Grey Duck Garlic
Training Your Cow to Eat Weeds
How to Train Your Cattle (Or Other Grass Eater) to Eat Weeds
Below is a short summary of two teaching methods. Both methods rely on convincing your cow or other ruminant that the weeds are a special treat. Once the female cow learns to eat weeds she will teach her babies and other animals, including steers and bulls, to eat weeds. Of course you can try to train steers or bulls too, research just shows that young females learn the fastest.
Below: Sammy chows down on a tasty Canada thistle.
Susan’s Lazy Grower’s Method:
1) Feed cattle bucketfuls or handfuls of tender green weeds, such as chickweed Sheppard’s purse or dock, along with some grass. I just dump the weeds and grass in piles. This works especially good during the dry part of the summer when grass in the pasture is not very lush. Cows start associating weeds with special treats and will begin waiting for them when you enter the field to weed.
2) Gradually start incorporating ‘tougher’ weeds such as Canada thistle or spotted knapweed in with the tender tastier weeds. It may take a short while but the cows will start eating the thistles too.
3) If your cows are especially picky eaters, mix in some molasses with the prickly weeds for a little while to encourage consumption (I didn’t do this but I had all summer to teach the cows).
4) I knew my training was a success when I saw our cattle herd run straight for a patch of Canada thistle and eat it to the ground (believe me, that sight will bring tears to any grower’s eyes!).
5) Now the cows help control weeds in their pasture. We have noticed a big decrease in weed numbers.
For Edna's story about Susan and Sammy the cow see Women vs. Weeds.
Kathy Voth’s Method (works well with pickier animals)
1) Feed cattle a different treat, such as grain or cubed alfalfa or other special food, in feeders for 4 days. Cattle will associate treats of all sorts with the feeders and will learn to eat new foods.
2) On the 5th to 7th day mix weeds with the grain in the feeder. Some researchers have also coated weeds with a little molasses to encourage them to be thought of as treats. Within 2 days the cattle will eat plain weeds.
3) Let the cattle into a small weedy area to practice their new skills for several days before putting them back in the main pasture.
4) For more information on Kathy’s method check out her website: http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com/cowmanagers.htm
Kathy has a blog for urban folk trying out country life. Read about her adventures in http://theurbavore.com
WARNING: Do not feed your livestock poisonous or toxic weeds. Make sure you know which weeds are safe as fodder.