Cattle and sheep cannot eat these grasses, and farmers must be careful

Second-growth seedlings of sorghum and corn after harvest

The second-growth seedlings of sorghum and corn after the autumn harvest contain large amounts of hydrocyanic acid. Hydrocyanic acid is a highly toxic substance, and cattle and sheep are prone to poisoning after eating it. These second-growth seedlings cannot be used as forage for cattle and sheep, nor should cattle and sheep be grazed in fields where second-growth seedlings are growing.

Dew-covered grass

In autumn, when the weather starts to turn cool, the leaves of grass are often covered with dew drops in the early morning and evening, and cattle and sheep that eat this grass will develop rumen bloat. Therefore, when grazing cattle and sheep in autumn, wait until the sun rises and the dew disappears before heading out in the morning, and return before the dew appears in the evening.

Frost-bitten castor leaves and stems

In late autumn, frost-bitten castor leaves and stems contain a toxin called ricinine, and cattle and sheep are prone to poisoning after eating them.

Half-dry, half-moist sweet potato vines

After cattle and sheep consume large amounts of them, they are very prone to intestinal obstruction (also called constipation or impaction). This is because when sweet potatoes are harvested, the vines have already aged, the crude fiber content in the vines has increased, and after being exposed to sunlight, the crude fiber becomes softer and more pliable. After cattle and sheep eat them, these pliable and hard-to-break crude fibers become tangled into balls in the intestines, some blocking the large intestine and some blocking the small intestine. If this disease is not diagnosed and treated in time, it can easily cause the death of cattle and sheep.

The soft husks on corn cobs

The soft husks peeled from corn cobs after harvest are soft in texture and sweet in taste, and cattle and sheep like to eat them very much, especially when hungry, when they often swallow large whole pieces. Some farmers, busy with farm work and to save time, do not chop them short or mix them with hay, and directly feed cattle and sheep whole pieces of corn cob soft husks. Doing this is very dangerous. This is because although corn cob soft husks taste sweet and cattle and sheep like to eat them, they contain large amounts of crude fiber, are extremely tough, and are not easy to chew and digest. They gather in the omasum and cause obstruction, and over time they ferment, rot, and produce gas, and also produce large amounts of toxic substances, causing cattle and sheep to die from acidosis in the body.