Author Topic: Poisonous Plants (Read 51096 times)

Pebbles · « **on:** November 09, 2007, 10:40:18 pm »

I'm learning new things every day, but who knows of plants which are poisonous to regular farm animals (pigs, sheep, goats, chickens etc)?

I was angry at myself today for not knowing that cattle and horses were susceptible to bracken fern poisoning - luckily for me sheep and pigs don't tend to touch it, but if they do they can just about tolerate it.

Knowledge of any common garden/ rural weeds, plants etc that you know of would be most helpful.

Thanks,

Pebbles

Dan · « **Reply #1 on:** November 10, 2007, 12:22:02 pm »

Ragwort is the one I see mentioned most often - poisonous to horses and other livestock. Here are a couple of sites worth a quick read:

Ragwort - Is it as bad as you think?
Defra's Ragwort information page

We lift it wherever we see it on our land, you should too if you've got livestock.

Rosemary · « **Reply #2 on:** November 10, 2007, 03:29:04 pm »

Ragwort is very dangerous; along with ragwort, broad leaves and curled leaved docks and creeping and spear thistles are listed as injurious weeds and must be controlled but, unlike ragwort, they aren't dangerous to animals, in fact our horses really enjoy cut thistles and thistle heads. Buttercups are mildly poisonous but are bitter tasting so tend to be avoided. Yew is poisonous, as is privet, box, laburnum and laurel.

That's all I can think of.

carl · « **Reply #3 on:** November 12, 2007, 09:20:11 am »

i seem to remeber being told that foxgloves are poisonous to animals.

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #4 on:** November 12, 2007, 12:58:17 pm »

Pigs are pretty good at not eating anything they should not. Symptoms of bracken poisoning in pigs is a tarry faesces.

jan · « **Reply #5 on:** November 12, 2007, 06:11:45 pm »

I only have a list for plants that are dangerous to dogs, but if anyone would like it pasted up i am quite willing. Janx

swavgav · « **Reply #6 on:** January 31, 2008, 02:54:49 pm »

RAGWORT - this stuff is Lethal stuff, if you have it you can either pick it(wearing gloves) and burn it! or spray it off with an organic weedkiller which i cant member the name of!

Gav

Fluffywelshsheep · « **Reply #7 on:** January 31, 2008, 03:08:10 pm »

The best way to get ride of it is the hack it down and then put it on a bonfire to burn asap.
Giant hogweed is another, I have seen the end result of too stupid teenagers thinking it would be brilliant to uses as a punching bag. Both of them ended up in hospital for a night untill all the swelling when down.
Every single bit of exposed skin has balloon to twice it's size and was red a raw. I was usinging a hand sigh once and caught it by accident and the 'juice' caught me on my wrist and the little patch balloon too.

I have no idea if animals have problems with it but i would think if humans got that bad a reaction then animals can too.

beth · « **Reply #8 on:** April 12, 2010, 02:23:43 pm »

I've learnt this weekend that rhododendron is really very poisonous to sheep. One of our 5 week old lambs ate some and within hours he was vomiting and almost fitting, by the time we realised the cause black tea and charcoal didn't help, the vet came and put him to sleep. But maybe if we'd got it in him sooner he would of recovered. I've since learnt that an injection of vitamins and of calcium may of helped save him.
I suspected that one of ewes had eaten some and gave her black tea and charcoal and she is fine.
Beth

jameslindsay · « **Reply #9 on:** April 12, 2010, 02:42:23 pm »

Beth last month I had lots of very sick goats as they had eaten Laurel leaves but the vet had hoped it was rhododendron as that was less fatal to goats. They were all given lots of vitamin B injections and Metcalm but sadly we lost one of them.

ballingall · « **Reply #10 on:** April 12, 2010, 03:09:02 pm »

Rhododendron was less poisionious to goats? I've never heard that before. Rhododendron is one of the worse plants for poisoning animals. Its also a plant which is difficult to get rid of.

Beth, if he had taken a fair amount of it, even if you had found him sooner, it is unlikely it would have made any difference. We have lost one or two goats to this- one because someone came into the goatshed and fed it to them on New Year's Day.

Beth

jameslindsay · « **Reply #11 on:** April 12, 2010, 03:13:35 pm »

Quote from: ballingall on April 12, 2010, 03:09:02 pm

Rhododendron was less poisionious to goats? I've never heard that before. Rhododendron is one of the worse plants for poisoning animals. Its also a plant which is difficult to get rid of.

Our vets phoned the poison unit in Edinburgh and that is what they were told.

CameronS · « **Reply #12 on:** April 12, 2010, 08:48:11 pm »

Is laurel poisonous to chickens?? mine stripped the lower leaves of two bushes with no ill effects, was i just lucky?

chickenfeeder · « **Reply #13 on:** November 23, 2010, 10:57:59 pm »

Rhododendron is VERY poisonous to goats

lazybee · « **Reply #14 on:** November 24, 2010, 07:14:34 am »

Quote from: swavgav on January 31, 2008, 02:54:49 pm

RAGWORT - this stuff is Lethal stuff, if you have it you can either pick it(wearing gloves) and burn it! or spray it off with an organic weedkiller which i cant member the name of!

Gav

It's not nearly as bad as people think. This one goes on and on. 5 to 25% of body weight have to be eaten, therefore an animal would have to eat 4 or 5 bales (depending on it's weight) of pure ragwort to be in trouble. It is only classified as a medium/low risk here in France. My farrier's sister had a pony that was addicted to ragwort he would make a beeline for it when he saw it. You guessed it he died of old age. There are many more plants higher up the toxicity scale.