# Does anyone know of any weeds posionous to goats?



## countrygirl1238 (Aug 9, 2014)

i am new to raising goats; sometimes i take my buckling for a walk on a lead rope & let him eat the leaves of any bush or shrubbery he can find...i know goats have a reputation for eating just about anything they can get a hold of, but are there weeds or brush that are poisonous to goats--or will he instinctively stay away?


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Jimson weed comes to mind


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## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

Rhododendrons and azaleas are also very poisonous to goats. The lady I bought Sundae from, said be suspicious of anything with a shiny leaf. Also, wilted cherry leaves. Cherry leaves off the tree are ok, but wilted ones are poisonous.

That being said, I'd say try not to worry. The vast majority of plants out there are like a goat buffet that they will turn up their noses at the majority of.


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## countrygirl1238 (Aug 9, 2014)

thanks for the info, marusempai...stay away from shiny leaves is a good tip. didn't know azaleas were posionous to goats, glad i don't have any anymore! and i guess it would be better not to get that cherry tree...
don't have jimson weed on the property...


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## countrygirl1238 (Aug 9, 2014)

i found this list on Tractor Supply's website. Does anyone have anything to add to these lists from their own experience/knowledge? i didn't know so many plants are posionous to goats. (the following is from the site: 

Goat Care and Poisonous
Plants to Goats
Goats are browsers that will eat
just about anything including the
shirt off your back. However some
common plants are poisonous to
goats and can kill them. Learn
what types of plants to look out for
so you can keep your goats away
from these areas of your farm or
yard.
Here is a list of common plants
belonging to the caprine species
that are known to cause death in
goats. This list is not complete,
and there may be other plants
growing on your farm that need
identification. If you think your
goat has consumed a poisonous
plant, contact your veterinarian. It
is also a good idea to collect a
sample of the plant you believe
your goat has consumed so your
veterinarian can properly identify
the risk.
Alkaloid Containing Plants
Aconite
Allspice
Black Snake Root
Bloodroot
Blue Cohosh
Boxwood
Celandine
Common Poppy
Crotalaria
Crow Poison
Death Camas
Dicentra
False Hellebore
False Jessamine
Fume Wort
Hellebore
Hemp
Horse Nettle
Indian Hemp
Indian Poke
Jimson Weed
Larkspur
Lobelia
Lupines
Marijuana
Monkshood
Moonseed
Nightshade
Pink Death Camas
Poison Darnel
Poison Hemlock
Poison Rye Grass
Rattle weed
Rock Poppy
Senecio
Spider Lily
Spotted Cowbane
Spotted Water Hemlock
Stagger Grass
Stagger weed
Sweet Shrub
Thorn Apple
Varebells
Wild Parsnip
Wolfs-Bane
Yellow Jessamin
Cyanogenetic Containing Plants
The following plants are usually
deadly to goats when consumed in
a damaged or frozen state.
Arrow Grass
Black Locust
Blue Cohosh
Broomcarn
Buckeye
Cherry
Choke Cherry
Corn Cockle
Dogbane
Elderberry
Hemp
Horse Nettle
Indian Hemp
Ivy
Johnson Grass
*****
Laurel
Leucothoe
Lily of the Valley
Maleberry
Marijuana
Milkweed
Milo
Nightshade
Oleander
Rhododendron
Sevenbark
Silver
Sneezewood
Sorghum
Stagger Brush
Sudan Grass
Velvet Grass
White Snakeroot
Wild Black Cherry
Wild Hydrangea


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

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html


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## FakeMountainMan (Jul 9, 2014)

That's way too many plants for me to try and identify


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

Ivy????
Poison Rye??? You all know that almost 100% of your lawn seed is a blend of different RYE seeds....


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## countrygirl1238 (Aug 9, 2014)

Let's just hope that goats know what's bad for them and stay away...this is getting way too complicated -- there's just no way things like rye grass are posionous to them!!!!


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Fiasco website says lilac. Neighbor has a huge one that borders our yards. My goats grab some now and then but haven't died, so I assume it takes quite a bit. I would love to fence my front yard so they can have more space and so my quarantine goats don't have to be tied or put in my chicken coop, but I also don't want them feasting on this giant bush they think is manna from heaven.


