Grazing Oats

[arlen]

I cleared and fenced an additional 8 acres this summer, and seeded the new pasture down with a blend of pasture grasses and oats in August.
The oats came up pretty fast and are about a foot tall, nice and green, but not headed out yet. I decided to put my cows out there for a while to eat them down so they don't go to waste. The cows seem to like them, but they all have the green runs now, their butts and tails are all green and messy.
My question is...Is that a big deal? Should I pull them out of there, or will the runs clear up?

[lakeportfarms]

Arlen, I doubt it would be a problem as long as they are not bloating. Our cows have from time to time have gotten oat hay, and they gobble it like candy. They get very round, but it is a different kind of round than bloating. They just can't seem to stop eating the oat hay so their rumens get completely packed.  The other thing to watch out for is grass tetany.

You may want to get yourself a bloat block and some high magnesium mineral just as a precaution, and if you have the ability to strip graze it with temporary hot wire to limit what they can eat in a day that would also be a excellent way to preserve the forage a little better and feed your cows much later into the season before resorting to hay.

[arlen]

Thanks, I will keep a close eye on them. It isn't quite like oat hay, since it's not headed out. I wasn't sure how much food value it even had, but they sure like it.