Jersey cow pastured in orchard

[spinnDrSandy]

We want to pasture our Jersey cattle in our orchard. Will they eat the trees? Will they strip the bark?

[willow_girl]

I haven't had a problem with my cows doing this.

Beware of horses and goats, though!!! :no:

[Paula]

One of our Jerseys will eat the growing tips off fruit trees, the others don't bother them.

[Christina R.]

My gal is in a smaller area and strips the bark off of the crab apple tree (and leaves, etc). When she is in another area, she likes to go after the pine trees (which can really be problematic as eating them causes the cow to abort). She is a holstein, so it may be the breed, the cow in particular, or the smaller space.

[Valmai]

Christina it is macrocarpa(Montery Pine?) which causes abortion in the first 3 months only. Pinus eg radiata is not a problem.
I put my cows in the orchard using electric fencing to keep them away from the fruit trees. It works fine. I would suggest you would only have problems if you are hard grazing them, or if they have calves. The calves are always going through the fencing.