Can cows safely eat moldy hay?
Feeding moldy hay to livestock is a tough decision. Although all hay contains some mold, when mold becomes noticeable the decisions become important. Usually, mold makes hay less palatable, which can result in lower intake or in animals refusing to eat the hay.
Will moldy feed hurt cattle?
Mold can grow on grain in the field, storage or feed bunk. Molds and mycotoxins can harm cattle and lower the nutritional value of feeds. These grains shouldn’t make up more than 50 percent of the diet.
Can moldy hay make calves sick?
Here are the risks of feeding moldy hay to livestock: Cattle aren’t as sensitive to moldy hay, but certain molds can result in mycotic abortions or aspergillosis. Mold spores can cause “farmer’s lung,” which results in the fungus growing in the lung tissue if it has been inhaled.
Will moldy hay make cows abort?
Almost every farm encounters mold in one form or another, but forms like Aspergillus and Mucor in particular can be dangerous for pregnant cattle. These forms are most often found in cattle feed, hay, silage, and wet byproducts, and can lead to fungal abortions when ingested by expecting cattle.
How do you remove mold from hay?
To eliminate mold commonly found in hay bales, West Chester, Pa., equine veterinarian Frank Reilly suggests “flash soaking” — tearing pieces of hay off of the bale, putting them in a hay net and then under a heavy rock in a bucket of water for 10 minutes. Studies have shown this reduces the organic dust count, he says.
What kind of mold grows on hay?
Molds commonly found in hay include Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporum, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, and Rhizopus. These molds can produce spores that cause respiratory problems, especially in horses and, under some conditions, will produce mycotoxins.
What can I do with Mouldy hay?
If you can smell mold in the bale, make sure to open the bale before giving it to them. If there is mold on the inside of the bale, throw it away. Usually, horses will not touch moldy hay, unless there is nothing else to eat.
Can animals eat moldy grain?
While livestock producers know that moldy grain and forage are not ideal feedstuffs, they also know that stored feed occasionally contains a small amount of visible mold and that their animals consume it with no obvious adverse effects.
Can you soak moldy hay?
Do not feed dusty and moldy hay and grains. Keep horses outside as much as possible. Soak dusty hay for 5 to 30 minutes before feeding. This will help minimize respiratory problems associated with dust and mold spores but will not reduce the threat of mycotoxin contamination.
Can you fix moldy hay?
Steaming shouldn’t replace the main goal of feeding hay with low mold and dust content. In the absence of such hay, steaming is a good practice for reducing mold and dust content in moderately moldy hay. You can use steaming to increase forage intake when feeding low mold hay.