Hedge Apples deadly.

ksfarmer · #1 12/05/11, 12:28 PM

Lost a 600 lb steer this morning.

Tried to eat a hedge ball and it lodged in his esophagus and he bloated .

Post mortem by the vet showed damage to the esophagus that would have been hard to heal. We've had it happen before but usually caught it soon enough to save the critter.
Just a caution to everyone who has osage orange or hedge trees in their pastures. Calf frothy at mouth, slight or severe bloat, eat or drink and spit it back up, just be aware.

mozarkian · #2 12/05/11, 12:39 PM

So sorry about your steer, we used to have a cow that loved to eat hedge apples and would then bloat. If you can catch it quick, you can usually help them with a length of hose and a jug of veg oil.

G. Seddon · #3 12/05/11, 01:20 PM

ksfarmer, very sorry to read about your steer!

Can these trees not be fenced off so that the livestock has no access? People do that with oak trees shedding acorns in the fall.

momagoat61 · #4 12/05/11, 01:58 PM

Just saw one of our bulls on Saturday eating a hedge apple, In my case there's really nothin I can do about the hedge apples but just hope for the best, i'm sure since Saturday most if not all 50 cows and bulls we have probably have eaten a truck load of hedge apples. In my 50 years I know of probably one cow we found dead that probably died due to the hedge apples, she was found dead under a hedge apple tree and the green hedge apples were everywhere at the time. There is hundreds of hedge apple tress on our 86 acres.

ksfarmer · #5 12/05/11, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

ksfarmer, very sorry to read about your steer!

Can these trees not be fenced off so that the livestock has no access? People do that with oak trees shedding acorns in the fall.

Nope. The early homesteaders used osage orange for fence rows (thus the name "hedge trees") . Some have been bulldozed out over the years but are still so plentiful its just something we live with. Like mamagoat says, we just hope for the best and try to keep a close eye on the cattle in the fall and early winter.

mozarkian · #6 12/05/11, 05:11 PM

We couldn't remove the tree that dropped them into our field as it was on the neighbors side of the fence and it was sentimental to her because her grandpa had planted it, if I remember correctly. So we just did daily patrol on the area during this time of the year when they fell.
I think that not all cows are affected, because the beef cows in her field were fine eating them and the younger stock on our side either didn't like them or were unaffected. Only our large glutton of a Holstien ever bloated from it, but when she did a bang up job of it when she decided to do it.

Chaty · #7 12/05/11, 07:05 PM

I know what your saying as I live in SE Kansas and they are everywhere on our 144 acres and I dont have that kind of time to pick all of them up. We have lost 2 that I know of to Hedge apples in 10 years, with the drought we have been having they are smaller this year that I have noticed and since there isnt really much for them to graze on they are eating the hedge apples. We put out hay but they seem to want something green...I have even seen our horses eating them, but they hit them on the ground to break them up some. Not the cows! They seem to put the whole thing in their mouths and chew, sometimes I think it gets away from them and that is when they get choked. Saved 1 steer but the other was out in the back pasture when it happened this last time. orry for your loss.

**gone-a-milkin** · #8 12/05/11, 07:09 PM

Cattle have been known to choke on beets and turnips too.

The cows here have cleaned up most of the hedge appleas already. They didnt get very big this year because of the drought.

Sorry you lost an animal, ksfarmer. That just sucks.

Ed Norman · #9 12/05/11, 08:00 PM

Do they eat the green milky ones or wait til they turn colors in the fall?

I once saw a pile of over 30 dead feeder calves stacked up by a field of beets. Every one choked.

SteveO · #10 12/06/11, 08:03 PM

Could someone post a picture of one I don't think I have ever seen one.
Thanks

WJMartin · #11 12/06/11, 08:06 PM

I had never considered this problem. Thankfully I only have one hedge apple tree in the fields. Thanks for the heads up.

G. Seddon · #12 12/06/11, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveO

Could someone post a picture of one I don't think I have ever seen one.
Thanks

Google for plenty of photos!

ksfarmer · #13 12/06/11, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveO

Could someone post a picture of one I don't think I have ever seen one.
Thanks

lots of pics here: http://www.google.com/search?q=hedge...iw=960&bih=459