Feeding Pollen to Livestock?

[The15thMember]

Anyone ever heard of feeding pollen to horses or other livestock?  I've heard of people giving horses pollen, and my sister was wondering if perhaps a pollen supplement would be beneficial for her goats. 

[Ben Framed]

I have heard of feeding pollen to race horses as a supplement during training. But remember pollen is very expensive as a feed. It goes for $20.00 a pound or it did last year. I have not priced it this year.

[beesnweeds]

Pollen supplement ingredients include soy flour, brewers yeast, grain by products and sugar.  I don't know what health benefits would be in it for goats.

[van from Arkansas]

Member, best to ask a VET.  Animals process food very different than you and I: example, give a horse carbohydrates and the horse will founder.  So sweet feed has to be carefully fed to horses, high protein hay such as alfalfa with founder a horse, moldy hay will cause havoc with horses.  Ok to feed cattle moldy hay.  So in brief, some animals are feed sensitive and I don?t know about the goats.  I realize you care for your animals, honeybees, you are appreciated.

 I would leave the pollen for the bees.

[The15thMember]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I have heard of feeding pollen to race horses as a supplement during training. But remember pollen is very expensive as a feed. It goes for $20.00 a pound or it did last year. I have not priced it this year.

I would be feeding my own pollen, so no concerns about price.

Pollen supplement ingredients include soy flour, brewers yeast, grain by products and sugar.  I don't know what health benefits would be in it for goats.

I apologize, I shouldn?t have phrased that like I did. I?m not looking to feed the goats pollen supplement, but to feed them pure pollen as a dietary supplement.

Member, best to ask a VET.  Animals process food very different than you and I: example, give a horse carbohydrates and the horse will founder.  So sweet feed has to be carefully fed to horses, high protein hay such as alfalfa with founder a horse, moldy hay will cause havoc with horses.  Ok to feed cattle moldy hay.  So in brief, some animals are feed sensitive and I don?t know about the goats.  I realize you care for your animals, honeybees, you are appreciated.

 I would leave the pollen for the bees.

Very true, Van, and we would certainly consult our vet before giving it to them.

My sister?s and my thoughts were that since goats can clearly already eat pollen in small quantities since they can eat flowers, perhaps it would be beneficial for them, since bee pollen is packed with protein and vitamins. We found a couple of studies online about feeding it to horses and rabbits, and my sister is talking about it with her goat people too.

[Ben Framed]

You are correct Mr Van. Horses can and will easily founder. Founder is the reason Secretariat was put down. However if feed right pollen is said to be a great added supplement to race and high performance horses (while in training). Great Trainers of old knew this secret and was used in old by the possessors of this knowledge and is still handed down today. It must be fed correctly. I do not know about goats nor would I feed pollen to goats as personally I do not see the need. Due to the value of pollen, in my opinion would be similar to feeding caviar to pets, wasted in my humble opinion. No offence intended to Member or her sisters. It is theirs to do as they wish.
  

Bee Pollen for Horses - The Holistic Horse
www.theholistichorse.com/.../horses/bee-pollen
Bee Pollen for Horses provides a high concentration of protein and is a natural source of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and fatty acids. A 1 pound package will last 16 days at one ounce a day in daily ration.

[Oldbeavo]

Mr Van
Mouldy hay can cause pregnant cattle to abort. Also by the time it has gone mouldy the feed value would be poor.

Goats are ruminant and so the first stomach, the rumen, the bacteria would use the high value protein and so the goat would get very little.
Goats are fibre digesters.

[paus]

I have had many kinds of grazing animals and I would think a grazing animal would eat many times more pollen in a day than a bee hive could gather in a month.

[van from Arkansas]

Mr Van
Mouldy hay can cause pregnant cattle to abort. Also by the time it has gone mouldy the feed value would be poor.

Goats are ruminant and so the first stomach, the rumen, the bacteria would use the high value protein and so the goat would get very little.
Goats are fibre digesters.

I believe you Beavo, however, moldy hay is a feed staple in US due to cheap price.  The cattle don?t abort but are we talking the same mold or same amount of mold?  I am talking about light mold in hay, not the nasty stuff.

[The15thMember]

I have had many kinds of grazing animals and I would think a grazing animal would eat many times more pollen in a day than a bee hive could gather in a month.

That's a really good point.  And it makes me think that we could probably at least try giving our goats some, since their pasture has almost no flowers right now. 

[Ben Framed]

Horses will founder in early spring on clover. As Mr van said we have to be very careful what we feed to horses. Paus, I never noticed if they were eating the flower tops of clover when this happens. I am thinking it is when clover first springs and do not know if the flower tops of clover are even out yet. Pregnant mares when ingesting fescue may aboard their babies. We always made sure our horse pastures were fescue free for this reason. Also if corn gets wet for a certain amount of time, changes are made in the corn. I do not know if it chemical or bacterial,  but they will get what is called blind staggers, (a swelling of the brain) which wet corn does not seem to bother cows as far as I know as folks use to put corn in what is called, underground silos.  Goats, from what I have been told can eat just about anything, I would not be afraid to feed pollen to goats, but would not for $ reasons I said before.