Plant toxicity (Pasture)

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Is there a web site, book or other reference that would list plants that you want to make sure to eliminate from your property because of their toxicity?

We would like to introduce wildflowers and a wide variety of plants onto our pasture, but have discovered there are lots of things that are toxic to the animals we plan to have grazing there. It seems like it would be a good idea to know what to not plant.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), February 10, 2001

Answers

Response to Plant toxicity

The current issue of Countryside has an article on the topic.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 10, 2001.

Response to Plant toxicity

Animals aren't as dumb as people give them credit for being. They will very seldom eat toxic plants if not forced to - no other feed available. Check with your local County Extension Agent, they can tell you what plants may be dangerous for various livestock.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 10, 2001.

Response to Plant toxicity

I would recommend getting some very reputable data on what is poisonous. I have heard from other people, that all kinds of things could kill my goats; pine trees, kale, st. John's wort, knapweed, hawkweed, comfrey! My goats love and eat all these plants! The noxious weed people employed by the county are no better. When I went to a display at the county fair, the county extension office had a booth with plant specimens that were noxious weeds. Examples included plantain and lamb's quarters!! These are not even noxious weeds, let alone poisonous. There are some things you don't want, such as any kind of cherry tree, tansy ragwort is supposed to be very bad for cattle but my goats eat it, same with nightshade vines. Water hemlock is deadly, but I don't think you'd be getting seed for that!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 10, 2001.

Response to Plant toxicity

I wouldn't trust animals to not eat what they are not supposed to eat. For example: dogs love the taste of anti freeze which of course will kill them when they drink it. Also, we had friends who let their rabbits out to run in the backyard where they had ivy growing. Not knowing that ivy was poisonous our friends watched them happily nibbling away on the ivy for quite some time. Then of course they got sick and died within a couple of hours. Animals are smart but like people they don't always know what they should and shouldn't eat.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), February 10, 2001.

Response to Plant toxicity

I'm hoping there is some sort of book or pamphlet that would describe all this stuff. List the plants, what sort of problems they cause and maybe have ways of identifying the plants.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), February 10, 2001.


Response to Plant toxicity

Paul- Contact your local extension service. Ours puts out a list of all plants grown in our area which are poisonous to livestock.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), February 11, 2001.

Response to Plant toxicity

I once asked the county agent to come and see if he could help me identify plants because my pygmy had gotten out and died a few days later, the vet thinks from eating something toxic. He garbed a few plants here and there, brought them to someone else to look at, then never called me. I had to keep calling him. They said there was nothing toxic so the whole thing was a waste of time for me. Any books or pamplets I find usually have the pictures either drawn or not enough of it showing to be distinct (like a whole stem with leaves by itself, then the whole plant)or worse, no pictures at all. Needless to say, I'm careful of planting only what I know is okay.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), February 11, 2001.

This may help:

http://search.metacrawler.com/crawler?general=plants+poisonous+to+animals&method=0&redirect=web&rpp=20&hpe=10®ion=0&timeout=0&sort=0&format=beta99&theme=classic&refer=mc-search

If your browser doesn't capture the entire url, copy/cut/paste.

This url can help you locate your extension office:

http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/statepartners/statetext.htm

Click your state and go from there.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), February 12, 2001.


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