed value information in Morrison's Feeds and Feeding in the early days- No sprays in those days! Worked good in silage.

Thistle in hay

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

paul

Well-known Member

JRSutton

Well-known Member

LAA

Well-known Member

showcrop

Well-known Member

northvale-PA

Member

Wheat Farmer

Well-known Member

fixerupper

Well-known Member

RodinNS

Well-known Member

Traditional Farmer

Well-known Member

LAA

Well-known Member

Mike (WA)

Well-known Member

Similar threads