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flp b. lOO ti NEW MEXICO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC AST'S ■.-■ " AND AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT ST..TION JO/' . •* \ Press Bulletin 1005 AVOIDING BLOAT ON ALFALFA PASTURE i *%*. <-1 s r ft RjU Dairymen have been reluctant to use legumes, either alfalfa or clover, for pastures, because these plants tend to cause bloat in animals. Recent investigations indicate that bloat results from insufficient belching and regurgitation. Some investigators believe that coarse, dry roughage causes a slight irritation in the rumen and thus stimulates regurgitation. Therefore, whenever th,e feed is succulent and soft there will not be enough irritation to stimulate the required amount of belching or regurgitation, and then bloat occurs. This theory of the cause of bloat suggests two possible methods of prevention: (1) feeding dry hay in the pasture and (2) pasturing only when the legume has attained considerable growth so that the plants are more stemmy and less succulent. Each of these methods has been successfully used during two pasture seasons, 1943 and 1944. The animals used were heifers from,12 to 18 months of age at the beginning of the season. Approximately three-fourths of them were Holsteins and the others were Jersey and Guernsey heifers. None of the heifers freshened or aborted while on pasture. The animals were left on pasture day and night, with free access to fresh water and salt. In the first method, two.1-acre plots of alfalfa were pastured alternately to allow for irrigation. Six animals were used throughout the se'ason of 150 days. Every afternoon about 30 pounds of good quality dry alfalfa hay was put in the feed rack in the pasture. This allowed approximately one-fourth to one-third as much hay as the animals would eat in a dry lot. These animals failed to keep the alfalfa grazed closely, and it was necessary to mow the plots each time the animals were changed from one plot to the other. At no time during the season was there any sign of bloat in any of the animals. The second way of avoiding bloat is popularly called the "harvest method" of pasturing. The animals are not turned on the field until the alfalfa is in the early bloom stage, or about 3 to 6 days before it would be mowed for hay. A sufficient number of animals is then put on the field to complete the harvest in 6 to 8 days of grazing. The animals are then moved to harvest the next plot. This requires four plots when irrigation water is available only once each week and when approximately 1 month is required to grow a cutting of hay.- For example, this week the animals go on plot 1 and irrigation is applied to plot 2 and plot 4. This allows plot 2 to be dried and ready for the anlnals next week. Then next week the animals are moved to plot 2 and irrigation is applied.to plot 1 and plot 3. This method requires tight ditch boxes to prevent leakage on plots not being irrigated while other plots are being irrigated. The growth of the alfalfa at the beginning of the season may be controlled by proper spacing of irrigations and by clipping the plots so that each one will be ready to harvest at the proper time. The number of heifers needed to harvest the crop can be closely approximated as follows: first, estimate the yield in pounds of hay in that plot; second, divide that figure by 125 (which is the approximate hay consumption per animal in seven days). If the estimate of yield is accurate, then the calculated number of heifers will complete the harvest in 7 The harvest method has been used in three trials at the Experiment Station. One trial in 1943 was on 5 acres of alfalfa which afforded 1,657 animal-days of pasture in addition to 6,944 pounds of hay. Approximately one-third of this hay was cut at the beginning of the season to control the growth of alfalfa in the plots and to make it conform to the sequence of the pasture schedule. Part of the hay
Object Description
Title | Avoiding bloat on alfalfa pasture |
Series Designation | Press bulletin 1005 |
Description | Press bulletin containing information on methods for avoiding bloat in animals feeding on alfalfa pasture. |
Subject | Bloat in animals; Alfalfa; alfalfa (NAL); bloat (NAL) |
Creator | Nelson, D. H. (Daniel Horace), 1898-; |
Date Original | 1945-06-27 |
Digital Publisher | New Mexico State University Library |
Rights | Copyright, NMSU Board of Regents. |
Collection | NMSU Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station Publications |
Source | Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library. |
