# Wild Cherry. How poisonous are we talking?



## mooman (May 19, 2008)

I have several wild cherries around the property. and they loose leaves periodically. there are always a few around the base that are in various states of drying out. My wether seems to love dried and half dry leaves. 

So are we talking one or two leaves and instant death or a whole branch? Do I need to take them all out? Anyone with advice? Thanks.

Unrelated question, but what would you seed in your pasture? Part of it used to be my corn field so its not really grass just weeds. I would wait till fall and block it off for a couple weeks to keep the goats of it.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

I had my dad take down all the wild cherries. Though the problem is WILTED leaves, which they don't have a ton of access to - goats do kill trees. One storm knocking part/whole cherry tree over could kill goats. 

A few of anything won't kill a goat. A lot of anything will kill a goat.  

As for weeds, that's the best thing for goats anyways. Goats are browsers, not grazers. While they'll eat grass, they much prefer leaves/weeds over grass. 

If I were to seed something, I'd probably do some alfalfa, clover etc. But we've never seeded a pasture, so I'm not the best to ask.


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## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

I've had chokecherries and goats on the same property, but they were located far, far away from one another. Dry leaves and fresh leaves are safe. Wilted leaves can kill in very limited quantities, such as a good mouthful. Any kind of cherry, wild or domestic, is toxic when wilted and should be planted well away from the pasture or pen, such that if a storm blows a branch down, it will not fall into the pasture or goat yard. If you have them away from the pasture, just keep an eye on the trees after storms and pick up any fallen branches just in case the goats get out.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

With "poison" plants and goats the issue is like this...

They can be deadly in this setting.









They mean nothing in this one.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

Not really in the case of cherry leaves Stan because goats love them. They will eat them first.

As far as seeding grass... I wouldn't. Goats prefer weeds and they are more nutritious anyway. Maybe seed some white clover if anything.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Cliff said:


> Not really in the case of cherry leaves Stan because goats love them. They will eat them first.
> 
> As far as seeding grass... I wouldn't. Goats prefer weeds and they are more nutritious anyway. Maybe seed some white clover if anything.


Nearly 20% of my woods/pasture is choke/wild cherry. The goats do fine. 

Because the rest is lush brush/weeds/and a bit of grass. The key is don't let it be the only thing they get. Also the thing to remember is it's only wilted ones. Not live/ not dry they are both fine. 

I've seen it posted many times.. The fact that "someone" had a storm and a branch/tree fell. The goats ate it the next day... Death. Sure on a dry grass pasture with little to no browse they will eat a bunch. On a brush/bush pasture. They simply don't spend a lot of time on any one thing. Why gorge themselves when they had it yesterday and will have it tomorrow?


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

On any quality pasture if a cherry tree branch falls they will eat the cherry first. It's a fruit tree and they love it. I've had it happen a couple of times but luckily they got it immediately before it wilted.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

What to plant --> Deer Browse.

At the following website, scroll down to the Bird and Buck Whitetail and Gamebird Mix.
It has grasses, clover, alfalfa, peas, etc etc. Good stuff for goats.

Specialized Food Plot Seed Mixes


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Cliff said:


> On any quality pasture if a cherry tree branch falls they will eat the cherry first. It's a fruit tree and they love it. I've had it happen a couple of times but luckily they got it immediately before it wilted.


So yours on quality pasture ate it and didn't die.. :teehee:

I wonder who suggested that. :gaptooth:


P.S. It's not just Cherry. Other fruit woods and certain weeds like milkweed, ground ivy, pennyroyal can also cause issues. Really a ton of things. The key as with all things is to have a good mix of high quality browse if you want healthy animals.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

stanb999 said:


> So yours on quality pasture ate it and didn't die.. :teehee:
> 
> I wonder who suggested that. :gaptooth:
> 
> ...


Yes stan, because they got it before it wilted. It could've just as easily gone another way, we were lucky. I don't really understand your point?


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

We have a lot of peach ("volunteer" and cultivated) here. I'm careful to keep the goats clear of that, though they do occasionally get a nibble (Trub especially).

I have some grass seed I want to get in the ground. Lespedeza, clover, alfalfa, a few others. Probably very similar to the mix Alice mentioned. I got it from Shumway (but added the organic alfalfa myself).


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Cliff said:


> Yes stan, because they got it before it wilted. It could've just as easily gone another way, we were lucky. I don't really understand your point?


The point is the first post asked how toxic. The following posts made it seem rather deadly.. One poster even suggested a goat eating just a mouth full would be deadly. Fact is this is bunk. 

