# Vetch in Hay



## gsbswf (Apr 5, 2009)

I feel like I am typically the person trying to answer poison plant questions on the forum, but it is based on plant knowledge and access to professional vegetation resources. I have no goat knowledge or experience with the various concerns. I have the opportunity for a good deal on grass hay that looks great. When I pulled apart the bale to look at it, little leaves fell out. I asked if there was alfalfa in it and she said no, but there is "vetch" in it. Not knowing the species, it could be common vetch or loco weed. Does anyone have experience with vetch in hay?


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## Bwana Ken (May 9, 2011)

Vetch: a member of the legume family of plants.

As you said, unless you know the exact species of plant it's hard to say for sure whether it is safe to feed to your goats.

Having said that, we have a lot of vetch growing wild where I live in here in eastern WA, and the goats seem to love it and eat it without any noticeable harmful effects. Although some sources state that it can be poisonous to goats (and humans) in large quantities, vetch is not listed as a dangerous plant for goats on the Cornell University web site of poisonous plants for goats.

See web site here: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html

Nevertheless, because vetch is high in protein (similar to alfalfa) we limit our goats consumption of vetch to "snacking" rather than letting them totally pig-out on it.

Because it's so widespread in this area it's not uncommon to find it mixed in with our grass hay and we don't worry about feeding it to the goats.

Hope this helps,
Ken


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## gsbswf (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks!

My primary concern was that a typical rancher would call anything Astragalus or Oxytropis and most anything else if Fabaceae "vetch". I spoke to my breeder and he warned me about two-grooved milkvetch, Astragalus bisulcatus. That one fixes selenium and is extremely toxic in even small quantities, there is a well known story in 1907-08 of 15,000 sheep dieing here in Wyoming from eating it. 

My biggest concern, however, was that it was one of the species of locoweed. We have that all over, and I have one goat who targets it whenever he sees it. All of the toxic Fabaceae are usually even more concentrated in the pods (when in selenium rich soil, A. bisulcatus is ALL toxic, 2lbs to kill a cow). I have only ever seen the various "locoweed" species out in the sage desert here, so I had no idea what it would look like in an irrigated pasture, but it would be much bigger than what I am used to seeing, and of course it was dried and wrapped up in hay.

I did go back and buy a single bale, something most folks don't do around here, but the lady is very nice and was concerned for the goats. On my way to the front door, I kicked something that rattled and discovered the vetch was growing everywhere, so I yanked some to ID. They then told me the cows and horses love the stuff, but they can also become "addicted" to locoweed, so that wasn't too reassuring.

The final result is that I am 99.9% sure it is Astragalus cicer, or Cicer Milkvetch. It is introduced from Europe and is often used as forage with similar qualities to alfalfa (also Fabaceae). In the USDDA range map by county for Wyoming, my county and one other in the south east corner on the other side of the state are the only ones known to have it. It is considered excellent forage for all livestock and wildlife and does not cause bloating.

Of course, the grass species in the hay seem to be ones that the goats don't like as much, but it is green and good hay, so they may just have to suck it up for $135 a ton. At that rate, even with more waste I will come out ahead. 

One of these days I will start compiling this stuff as I figure it out and post it all in one place.

Thanks again,

Gregg


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