# Foxtail in grass hay...what do you do?



## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

This time of the year we have a hayable second growth of grass for hay, but it has a large amount of foxtail and purple top summer grass in the mix. I have rarely made hay form this mixture but wonder what others think about mixed foxtail hay. Does it have feed value? Does it pose a danger to livestock? I know it can cause ulcers and cuts in horse's mouths. Good for goats? Pleases share views. In the past I have usually just mowed it off. Any easy way to get rid of it, once established?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Ed, I think many of us have learned to live with it. Some of the pre-emergents are so hit and miss that folks hate to spend the dollars on a gamble. One of the best deterrents for FT is to have a very thick stand of grass....and then it can be very hard to do if you plant a "clumping" variety of grass. And an abundance of moisture at any period of time after first cutting causes a flush of germination compounding the situation.

Regards, Mike


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

When i see something like that brewing I cut before those weeds get to far along in maturity . that is the only way the mix you talk about will be any good . The. weeds were really aggressive this season .


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

I use Quinstar and literally have zero foxtail in fields that use to be a sea of it. Read the correct label (24 page if I recall correctly) and read it carefully. Purple top, IMHO, is a reflection of your fields PH and fertility.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I'm no expert but I would think once you had seeds like this it is trouble. Better to hear from someone who knows


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

endrow said:


> I'm no expert but I would think once you had seeds like this it is trouble. Better to hear from someone who knows


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

What I know about foxtail this year is any horse owner with paddocks that we're not overgrazed had plenty of foxtail in the paddocks for their horses.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Foxtail makes an OK (not great) feed if you cut it before or at the seed milk stage.

I trick I used a couple of times was to shred it just as it was heading out if the orchardgrass was worth cutting.

Ralph


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Anyone feed beef cattle hay with foxtail in it?


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## cjsr8595 (Jul 7, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> Anyone feed beef cattle hay with foxtail in it?


yes they eat the heck out of it.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

cjsr8595 said:


> yes they eat the heck out of it.


If the seed heads are mature and sharp ,do the have trouble with sore mouth like horses


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## weatherman (Dec 5, 2008)

I have the small variety, yellow foxtail, not an over abundance but enough to cause concern for some horsey people. I never had a problem with the 15 horses i feed. I do declare the presence of foxtail. I had more people buy the bale versus those that did not. Not that big of deal here.


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

foxtail is a annual so if you can kill it off and exhaust the seed bank it will go away........

i have found that mowing foxtail only makes it worse ...for every seed head i mow off i get 3 back below mower cutting level

using pre-emergent chemicals .....and a very heavy stand of grass to keep it choked down is the only way i know to keep it down

in hay.....it seems all livestock will eat it ......i have never had a mouth issue with our horses but we keep the foxtail to a minimum and its only apparent in 2nd cutting hay here

the pre-emergent we are using is prowl h2o


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Cattle don't seem to be bothered by foxtail at all. It is the seed lodging between the tooth and the gum for horses that causes the inflammation. And it only does that if the seed is completely mature and hard.

If you cut foxtail before the seed gets hard, there is no issue for horses eating it. You can squeeze the heads(tails) and the seeds will completely flatten on immature foxtail.

Regards, Mike


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## cjsr8595 (Jul 7, 2014)

endrow said:


> If the seed heads are mature and sharp ,do the have trouble with sore mouth like horses


no, they just slurp it up. I had quite a bit of it in a new planting of clover and orchard grass. It got away from me due to the we weather we had. The cows don't mind it at all


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## Texasmark (Dec 20, 2011)

Foxtail alone made good grazing for my bovines, but they didn't like it as a stand alone crop for hay. Makes a perfect, easily mowed ground cover to prevent erosion. If it's in with other grasses in your hay management system, no problem. It is a persistent benefit/menace....depends on your perception. Once started, without chemical intervention, it remans, regardless of your tillage methods. It may be listed as an annual, but that's just in the labeling. In real life it isn't.


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## Missouri hay hauler (Jan 7, 2017)

Foxtail is a problem in my second cutting. Especially this year as we had a very dry period after 1st cutting and it really shot up. Most of my established horse customers tend to be o.k. with it and I do tell them. I had one complaint several years ago from a customer that boards horses. They had to treat mouth sores but even then, they say its not a big deal.

Cattle, goat, sheep customers don't seem to care.

I did treat one one field with Prowl in February and had very little foxtail compared to my other fields. I plan to use Prowl more in 2021 to help manage. I also totally burned down a field after second cutting and planted new seed. Some foxtail still was there but much less.

It's a real problem for me so I appreciate any chemical, tillage or management ideas that can help!


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## billkrostek (Aug 20, 2019)

there are different kinds of fox tail. where I come from when people talk about foxtail I think of Barley Foxtail. That is bad news for Dogs too. gets into the skin and mouth.


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## billkrostek (Aug 20, 2019)

I wish you would put in the question what kind of foxtail your talking about. If its Barley fox tail it is a big problem here. Here if you have Barley fox tail many people will refuse to buy it and they should. It is a problem for all animals not just hay burners. Some dog mushers have had Vet bills in the hundreds of dollars and it takes weeks out of their mushing season while the dog recovers. Dogs don't eat it but it is used as bedding when they can't find straw. The seeds work their way into the hide and mouth. I wish I could but a picture of Barley fox tail here put I don't know how. Google it. It looks nothing like the picture I see in the post here.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I believe in our are if you can cut the hay field far enough before the foxtail gets seed some buyers are ok with that , . but if you let it get a little bit older most buyers will not want it


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