Carrot tops??

[Christina G]

I've been feeding my calves extras out of the garden and I since its time to pick carrots I am wondering...... can they eat the carrot greens? I've googled but there isn't really any information on it.

TIA

[bama-newsteader]

I am pretty sure (if memory serves me correctly) I fed some to mine last year with no problems.

[goodhors]

Cows can eat carrot tops safely, would probably LOVE the treat.

Another garden treat would be the corn husks off the sweet corn. I wouldn't give them a lot at a time, maybe 2 cobs worth per calf, at a serving. Serving is ONLY once a day! None of ours liked the cooked cobs, but they did like uncooked cobs when we got too much corn or it got too old to eat. I keep corn with husks in the fridge, so they did NOT get moldy, even if a couple days old. Again SMALL amounts as a serving, a couple cobs with or without corn on it per calf, just to avoid problems. You can cut up the cobs into smaller pieces too if you like, before giving it to the calves. Easier to chew up.

I am thinking of calves in size beyond weaners, or on the bottle. 300# and up, with good digestive system and teeth to chew well.

[Gretchen Ann]

We have a dairy farm. I feed the cattle cucumbers, carrot tops, deformed carrots, broccoli plants gone to flower, corn stalks, corn husks; whatever is extra.

They just love it. Just make sure you don't let it "heat" before feeding them. That can really upset their digestive system.