Title: Plants of Texas Rangelands » Honey mesquite
Headings: Honey mesquite
Honey mesquite
Description
Habitat
Toxic Agent
Signs of Livestock Ingestion
Management Strategies
Images

Content: Mesquite beans have a high sugar content that, together with inadequacy in other dietary factors, alters rumen microflora, inhibits cellulose digestion and contributes to rumen stasis and impaction. B-vitamin synthesis is inhibited. Ketosis and starvation follow in severe cases. Signs of Livestock Ingestion
The signs of the disease - jaw and tongue trouble - develop gradually, usually after cattle have been eating beans for 2 or more months. Animals may lose 50 percent of their weight. Afflicted cattle may salivate, chew continuously, sometimes with nothing in their mouths, and hold their heads to one side as if chewing is painful. About 25 percent of affected animals have a partial paralysis of the tongue, which protrudes 1 to 4 inches from the mouth. At least 10 percent of poisoned animals have swelling under their jaws or tongue, and some have noticeably enlarged salivary glands. Signs may include: Loss of appetite;