nassau
Member
About to start implementing a summer feeding program of cotton seed on our south ga river lease.
Anyone have any insight on this?
Anyone have any insight on this?
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Cotton Seed
- Thread starter nassau
- Start date
Gator89
Senior Member
Cottonseed meal, whole fuzzy cottonseed as well as delinted cottonseed are all used as feed ingredients. Dairy folks especially like fuzzy seed in their cow's diets to help produce high volumes of milk.
Cottonseed meal is a protein source priced against soybean meal. A few other soy meal alternatives are sunflower meal, safflower meal, canola meal and peanut meal. After the oil is extracted, the byproduct becomes food for other critters.
As protein sources, yes they can be toxic if over-consumption occurs.
I would love to learn how folks feed cottonseed to deer.
Cottonseed meal is a protein source priced against soybean meal. A few other soy meal alternatives are sunflower meal, safflower meal, canola meal and peanut meal. After the oil is extracted, the byproduct becomes food for other critters.
As protein sources, yes they can be toxic if over-consumption occurs.
I would love to learn how folks feed cottonseed to deer.
spencer12
Senior Member
They do it in Texas, I know that.
godogs57
Senior Member
I LOVE a late season field of picked cotton for bucks. Other than feeling concealed in the field, they love munching on un-picked cotton bolls for the seed. It's very high in protein....in the 40's, percentage wise. Cotton seed meal, because of that protein content is a supplement in cattle feed. It's good stuff. So good that you have to limit the amount fed or the mama cow's milk can cause the calf to scour.
My favorite "food plot" from say, Christmas until the end of the season, is a field of cotton. It can be magic.
My favorite "food plot" from say, Christmas until the end of the season, is a field of cotton. It can be magic.
spencer12
Senior Member
I second this.
sghoghunter
Senior Member
Never seen them eat cotton bowls but have seen a many of leaves hanging out their mouth
Jim Boyd
Senior Member
Deer love a cotton field from the time they plant it until the time they disc it under - to include loving it even after it is bushhogged.
My commercial tillable fields are in peanuts, cotton and melon rotation.
Cotton is our best.
My commercial tillable fields are in peanuts, cotton and melon rotation.
Cotton is our best.
jgunnsmith
Senior Member
Just remember to stop feeding it before they loose their velvet. Cottonseed contains a chemical called gossypol and it makes male animals sterile. The gossypol toxicity stops when the animal stops eating it. Cattle farmers have to be careful with their bulls eating cottonseed.
fishfryer
frying fish driveler
Think of all the moonpies eaten by young boys in the south years ago. If I'm not mistaken moonpies are made with cottonseed meal.
EAGLE EYE 444
King Casanova
While we are on the subject of cotton being ginned and also cottonseed oil etc...........some of you older people might remember hearing about or seeing this technique being used for cat-fishing.
Here is a history lesson for most of you that have never even thought about being possible.
Let me explain. I began working for a filtration company located here in Augusta beginning back in January of 1973 and one of the oddest items that I ever was involved in manufacturing and selling was a really heavy duty woven Nylon filter press cloths that were used in a few cotton gins around the country. After the cotton was ginned for the actual fiber content, then these cotton gins would process the cottonseed which was a by-product of this process. This mixture was heated to higher temperatures and then injected into a really heavy duty filter press with possibly 20-50 tons of pressure and they would squeeze most of the oil out of the seeds. The oil itself would be filtered and used for various products. What was remaining was the remnants of those seeds and the smaller amount of oil that was considered residue. While the remaining "residue" product was still hot, it was then put into these filter presses with the 1/4"-3/8" thickness Nylon fabric press cloths and then held in the press for several hours. When the press was finally opened, these cloths were sealed around the cottonseed mixture and the "meal-cake" became very hard and each cake was a size about 18" x 32". These mealcakes were sold for many years as catfish bait especially for using large size hand-made wire fish baskets in lakes, rivers, or even farm ponds. Many of the buyers of this product were commercial fisherman back then and they don't exist much anymore. Unfortunately, processing mealcake in that original fashion has now become just about extinct.
Even back in the 1970's there were ONLY three known cotton gins left in the USA that were still processing the cottonseed into the mealcakes as such. These three locations were ones which I supplied these press cloths before they went out of business and I have visited all three of these manufacturing over the years.
Louisville Gin & Fertilizer in Louisville, Ga.
Pendleton Oil Mill in Pendleton, S.C.
Moulton Oil Mill in Moulton, Tx
ps: I have worked in the Filtration Industry for the past 47 years and I have owned my Filtration Company since 1992.....BUT possible retirement does sound better and better.
Here is a history lesson for most of you that have never even thought about being possible.
