09/01/11, 07:50 PM
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II Corinthians 5:7
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia
Posts: 8,101
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Yes, "dairy" goats are definately affected negatively by endophytes. The "fescue" is only harmful if permitted to "mature" and seed out as that is where most of the endophytes are.
I learned this the hard way a few years ago when I first started raising dairy goats. I was letting them free-range and, with mother needing much of my attention, I had no time to mow the local grass that had almost taken over our front pastures. This meant that "fescue" matured. My does developed hard knots in their udders and testing found absolutely nothing wrong with them. I had already known about endophytes and had planted some "New Zealand Matua" (endophyte free) grass in the back two acres.
I stopped the does from grazing in the front and only let them graze in the back. It took a full year of this; but every knot the does had disappeared. As long as I keep them off the "mature" local endophyte grasses, they do "not" get those hard nots anymore.
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