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## Peasant (May 18, 2013)

countrygirl1238 said:


> i found this list on Tractor Supply's website. Does anyone have anything to add to these lists from their own experience/knowledge? i didn't know so many plants are posionous to goats. (the following is from the site:


That's an impressive list of lots of common plants. I'm assuming most goats take a bite and say "no thanks"? Or that most of them just result in indigestion vs. death?

I don't raise goats but have considered it off and on for a few years. Lots of those plants grow wild around here.


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## marusempai (Sep 16, 2007)

I'm wondering if that list is actually a sheep list or something, and they just assume that goats are the same, because I know for a fact my goats eat ivy all the time and are never worse for it. One advantage of goats is they are browsers - they never seem to take more than three bites of one plant before they move on to something else, so they would be a lot harder to poison than say a cow. We used to have quite a lot of, I think they were buttercups in the pasture... the neighbor raises cattle and was like get those out of there they will make your critters sick! Well, we don't have buttercups any more, and the goats are quite healthy. I try not to worry about it. Learn to recognize the major ones - nightshade is common around here - and worry about those, but otherwise let it go. You can't protect them from everything!


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## countrygirl1238 (Aug 9, 2014)

i am new to goats, Peasant, so have some of the same questions you posted here...don't know the answers yet, i am just hoping they stay away from what's bad for them instinctively. I totally agree with marusempai...words of wisdom


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## interceptor (Jun 19, 2014)

Nightshade is abundant here, but our goats won't touch it even if I hold it out for them. When they see me pulling any weeds they run over to grab a bite, but if it's nightshade they just sniff it and turn away. I've seen pokeweed listed as poisonous but our guys eat it without any problems, and deer eat it outside the fence. I think it may be poisonous in the later stages.


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## countrygirl1238 (Aug 9, 2014)

sounds like they will instinctively stay away from things that are posionous to them. come to think of it, mine avoid nightshades too...


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## gila_dog (Jun 17, 2011)

I take my goats out to browse almost daily and they've never been sick on any of it. They seem to know what's good for them and what isn't. We don't have rhododendron here but I've heard that goats will eat it. One thing my guys really love is mistletoe. I had always heard that it was poisonous, but then I found an article in a newspaper from Myanmar (Burma) of all places that said it was good for goats. Anyway, they really love it. They also love poison ivy.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I've heard bindweed is toxic to goats, but mine consume it in great quantities, with enthusiasm. (Unfortunately, they don't eat enough to actually get RID of it, but that's a vent for another day. It grows faster than they can eat it.)

I suspect there may be regional variations in toxicity in plants, too. There's a weed in AZ called a fiddleneck (not a fern, but looks somewhat like one) that is toxic only under certain conditions. My goats loved it when I lived down by Maricopa. They won't touch it up here in the Payson area. I suspect they can sense it's toxic here -- just guessing, but the soil is very different here and it's a weed that concentrates toxins from the soil. That, or the bindweed is more tempting.

We have poison parsnip (related to poison water hemlock) in our pasture. The goats won't touch it, period. They absolutely love carrot tops, and carrots are in the same family.

Countrygirl -- on your list of toxic plants, it says oleanders are toxic only when frozen or damaged. That's definitely incorrect. All parts of oleanders are always (highly) poisonous, live, dead, composted, whatever, as is the smoke from burning oleanders. I watched a horse die an agonizing death once despite immediate medical attention. His owner had ridden him down an alley that had oleanders bordering it and he'd grabbed ONE bite as he passed a bush. She dismounted and tried to stick her hand in his mouth to clean the leaves out, but it was already too late. They thought he'd only eaten 6-8 leaves.


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## Frosted Mini's (Nov 29, 2012)

We have lots of hemlock down by the creek and my goats won't touch it.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I definitely think that goats are able to identify MOST items that are toxic, though I've also heard they'll eat rhododendrons and azaleas and get sick on them.

