Can Horses Eat Sudan?

Sorghum-sudan grass You can use it as a pasture or hay but it’s most commonly used during periods of high temperatures and drought. Sorghum-sudan grass isn’t a common horse feed, but you can feed it during droughts, especially when other forage is limited.

Can horses have Sudan?

Can horses safely graze sorghum/sudan grasses and be fed sorghum/sudan hay? No. These types of grasses can cause cyanide poisoning in horses. However, you can use millet instead, which is an annual that will produce a great deal of grazing and hay.

Is Sudan poisonous?

Sudangrass and sorghum are two of a group of plants that produce cyanide, which can poison livestock under certain conditions. These plants, called cyanogenetic plants, produce cyanogenetic glucosides during their growing stage.

Can cows graze Sudan?

Sudangrass should not be grazed at less than 18 inches in height and should never be grazed after a frost or severe drought. A few weeks after a frost, it is safe to turn livestock out. An adequate rest period is needed after grazing or cutting. Nitrate toxicity is also possible when grazing sudangrass.

Is Sudan good for cows?

All Sudan/Sorghum forages are good choices for dairy and beef cattle feed. The choice of forage will be heavily dependent on seasonal needs and intended harvest management @ silage, pasture, green-chop, etc.

Is Sudan grass OK for horses?

Sorghum-sudangrass can cause cyanide poisoning in horses after a fall frost, especially nonkilling frosts. Less mature sorghum-sudangrass tends to contain higher amounts of cyanide. Don’t allow horses to graze new growth after a frost. The plant’s leaves contain more cyanide than the stems.

Is Sudan grass toxic?

All parts of the plant are poisonous especially if wilted or in regrowth. The cyanide blocks the action of the cellular enzyme cytochrome oxidase thus preventing hemoglobin from releasing oxygen to the tissues. Death results rapidly from anoxia. Sudan grass may also accumulate toxic levels of nitrates.

Is Sudan grass good for hay?

Sudangrass serves as an excellent pasture or hay crop, with its 3 to 5′ height and slender (<1/2 inch), leafy stems. These characteristics make it well suited for pasture, dry hay, or silage. Forage sorghum was developed from grain sorghum, and this crop is suitable for silage, but not dry hay production.

Can cows eat sudangrass?

Sorghums, sorghum-sudangrass crosses and sudangrasses may be poisonous if grazed or fed improperly. The danger of prussic acid poisoning is greatest when livestock graze forage sorghum varieties and crosses, less when they graze sorghum-sudangrass crosses, and least when they graze sudangrasses.

Is sorghum safe for horses?

Avoid feeding horses crops from the sorghum family in all circumstances. In the green growth stage, these crops can cause cystitis syndrome, a urinary tract disease.

How many times can you cut sudangrass?

Many summer annual forages grown in Kansas may be cut for hay multiple times. With reasonable care, those forages — sudangrass, hybrid pearl millets, and even sorghum-sudangrass hybrids — can produce two and even three cuttings with excellent feed value, said Kansas State University agronomist Vic Martin.

Is sorghum and Sudan grass the same?

Sorghum-sudan is larger stemmed that sudangrass, making it unsuitable for hay in all but the most arid climates. Its regrowth is intermediate between sorghum and sudangrass but most growers will get at least two harvests in a 75- to 80-day growing window.

What is the feed value of Sudan grass?

Sudan grass, hay

How much is Sudan per acre?

PLANTING RATES: Sudangrass should be planted at a rate of 120 to 150 pounds of seed per acre. This high seeding rate produces finer-stemmed hay that is desirable for export to Japan. PLANTING DATES: Sudangrass may be planted from March to June with a drill or broadcaster.

What is Sudan grass used for?

Sudangrass is grown in the United States for pasture, grazing, green chop silage, hay, or seed. The crop is used as pasture for dairy and beef cows, sheep, and hogs, and as a range plant for poultry, especially turkey.

How deep do you plant Sudan grass?

In early to mid-June, plant the sorghum-sudangrass. Drill at 35 to 40 lb per acre, as deep as 2 inches to reach moist soil. If surface moisture is adequate, broadcasting the seed is an option; however, increase the rate to 45 to 50 lb per acre.

What grass is toxic to horses?

Sudan grass and its hybrids are often grown as a forage crop for horses and cattle. Animals consuming them in either fresh or dried form may suffer cyanide poisoning. Both Johnson and Sudan grasses may contain hydrocyanic acid (prussic acid) and sometimes toxic levels of nitrates.

What grass should horses not eat?

What kind of grass is bad for horses? Don’t let your horses eat any of the following: sorghum, sudangrass, johnsongrass, or any varieties of these types. Horses can get sick from eating this grass. That’s why horse owners must know what the grass is in their pastures.

Which grass hay is not recommended for horses?

Hoffman said there are a few grasses to avoid in hay or forage if you are feeding horses. They include: Perennial ryegrass and rye.

Is Sudan grass highly digestible?

Our BMR Forage Sorghums, Sorghum-sudans, and Sudangrass are highly digestible, high yielding summer annual products that top the charts in productivity in hot, dry weather. Millets, Teff and Crabgrass are summer annual choices, that when managed properly, can be used for horse pasture and/or dry hay.

Is Sudan grass the same as Johnsongrass?

Johnsongrass is a perennial sorghum that closely resembles sudan grass, is native to the Mediterranean region, and was introduced into the United States about 1830 from an unknown source.