Practicing animals may only eat flowers and ends at first.  As they become more adept, they will eat more and more of the plant, often grazing it to the same level as the grass in the pasture.

No creature changes unless it has to, so a little pressure is part of a good learning environment.

I begin in small pastures with a mixture of both weeds and grass. This causes enough pressure so our cows don't just eat the best and leave the rest. It also gives them the time and incentive they need to learn how to harvest some of the more difficult weeds.

Remember that animals will have to learn the techniques for harvesting the new forage. For example, it took cows in Marin County, California several days to figure out the best way to wrap their tongues around the very spiny Italian thistle. But once they figured it out, they got better and better with practice.

Tour your trial pasture on foot to see how your trainees are doing.Look for evidence of grazing - bites off the top of the weed, bent over or gummed stems - showing the animals are trying to figure out how to put it in their mouths. They don't have to eat everything in order to be successful for you.

Finally, never expect cows to eat solid stands of weeds. They will ALWAYS need to mix in other foods to be successful, healthy weed managers. And don't forget They'll get better and better with time.