I'm constantly amazed by what they will eat and not get sick from. We planted daikon radish on our pasture to improve the soil (the long tap roots bust up the hardpan) and they -- and the chickens -- love the stuff. The radishes are so spicy I personally find them inedible, and the tops make my skin burn similar to thistles if I handle them. The goats love the radishes, so ... *shrug* To each their own.

Mine also love juniper berries (which are a pretty potent laxative in people, but apparently not in goats), poison ivy, and regular ivy. 

(And not on the "toxic" list, but a regular surprise to ranchers around here -- they eat manzanita like they do potato chips. Cattle won't touch it. NOTHING else eats it. It's definitely not a toxic plant, but goats seem to be the only animal, period, that seeks it out to browse on. They're spending millions upon millions of dollars clearing brush in Arizona for fire prevention. I can't help but think siccing a bunch of goats on the manzanita would be a lot more cost effective.)


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Many oramental plants that are used to landscape are poisonous, not only to goats but to most animals... you don't want kids or cattle chowing down on azaleas or rhododendrons either :huh: The foliage on "_Prunus_" species (cherry's, plums, peaches, etc) are supposedly not to be feed.

However both rabbits and goats love roses, berry bushes, and apple and pear trees, which aren't posioness, so be advised.


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## gila_dog (Jun 17, 2011)

Cygnet said:


> I definitely think that goats are able to identify MOST items that are toxic, though I've also heard they'll eat rhododendrons and azaleas and get sick on them.
> 
> I'm constantly amazed by what they will eat and not get sick from. We planted daikon radish on our pasture to improve the soil (the long tap roots bust up the hardpan) and they -- and the chickens -- love the stuff. The radishes are so spicy I personally find them inedible, and the tops make my skin burn similar to thistles if I handle them. The goats love the radishes, so ... *shrug* To each their own.
> 
> ...



I agree that goats should be used more for eating up brush and other wildfire fuel. My goats like to eat juniper trees, which are really a problem in a lot of the country out here. Nothing else will eat juniper so it just gets thicker and thicker until it crowds everything else out. Then there's nothing but juniper trees and dirt. I take my packgoats out hiking around and I meet ranchers and an occasional USFS person, and when they see the goats eating juniper, manzanita, yucca, mesquite, tumbleweeds, etc. they really like it. And they don't eat much grass so they don't compete with cattle or elk.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

gila-dog -- I was talking to the local rancher's foreman one day and he said he'd tried to convince his boss to run goats in here. His boss was convinced they'd get eaten up by coyotes and lions and wouldn't even consider the idea. Too much manpower involved in goats, and too many specialized skills (shepherds with herding dogs and guard dogs, etc).

Instead, the forest service has work crews out in the forest thinning every single day. They're pretty efficient (they brought in crews from a company based in el Salvador and those little guys work harder than anyone I've ever seen) -- but they're still paying them. And then they'll have to do it all over again in a few years because the manzanita and juniper will come back from the roots. 

I can't think it'd be a lot more efficient for the forest service to subsidize the manpower needed for goats vs. cattle -- either provide grants for the extra employees needed or reduced grazing fees to encourage goat grazing. (Not that they pay much in grazing fees to begin with ...) As I'm sure you know, big goats will knock small trees down and clear brush in a hurry.

It IS true that there's a lot of predators here, and they're looking at reintroducing wolves, so the problem will only get worse. However, what would cost more? Hiring huge work crews to clear thousands of square miles of forest, or hiring shepherds to watch over the goats? 

Or they could just take a stick approach rather than a carrot approach and tell the rancher, "No more cattle. The land's overgrazed. You can graze goats, or we'll lease the allotment to someone who will."

(Historically speaking, they ran goats in here. The goats were not all eaten, but I suspect predator levels were lower. The forest service didn't like them because they killed trees and kicked the goat herders out. The problem is now too many trees, so you'd think the solution would be obvious.)

Oh -- and the areas that were thinned this spring are already lush and green with grass. The difference is amazing. They didn't clear cut, they just took out the smaller ponderosas and oaks and little junipers and manzanita and left the big older trees behind, and a few select young ones. The elk are absolutely loving it. We see elk in the thinned areas almost every day.


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