Let me explain. I began working for a filtration company located here in Augusta beginning back in January of 1973 and one of the oddest items that I ever was involved in manufacturing and selling was a really heavy duty woven Nylon filter press cloths that were used in a few cotton gins around the country. After the cotton was ginned for the actual fiber content, then these cotton gins would process the cottonseed which was a by-product of this process. This mixture was heated to higher temperatures and then injected into a really heavy duty filter press with possibly 20-50 tons of pressure and they would squeeze most of the oil out of the seeds. The oil itself would be filtered and used for various products. What was remaining was the remnants of those seeds and the smaller amount of oil that was considered residue. While the remaining "residue" product was still hot, it was then put into these filter presses with the 1/4"-3/8" thickness Nylon fabric press cloths and then held in the press for several hours. When the press was finally opened, these cloths were sealed around the cottonseed mixture and the "meal-cake" became very hard and each cake was a size about 18" x 32". These mealcakes were sold for many years as catfish bait especially for using large size hand-made wire fish baskets in lakes, rivers, or even farm ponds. Many of the buyers of this product were commercial fisherman back then and they don't exist much anymore. Unfortunately, processing mealcake in that original fashion has now become just about extinct.
Even back in the 1970's there were ONLY three known cotton gins left in the USA that were still processing the cottonseed into the mealcakes as such. These three locations were ones which I supplied these press cloths before they went out of business and I have visited all three of these manufacturing over the years.
Louisville Gin & Fertilizer in Louisville, Ga.
Pendleton Oil Mill in Pendleton, S.C.
Moulton Oil Mill in Moulton, Tx
ps: I have worked in the Filtration Industry for the past 47 years and I have owned my Filtration Company since 1992.....BUT possible retirement does sound better and better.
hancock husler
Senior Member
Very expensive for the common man. Fact is you have to stop feeding due to sterilization of bucks if fed past September. Look it up
BBond
Senior Member
It also appears not to be that preferred by hogs and raccoons.
Gator89
Senior Member
Like most things in life, quantity matters.
Lower sperm count seems to be the most concern, not necessarily permanent sterility.
Cottonseed meal is fed to livestock year around as an ingredient in a balanced ration or even in a salt mix. The salt prevents the cattle from over-consuming.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/gossypol-toxicity-in-livestock.html
Adult cattle can tolerate much larger amounts of free gossypol but toxicosis has been reported with levels of 800ppm fed over a long period of time. The problem with gossypol is the toxic effect seems to be cumulative. The longer they are on a ration that contains too much gossypol, the more likely they are to have problems.
https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/an_sci/extension/animal/nutr/mhp95-1.htm
I wager this quote applies to deer to:
All things considered, whole cottonseed makes an excellent supplemental feed for beef cattle. If fed properly such that no animals consume an excessive amount it should not cause any problems. If, on the other hand, it is fed in a careless manner it could cause trouble. The old adage "there is no free lunch" certainly applies to whole cottonseed. Producers can save money on their winter feed bill by using cottonseed, but the level of management will be slightly higher than traditional supplements.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an130
Gossypol and Bull Fertility
In regards to bulls, gossypol can cause a temporary reduction in fertility when cottonseed is fed above the recommended level. Because of the importance of bull fertility to profitable beef production, the general recommendation is that bulls should not be fed whole cottonseed 60 to 90 days before the start of the breeding season. The feeding of whole cottonseed to the cow herd when the bulls are present is okay as any decrease in fertility will take several months to develop. By the time fertility begins to decline (if at all), the breeding season should be over.
Lower sperm count seems to be the most concern, not necessarily permanent sterility.
Cottonseed meal is fed to livestock year around as an ingredient in a balanced ration or even in a salt mix. The salt prevents the cattle from over-consuming.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/gossypol-toxicity-in-livestock.html
Adult cattle can tolerate much larger amounts of free gossypol but toxicosis has been reported with levels of 800ppm fed over a long period of time. The problem with gossypol is the toxic effect seems to be cumulative. The longer they are on a ration that contains too much gossypol, the more likely they are to have problems.
https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/an_sci/extension/animal/nutr/mhp95-1.htm
I wager this quote applies to deer to:
All things considered, whole cottonseed makes an excellent supplemental feed for beef cattle. If fed properly such that no animals consume an excessive amount it should not cause any problems. If, on the other hand, it is fed in a careless manner it could cause trouble. The old adage "there is no free lunch" certainly applies to whole cottonseed. Producers can save money on their winter feed bill by using cottonseed, but the level of management will be slightly higher than traditional supplements.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an130
Gossypol and Bull Fertility
In regards to bulls, gossypol can cause a temporary reduction in fertility when cottonseed is fed above the recommended level. Because of the importance of bull fertility to profitable beef production, the general recommendation is that bulls should not be fed whole cottonseed 60 to 90 days before the start of the breeding season. The feeding of whole cottonseed to the cow herd when the bulls are present is okay as any decrease in fertility will take several months to develop. By the time fertility begins to decline (if at all), the breeding season should be over.
Excavator
Senior Member
Excavator
Senior Member
hancock husler
Senior Member
Looked it up but what is the cost?
Excavator
Senior Member
I think he said around $11 per 50. I would think there is plenty to be had in SWGA. Just need to start calling around. We get our feed made with cotton seed mill, soybean mill cracked corn, alfalfa cubes, dicalcium phosphate and minerals. Works great. From what the outfitter told me is a free range animal that grazes would never eat enough to effect fertility.
