| |||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Word of warning to Colorado livestock ownersColorado Colorado mountains are covered with snow and while the moisture is a welcome sight, the snow comes with an important reminder to livestock owners. Recent weather conditions could cause dangerous levels of cyanide or nitrate in some plants that could be fatal to livestock. "Although this isn't typically a big issue in Colorado, it's important to keep livestock owners aware of problems that could arise," said Commissioner of Agriculture, Don Ament. "The drought continues to affect our state and with a frost headed our way, we need to keep the safety of our livestock in mind." Cyanide poisoning, also known as prussic acid poisoning, occurs most commonly with sorghums and related species. Any stress condition, including drought, frost or herbicides, can cause a concentration of cyanide in the plants. The increased levels of cyanide could be fatal to livestock if it is consumed in large quantities. After a killing frost, wait at least four days before allowing livestock to graze in affected fields. Other plants such as choke cherries and suckleya can also have dangerous levels of cyanide. Sorghums may also accumulate nitrates during drought periods when roots absorb nitrates, and high temperatures inhibit its conversion to amino acids. Moisture also causes plants to rapidly absorb nitrate to dangerous levels. Allow fields to sit at least one week before allowing cattle to graze, and ideally graze suspect fields in the afternoons when nitrate levels are at their lowest in the plant. Many weeds and crops such as corn can accumulate toxic levels of nitrate. "In both cases, cyanide and nitrate bind with red blood cells (hemoglobin) and interfere with normal transport of oxygen to the tissues causing the animal to die rapidly of asphyxiation," said Doctor Tony Knight, Professor of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University. "A single mouthful of the plant is not likely to cause poisoning, but if livestock graze the frosted or droughted plants for several hours they are likely to be poisoned." Treatment of cyanide and nitrate poisoning is possible if the poisoning is diagnosed early enough. Your veterinarian has the appropriate antidote that must be administered intravenously and before the animals are too severely affected. If landowners are concerned about the risk of nitrate poisoning, a simple screening test can be performed on the suspect plant material to determine if nitrate is present. If the screening test is positive, the plant material can be tested to determine just how much nitrate is present in the plants. Contact your livestock Extension Agent for help in testing your hay or forage. Date: 10/25/06
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
