Will cattle graze my upcoming sunflowers??

[fritztown]

I know deer will browse them, but how about cattle? We have nearly forty head, and a high deer density. Before I drop money on peredovic sunflowers and fertilizer, I'd like to know...Thanks....

[OPC Patrick]

yes cows will eat the upcoming sun flowers. spent some money and a weekend on a friends place only to have his cows eat our dove magnet.

[salth2o]

I have found that cows will darn near eat anything that is planted.

[Randy]

Only when they are young and tender. When they get coarse and tough they wont touch them.

[muley4x4]

The will eat them all. Don't ask me why. I have some volunteer ones they are gone pretty quick

[Mike Murphey]

If you have cattle and a food plot you will need to put up a fence....and if you have a high deer density and a food plot you will need to deer proof the plot to keep the deer out until the plot gets high enough to with stand the pressure the deer will place on it....idealy, a food plot needs to be divided into sections and planted at different times to be rotated letting the deer eat in one section while the other sections are off limits, open another section, and close off the original one and let it start regrowing...

[Stan R]

I just up 100 yards of barbed wire last weekend to keep the cows out... My future son in law helped.... had the t poles so it did not cost to bad.. hopefully finish the food plot this weekend...

[TexasOaks]

Yes and Yes and Yes

[nsbowhunter]

wouldn't it be great if they could come up with food plots that cows didn't like!!!!!but deer or dove or whatever your planting them did.

[Edwards]

my cows never seem to bother my sunflowers

[bowhunter59]

The Cows on Ft. Hood will eat everything I put out or grow.

[Low Fence]

Once they flower they wont touch them.

Best to take cattle off
Plant
Once flowers turn, let cattle back in
They will eat everything that is not a sunflower leaving the ground clear for landing birds...plus the stomping and bumping of the flowers will help knock the seeds loose.


But yes they will eat as soon as they pop up. and hogs will eat the heads off.

[wellingtontx]

Simple answer - yes when young plants.

[Kevin]

Isnt it early for sunflowers?

[unclefish]

Isnt it early for sunflowers?

Its actually late for native sunflowers and just about right for perdovic. Natives need to be planted in fall/winter and stratify (break the seed coat down).

I've had terrible luck with cattle eating native sunflowers planted.