The toxins in cherry would need to be eaten regular for a while to cause death. Like a single goat or small herd on a bare pasture after a strong wind storm knocked down a substantial tree. It would take several days to consume and they would consume it mostly due to the bare ground otherwise. The situation that needs to be guarded against is bare pastures... Not the occasional cherry bush/tree or other "toxic" plant for that matter.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Pony said:


> We have a lot of peach ("volunteer" and cultivated) here. I'm careful to keep the goats clear of that, though they do occasionally get a nibble (Trub especially).
> 
> I have some grass seed I want to get in the ground. Lespedeza, clover, alfalfa, a few others. Probably very similar to the mix Alice mentioned. I got it from Shumway (but added the organic alfalfa myself).


Plants Toxic to Goats by Rona Sullivan from the March/April, 2009 issue of Dairy Goat Journal. Presenting information, ideas, and insights for everyone who raises, manages, or just loves goats.

Better watch the clover... 

P.S. you can find lists that "outlaw" everything.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

Cherry is very toxic. As little as 2 oz of wilted leaves can kill. Read:

46. WILD BLACK CHERRY

ETA - not sure why you are arguing about this stan... there's no disputing the toxicity of cherry. As animal owners it's our job to be aware of the risks of toxicity of plants and try to avoid problems. For instance I would never make hay from or pasture extremely droughty or recently frozen Johnson grass. Just common sense. Nobody is telling you to do anything with your cherry trees, what you do is your business. But you certainly can't deny their toxicity.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Cliff said:


> Cherry is very toxic. As little as 2 oz of wilted leaves can kill. Read:
> 
> 46. WILD BLACK CHERRY


And yet....



Cliff said:


> On any quality pasture if a cherry tree branch falls they will eat the cherry first. It's a fruit tree and they love it. I've had it happen a couple of times but luckily they got it immediately before it wilted.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Really goats are best fed this way...










On a dry fenced lot.


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## Cliff (Jun 30, 2007)

I am not following your logic.. or lack of maybe. They ate a small branch of fresh, not wilted cherry leaves and they did not die. What is your point???


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## yarrow (Apr 27, 2004)

gotta tell ya.... my goats would MUCH rather take their *chances* out in the *mean streets* of our woods.. facing danger from the occasional wild cherry tree... then to be imprisoned and fed oddly green, rock hard pellets (that I suspect are made much the way *scrapple* is.. the stuff they sweep up off the floor LOL)..... 

we are in the Ozarks... all sorts of wild fruit trees... the does browse 20 acres of woods/meadows every day, all day long... I have yet to have a single case of bad tree.... IF there is a bad storm and I have any concerns about a downed cherry (or other fruit tree)... it doesn't take much to walk out and take a looks-ee .. then we take care of it (that's what the chain saw is for).. we simply keep the goats up at the barn until clean up is down... then they are back out in THEIR woods... not a big deal... again, lots of ways to raise goats.. many of those ways.. well.. I just don't understand LOL

susie, mo ozarks...


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

LOL, Yarrow!

My goats roam the acreage, AND we give them their "junk" food too (alfalfa pellets). 

I wonder how this digressed into (yet another) feed discussion... We are so funny about our goats!


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

Ten + years of goats and cherry trees. Nothing happened. Goats love the leaves and ate them regularly. The goats had 70+ acres to eat from.

The only goat that got sick was the nanny who got out and ate lupine.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

I have always had wild cherry trees. Its only wilted leaves that are toxic. If we have a big storm, I'll check for down trees. We also have wild plums. Both are stone fruits so leaves are toxic if wilted. The goats happily nibble on the green trees and walk on to the next great thing.
I do not spaz out about the cherry trees. If I'm clearing land, I cut the cherry trees down in the winter. Safer for the cows and the goats if they are bare when cut.
If we have a huge storm, I check for down trees.
Otherwise my goats and I enjoy my cherry trees.


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## mooman (May 19, 2008)

thanks for the input guys. One last question. Wilted? The ones Im worried about I would not call fresh dried or wilted. they are yellow and have fallen from tree. Not really wilted in the traditional sense, more like the leaves are in autumn, when they fall naturally. Do I need to worry then?


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## Elsbet (Apr 2, 2009)

I don't think that would be considered wilted, Mooman. Starting to dry out.
I did lose a goat to wilted wild cherry leaves. I had been pruning them back away from the pasture the goats I had at that time were in, and missed a branch. She was a just weaned pygmy, not very big, and she apparently chowed down on the leaves- I caught her at it at the very end, and didn't know then how to help her with toxicity issues. We never had any problems with the naturally falling yellowed/brown leaves, though, and despite some heart attack moments, never had an issue (for the goats) with them eating live wild cherry occasionally. But I do my best to keep it out of the pastures.


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