Type | Text |
Format | image/tiff |
Language | eng |
Page Description
Title | Page 1 |
Series Designation | Press bulletin 1005 |
Subject | Bloat in animals; Alfalfa; alfalfa (NAL); bloat (NAL) |
Creator | Nelson, D. H. (Daniel Horace), 1898-; |
Date Original | 1945-06-27 |
Digital Publisher | New Mexico State University Library |
Rights | Copyright, NMSU Board of Regents. |
Collection | NMSU Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station Publications |
Digital Identifier | UAAPp001005_001 |
Is Part Of | Avoiding bloat on alfalfa pasture |
Source | Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library. |
Type | Text |
Format | image/tiff |
Language | eng |
OCR | flp b. lOO ti NEW MEXICO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC AST'S ■.-■ " AND AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT ST..TION JO/' . •* \ Press Bulletin 1005 AVOIDING BLOAT ON ALFALFA PASTURE i *%*. <-1 s r ft RjU Dairymen have been reluctant to use legumes, either alfalfa or clover, for pastures, because these plants tend to cause bloat in animals. Recent investigations indicate that bloat results from insufficient belching and regurgitation. Some investigators believe that coarse, dry roughage causes a slight irritation in the rumen and thus stimulates regurgitation. Therefore, whenever th,e feed is succulent and soft there will not be enough irritation to stimulate the required amount of belching or regurgitation, and then bloat occurs. This theory of the cause of bloat suggests two possible methods of prevention: (1) feeding dry hay in the pasture and (2) pasturing only when the legume has attained considerable growth so that the plants are more stemmy and less succulent. Each of these methods has been successfully used during two pasture seasons, 1943 and 1944. The animals used were heifers from,12 to 18 months of age at the beginning of the season. Approximately three-fourths of them were Holsteins and the others were Jersey and Guernsey heifers. None of the heifers freshened or aborted while on pasture. The animals were left on pasture day and night, with free access to fresh water and salt. In the first method, two.1-acre plots of alfalfa were pastured alternately to allow for irrigation. Six animals were used throughout the se'ason of 150 days. Every afternoon about 30 pounds of good quality dry alfalfa hay was put in the feed rack in the pasture. This allowed approximately one-fourth to one-third as much hay as the animals would eat in a dry lot. These animals failed to keep the alfalfa grazed closely, and it was necessary to mow the plots each time the animals were changed from one plot to the other. At no time during the season was there any sign of bloat in any of the animals. The second way of avoiding bloat is popularly called the "harvest method" of pasturing. The animals are not turned on the field until the alfalfa is in the early bloom stage, or about 3 to 6 days before it would be mowed for hay. A sufficient number of animals is then put on the field to complete the harvest in 6 to 8 days of grazing. The animals are then moved to harvest the next plot. This requires four plots when irrigation water is available only once each week and when approximately 1 month is required to grow a cutting of hay.- For example, this week the animals go on plot 1 and irrigation is applied to plot 2 and plot 4. This allows plot 2 to be dried and ready for the anlnals next week. Then next week the animals are moved to plot 2 and irrigation is applied.to plot 1 and plot 3. This method requires tight ditch boxes to prevent leakage on plots not being irrigated while other plots are being irrigated. The growth of the alfalfa at the beginning of the season may be controlled by proper spacing of irrigations and by clipping the plots so that each one will be ready to harvest at the proper time. The number of heifers needed to harvest the crop can be closely approximated as follows: first, estimate the yield in pounds of hay in that plot; second, divide that figure by 125 (which is the approximate hay consumption per animal in seven days). If the estimate of yield is accurate, then the calculated number of heifers will complete the harvest in 7 The harvest method has been used in three trials at the Experiment Station. One trial in 1943 was on 5 acres of alfalfa which afforded 1,657 animal-days of pasture in addition to 6,944 pounds of hay. Approximately one-third of this hay was cut at the beginning of the season to control the growth of alfalfa in the plots and to make it conform to the sequence of the pasture schedule. Part of the hay |