I found Kudzu

[man-alive]

Way back a couple of months ago I asked if anyone had ever grown Kudzu or fed it to their rabbits. Well the general feeling towards it was that it was way to invasive to fool with. Well when I asked my question none of the leaves in my area had grown back from winter yet... they are green now, and I found out that I already had kudzu growing along my fence row. (No I never noticed it before). I started ripping it down and throwing it to some does and a litter of twelve and they went nuts for the stuff. Now I don't know if it was just excitement over something new but they really do enjoy the stuff. So... rambling aside, I have found a new avenue of feed

 

[Miss M]

It's my understanding that they do love the stuff, and it is a good quality feed! Watch it like a hawk, though, and keep that stuff under control!!!

 

[a7736100]

Maybe you found a new use for Kudzu.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

awesome i know i have heard that in georgia i believe they have crews of people who work all day every day to cut kudzu down and to keep it from growing over roads and everything. if i remember correctly i had looked it up and it can grow between like 4-10 inches of new growth per day.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Cool! Hopefully the rabbits appetites will be a match for the growth of the kudzu.

If not, there is really only one choice available to you, since kudzu is so invasive... get more rabbits! Maybe a few goats as well! :mrgreen:

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

HAHAHA i love your logic MSD!

 

[MaggieJ]

I think kudzu can be cut and dried for winter use, as you would hay. Something to consider if it gets too invasive.

 

[Lastfling]

I really don't think you can feed or cut/dry/bale it fast enough.

 

[man-alive]

Well I lived in the deep south for 18 years and it is truely insane what the weed has done to the place. It grows uncontrollably fast. Thats why my last thread ended with me deciding not to bring it here to Missouri. Little did I know that it was already here. It is nowhere near the problem it is down in Alabama. Maybe because the ground is mostly rock it can't spread as quick. But from what i've seen so far it isn't a problem here (it isn't eating cars as they drive by), so honestly I might pot some in a bucket or two in good soil just to try and speed it up. (Bet you never heard anybody say kudzu was growing too slow

 

[MaggieJ]

Sounds like you will definitely be able to keep up with it.

Given that is is a nutritious and cheap (free) feed, I am very surprised that more effort has not been made to use it to feed livestock in the South. Think how many animals it could support, with only small amounts of other feeds. I'm not sure how it would work on a commercial scale, but it would certainly allow homesteaders to raise very cheap meat.

 

[man-alive]

I'm not really sure that its common knowledge that it was brought here from another country ,Asia I think, as livestock feed. But I do believe that if people would just use it for what it was first intended for, that it wouldn't be the catostrophic problem that it is today. That being said, now that it has gotten as bad as it has gotten, i'm not real sure that it will ever be under control.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I'm not really sure that its common knowledge that it was brought here from another country ,Asia I think, as livestock feed. But I do believe that if people would just use it for what it was first intended for, that it wouldn't be the catostrophic problem that it is today. That being said, now that it has gotten as bad as it has gotten, i'm not real sure that it will ever be under control.

Yes, Kudzu was imported to use as a feed for cattle-- and for erosion control on the banks of the interstate highways. Looks like it backfired--
I had a friend in Mo--she would use her portable fencing and graze her goats on it wherever she pleased in her neighborhood-- people begged her to graze her goats on their properties!

I wonder if horses would eat it....

 

[Miss M]

If I found Kudzu on my property, I'd try to keep and control it.

If I didn't find it, I'd have a hard time convincing myself to bring it home, even for life in a pot. I don't know... I see very often what it's done down here!

 

[man-alive]

If I found Kudzu on my property, I'd try to keep and control it.

If I didn't find it, I'd have a hard time convincing myself to bring it home, even for life in a pot. I don't know... I see very often what it's done down here!

I don't blame you. I decided not to bring it to Missouir... I was too late

 

[Emily]

When we had goats, we would grow it big old oil drums, then put a fence about 3 ft. away all around it. That way, the over growth would feed the goats, but they couldn't eat it to death. It took a while to find a way to keep it *alive* with them going crazy over it. The oil drum also keeps the kudzu from rooting and spreading accidentally. When we got rid of the goats, we piled the kudzu in the bucket and burned it up.

 

[kristirose125]

I wonder if anyone around me has any they would be willing to part with

 

[man-alive]

If your location is right, Louisiana, I can almost promise you that you look at it everyday and don't realize it. Maybe someone can post a pic of it?

 

[Emily]

If your location is right, Louisiana, I can almost promise you that you look at it everyday and don't realize it. Maybe someone can post a pic of it?

Absolutely. It looks like a huge green leafy blanket has been thrown over all of the trees, fences, and the ground.<br /><br />__________ Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:34 pm __________<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States

 

[Miss M]

When we had goats, we would grow it big old oil drums, then put a fence about 3 ft. away all around it. That way, the over growth would feed the goats, but they couldn't eat it to death. It took a while to find a way to keep it *alive* with them going crazy over it. The oil drum also keeps the kudzu from rooting and spreading accidentally. When we got rid of the goats, we piled the kudzu in the bucket and burned it up.

Hmmmmm... maybe I can do this!

Was the oil drum cut in two or anything? You did have to put drain holes, right? Did you elevate it?

 

[man-alive]

Miss M... if you too live in Louisiana I wouldn't bother with growing it... just go start ripping in down <br /><br />__________ Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:23 am __________<br /><br />I have been toying with the idea of growing it on string trellises, with the base in buckets, so when it comes time to harvest I just untie a string and pull the kudza off like a sock. That works in theory but you know how well these ideas play out in real life