hello diane,
>about a local dairyman who lost some cows after he turned them
>loose in the early spring to graze in a field that annually
>floods. The area is part of a lagoon system that can be under
>water for up to a month solid every winter due to flooding.
>Apparently a number of cows died from eating the first
>growth forage in the field because it had a high level of
>nitrites (as opposed to nitrates) due to the anaerobic winter
>conditions, and the nitrite level proved toxic to the cows.
in general it's a VERY bad idea to let cows graze on a meadow
in spring from one day to another. their rumen bacteria are not
adepted to fresh (and even more dangerous: wet with morning dew)
grass or clover with a high water content. you can can call you
lucky, if the result is nothing more than a massive bloating.
adding straw to the ration and reducing it subsequently is the
usual solution for that.
nitrites in spring is not so much the problem because of the
winter, but more from the extremely flooded lagoon system. drainage
for faster runoff of water might be an option for a partly
correction.
klaus
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