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Greasewood Question

T

Tap

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There is a chunk of country about 30 miles S. of the S. edge of our ranch, that has quite a bit of greasewood on it. We do not have any of it, and I think maybe the only greasewood around here is on the Little Missouri River, and I am not even real sure about that. I have had it told to me that when it makes buds, or pods, or whatever they are called, that cattle just love to browse on them. They even told me that it was hard to trail cows thru greasewood in the spring, as they just love to eat it in a fresh pasture. Anyway, I wondered if anyone else knows about this, and is greasewood the same thing they call chapperal in some areas? I always admire it for the cover it gives young animals in the spring time. Also, does it have a good/bad distinguishable smell like sage does? We have a fair amount of sage in places, and no sage at all in some areas, just no greasewood dang it. :wink:
I do think maybe it got the greasewood name from the way that it burned when early settlers tried using it for firewood.
 
We had greasewood mixed in with the sage in west texas. It does have a distiguishing smell....not really a bad smell but not a great smell either. Smells like crude oil to me. Course not that many people have probably ever smelled crude oil. If you've ever driven thru oil country, and smelled that smell.....well that's what greasewood smells like. As for cows eatin it, I have no idea.
 
Tap, from what I have been around greasewood the cows will only eat it when they are completely out of grass. The cows can survive on it for a while in a drought year but they will look like hell. Also to me it seems like it generally grows in poorer ground where not much else can survive.
 
Although it can be grazed by animals that are adapted, grazing of greasewood by sheep and cattle can result in oxalate poisoning resulting in kidney failure [1]. The active agent can be either sodium oxalate or potassium oxalate. Sheep are the most vulnerable.

Wikipedia
 
I don't know that the animals actually eat the greasewood leaves, but I was told that when they make their "seed", that it what they like. I can't be sure of that either though. I figured it was kind of like what we have been talking about with the soapweed plant. Cows like the pods on them.

What about that?

You may be right about it growing in the poorer soils cowboyup, but there sure is a lot of grass growing with it, in the spot I see all the time. He is really easy on his pastures though, so that might be part of it.
 
You know our cows go nuts over the stuff they'll pass thru clover for it. I guess I never payed attention to what part of it they were eating, but they eat it no matter what. And those pastures we have it in are full of grass.
Is there an article on the posion side of it that we can read???
 
There is a lot of it in the Tensleep, Wyoming country and we always
heard it grew on poorer ground. They spray it over there to get rid of it.They have some big sagebrush in that country as well.

I wonder if we are all talking about the same thing?

Greasewood to me, is fairly tall and woody, with some greenish leaves
on it. I've never known cattle to eat it. Doesn't mean they don't, just
that I've never known them to.
 
Thanks for the info Mike, I didn't know that! Our cattle do graze it but like the site says in small quantities and there are other things for them to eat. It's not a last resort for them. When we switch to that pasture I'll get some pictures.
 
That would be neat if you would post a picture, or several, for us. I think people on this board (myself included) would be interested in what Heel Fly's country looks like. It is a real neat area.
 
Cows in our area will only eat it if they run out of grass. It is good proctection and holds the snow so you have more grass around it than flat areas. DO NOT DRIVE OVER IT, unless you like to fix flats.
 
Sounds a little thorny.. I know our Osage Orange hedge trees do a number on tires, feet, fingers whatever.. Those darn thorns are long.. Would get ride of the trees if they weren't such great shade suring th ummer for the cows and the fact that the provide some wind relief during calving season for the calves.


I think I have head of greasewood but it isnot something we have around here..
 
we have Greasewood on a big alkali flat. They say sheep eat it because it greens up first in the spring and that is when it is most poisonous to sheep. I haven't noticed our cattle eating it much. We used to trail calves out to that flat in the winter to graze. The greasewood would tickle the belly of this colt i was riding and it sure made him jump. He did get over it by spring but it made for some interesting rides that winter.
 

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