Cool Will Cows Eat Hay With A Little Mold In It 2022. Ingestion of moldy feed or hay can potentially cause mycotic (fungal) abortion, respiratory effects, decreased feed consumption and rate of gain, and digestive problems. Even plants with high tannins can be grazed if the livestock are used to a diverse diet each day, the tannins are supposed to be natural wormers.
You can literally feed all the cows can eat and they will drop body condition score. Usually, mold makes hay less palatable, which can result in lower intake or in animals refusing to eat the hay. Accumulation of mold can reduce the digestibility of the diet by up to 5% in ruminants, which is why table 1 shows a 5% discount in energy levels once the mold.
