# Milkweed, how much is too much?



## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

I just acquired some nice 2nd crop grass hay, but some of the bales are loaded with milkweed.

I have had milkweed in some of my hay land over the years, but not enough to be a problem.

Some of these bales have enough milkweed that it is obvious in the bale!

When reading about it, it's enough to scare you to death!

I'm just wondering what your experiences have been!

Thanks much, Dave


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Too much for horses?

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

From my experience, nothing will touch the milkweed laying with 2nd cut hay. The sheep won't even eat it in the worst hay we have.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Perhaps the field looked like this one:


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

slowzuki said:


> Perhaps the field looked like this one:
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> 
> 
> ...


Geesh!


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

If somebody wants to bale up weeds like that , I guess it's okay but if you are going to advertise it or sell it I think it would be proper to inform the buyer of the weeds. Because if you have an advertisement that says hay for sale and I would buy it and it's mostly weeds I would be inclined to inform you this is not hay this is weeds. Now at that point you might think it is okay to feed to an animal but you did not advertise weeds you advertised hay so it should be hay . Of course there is always a small amount of weed that can be tolerated


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Lol I wouldn't sell that garbage, word would get around. We feed that free choice in round bales over the winter to a couple of workhorses and sheep. The mess around the feeding area since they only eat about 1/2 it is composted a few years before we dare spread it.

I have had a few cattle folks buy a couple of bales of it in a pinch but they paid mulch hay price.



endrow said:


> If somebody wants to bale up weeds like that , I guess it's okay but if you are going to advertise it or sell it I think it would be proper to inform the buyer of the weeds. Because if you have an advertisement that says hay for sale and I would buy it and it's mostly weeds I would be inclined to inform you this is not hay this is weeds. Now at that point you might think it is okay to feed to an animal but you did not advertise weeds you advertised hay so it should be hay . Of course there is always a small amount of weed that can be tolerated


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

slowzuki said:


> Perhaps the field looked like this one:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, in my area the tree huggers would get you for touching the monarch butterfly feeding ground that looks like these pictures, but they are in decline.

Larry


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## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> I just acquired some nice 2nd crop grass hay, but some of the bales are loaded with milkweed.
> 
> I have had milkweed in some of my hay land over the years, but not enough to be a problem.
> 
> ...


If the bale visibly has more than 6 or 7 plants in it i set it aside for cows or mulch hay. If it has less i just pull them out as i unload the hay providing that they are sticking out of the bale some. My helpers are instructed to do the same. Most of my customers horses just eat around the milk weed.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

slowzuki said:


> Perhaps the field looked like this one:
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> 
> 
> ...


I've never seen it that thick. I've never been to concerned with milk weed but if it looked like that I'd get concerned in a hurry.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Sheepdog--That's what I would classify as "ditch" hay. I will take whatever you want to get rid of to put in my waterways so I can slow down the flow. Just haul it on over here.

Ralph


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

There was 14 acres of milkweed like that. I think I saw 2 butterfly's but they could have been moths. I hayed this field 24 years ago working for someone else, it was beautiful Timothy, it produced about 3 tons to the acre. Shortly after that it was sold and nobody touched it for 15 years.


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

GRRRRRRRR!!!!

I had a reply almost totally composed --- and the stupid computer dumped it

Thanks for all your feedback, guys!

Long story short, I told my customer what the hay was, and they declined it.

The grower found another customer that understood what the hay was, and agreed to take it anyway.

Dave


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Dave, you may have lost the deal but you gained my respect.

Ralph


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