Can bad silage kill cows?

munkus

Might sound like a stupid question, be auld lad had said before that bad hay can kill them. Had to buy 10 round bales yesterday, 35 a bale collected. It is the worst ****e I have ever come across. All thick heavy stem and doesn't look or smell remotely like silage. Probably baled last November. Prick said it was good silage too. They seem to be eating it anyway but could it do them any harm?

grazeaway

Simple answer yes.

mf240

grazeaway wrote: »

Simple answer yes.

If no white mould visible it is unlikely to unless there's ragworts in it.

Look what can ya do only chance it. More than likely stuff that was bet around with a haybob for a forthnight.

Pacoa

Heard a story not sure if its true but some guy woke to find 50+ of his animals dead one morning in kerry, Possible ragwort poisoning so i'd be checking to make sure there's none of that in it.

mf240

Pacoa wrote: »

Heard a story not sure if its true but some guy woke to find 50+ of his animals dead one morning in kerry, Possible ragwort poisoning so i'd be checking to make sure there's none of that in it.

Ragworth poisoning is slow wasting away disease animals would not all die overnight.

dupeters

munkus wrote: »

Might sound like a stupid question, be auld lad had said before that bad hay can kill them. Had to buy 10 round bales yesterday, 35 a bale collected. It is the worst ****e I have ever come across. All thick heavy stem and doesn't look or smell remotely like silage. Probably baled last November. Prick said it was good silage too. They seem to be eating it anyway but could it do them any harm?

only if the bad silage has a macine gun

Pacoa

Yeah it could be one of those stories that grow legs alright. There's a few of them around.

slippy wicket

Biggest worry IMO would be listeria with very poor quality silage. Vet recommended to me to open a bale and shake it out and leave it for a few hours before feeding to let any spores disperse.

Massey10

munkus wrote: »

Might sound like a stupid question, be auld lad had said before that bad hay can kill them. Had to buy 10 round bales yesterday, 35 a bale collected. It is the worst ****e I have ever come across. All thick heavy stem and doesn't look or smell remotely like silage. Probably baled last November. Prick said it was good silage too. They seem to be eating it anyway but could it do them any harm?

didnt you cut a bale to have a look at it

munkus

Massey10 wrote: »

didnt you cut a bale to have a look at it

Auld lad got it, setup through our contractor so we trusted him. We live and learn I suppose.

whelan1

Pacoa wrote: »

Heard a story not sure if its true but some guy woke to find 50+ of his animals dead one morning in kerry, Possible ragwort poisoning so i'd be checking to make sure there's none of that in it.

ragworth posioning is a slow and painful death

kerryjack

Pacoa wrote: »

Heard a story not sure if its true but some guy woke to find 50+ of his animals dead one morning in kerry, Possible ragwort poisoning so i'd be checking to make sure there's none of that in it.

Ya story started in Kerry 5 dead by the time the story was told in Donegal there was 50 dead. there is some storys being told at the minute,

1chippy

heard the farmer that shot all his cattle and then himself was from meath yesterday so i can only presume he will be moving up to Donegal next week.

iverjohnston

What about all those pits of silage, contaminated with snails?
Last summer your head would be light with stories of dead cows, and masses of snails making the very cover of the pit move. Lots of folk "knew " about a case, but I never managed to get talking to anyone who actually expierenced it.
If you had a pit of it now, you would count yourself lucky!

bob charles

good silage can kill cows aswell. Lost an animal this morning due to good feeding. A good kick up the h**e is warranted to me

freedominacup

bob charles wrote: »

good silage can kill cows aswell. Lost an animal this morning due to good feeding. A good kick up the h**e is warranted to me

Did teagasc not advise you to make good silage? Surely there must be someone else you can blame besides accepting responsibility yourself.