Acorns - are they less poisonous when they turn brown?

[Becs]

Hi, I don't have any fields on the farm that doesn't have a large amount of oak trees in it
(to many to electric fence them off). I've previously lost cattle through acorn poisoning and have had to house the cattle in the past over the acorn-dropping period to avoid this. I've read up on the internet about acorns but I'm still not clear if acorns become less poisonous as they turn brown (Does the tannin decrease or become more concentrated?) or more so? Sorry if it's a daft question!

 

[Bury the Trash]

Well I think im right in saying that Acorns are less palatable/appealing to stock when they age, ie go brown , mature, deteriorate even... trouble is at the moment we re finding a lot are being brought down by the weather. Same problem with sheep really, although it could be ours are used to it.
I think it needs to be viewed a bit like corn feeding and the risks to health that that can present if too much or if the stock are not aclimatised / used to it .
i graze parkland at times with a lot of oaks in but never really fence them off, a its impractical, and over the years one or 2 would've been lost i guess, at this time of year, of course that not is as bad as losing one or 2 cattle...
just my thoughts on the subject .

 

[Bury the Trash]

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3031&context=iowastate_veterinarian

copied from that ..

3.. Maturation of the oak - Young leaves and green acorns are more toxic than dry, mature leaves and mature acorns. This is probably due to the fact the tannin content decreases as the leaves mature, and also young leaves are considerably more palatable than mature leaves.

I wonder if feeding something alongside at the high risk time would help, like with limestone flour or similar in..

 

[Becs]

Thanks very much for your helpful replies. At present, they are in a field with the least amount of oaks, plenty of grass plus a rack of decent hay however, I’ve been caught out before in thinking that they’ve got enough to eat without acorn-munching. It seems that, in the past, one or two get a taste for acorns and gorge on them, whereas the rest don‘t actively seek the acorns out. I could put silage out for them in the hope that they fill up on that - although I was planning on saving that for when they come in for the winter. Due to circumstances this year, it’s tricky to house them for the next couple of weeks.

 

[le bon paysan]

Thanks very much for your helpful replies. At present, they are in a field with the least amount of oaks, plenty of grass plus a rack of decent hay however, I’ve been caught out before in thinking that they’ve got enough to eat without acorn-munching. It seems that, in the past, one or two get a taste for acorns and gorge on them, whereas the rest don‘t actively seek the acorns out. I could put silage out for them in the hope that they fill up on that - although I was planning on saving that for when they come in for the winter. Due to circumstances this year, it’s tricky to house them for the next couple of weeks.

Plaster some muck over the acorns.

 

[clod hopper]

You don't have any pigs do you? They will hoover them up real good.

 

[Becs]

We used to have pigs and they did a cracking job on getting rid of the acorns but unfortunately, no pigs now. Great idea about the muck - have taken the muck spreader out round the fence lines Today where most of the oaks are. Thanks for that,!