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    Did You Know? More than 95 per cent of lentils produced in Canada are grown in Saskatchewan. Livestock - Feeds/Nutrition Feeding Kochia  December 2007 During times of feed shortages, alternative forages not normally fed are often used. Kochia (Kochia scoparia) is a plant that can be used for feed. If baled early and harvested before the plant is mature, the feed quality is excellent, rivaling alfalfa in protein and energy levels. However, what sets kochia apart from common feed forages is that it contains a component called an oxalate. Soluble oxalates can be normally found in plants such as kochia or redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) and rhubarb leaves (Rheum rhaponeticum) or may also be produced by some fungi on mouldy feedstuffs. Danger in feeding kochia The danger in feeding kochia is that oxalates bind to calcium in the bloodstream, forming calcium oxalate by precipitating the calcium, leading to hypocalcemia or low calcium levels. Calcium oxalate will not only severely reduce the calcium availability to body systems but calcium crystals can also block renal systems in the kidneys, causing death. Upon post-mortem, gross pathology will show swollen kidneys, hemorrhages and edema of the rumen wall as well as the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in kidneys and rumen. Short-term problems from oxalates will occur when unconditioned ruminants (such as sheep or cattle) are turned out onto pasture and allowed to graze kochia. Symptoms of short-term poisoning include labored breathing, depression, weakness, coma and death, with some animals showing convulsions and tetany within two to four hours of eating a feed containing high levels of oxalates. Short-term results will be typical of hungry animals more so than animals that were fed prior to ingesting oxalate laden feeds. If an animal is showing obvious symptoms of having consumed oxalate laden feeds, it generally means serum calcium levels have been reduced by up to 20 per cent below normal - death usually occurs in animals registering more than a 20 per cent reduction in serum calcium. With proper management, kochia may be used as a feed. Depending on the stage of maturity, kochia may be fed in cattle diets for up to 40 per cent of the diet if the kochia was baled at later stages of maturity. If kochia was baled at an earlier maturity stage, beef recommendations suggest feeding at up to 30 per cent of the diet. Kochia feeding recommendations for deer, elk and bison do not exist. It would be prudent to feed kochia sparingly to these species, particularly to bison as they retain feeds for a longer period of time in their rumen. If kochia were to be fed to deer or elk, it would also be prudent to limit the level of kochia in the diet and offset the rest of the diet with a forage source high in calcium, such as alfalfa, or ensure adequate calcium intake by way of mineral supplementation. As an insurance measure when feeding kochia, feed additional calcium supplements to negate any effect of kochia on calcium utilization. Prepared minerals containing calcium and phosphorus can be used, or if a mixed diet is fed, additional limestone can be added as a source of calcium. For more information, please contact: Agriculture Knowledge Centre |
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