# Wild Cherry and Highland cattle ,POISON?



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Ok, just made a new pasture with an acre or so of woods. 
Now someone tells me that the cherry tree that got uprooted by the dozer will kill my cows! So I just searched and see where they say only in the freshly wilted stage,fresh and dead are ok. 
Now a old farmer told me that Highland cattle are ok eating cherry trees. Was he just taking about the fresh and dead leafes? It was like Highlands are ok,other cattle not so much.
I fenced this in for shade and I'm sure there will be all kinds of fallen branches and stuff all thru the year.
I have 3 Highlands and a couple highland x angus.
Man ,always something to worry about!
Chris


----------



## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Wilted cherry tree leaves will kill cattle. Hydrogen cyanide (with the historical common name of Prussic acid) is the source of the poison. I doubt that any cattle can survive the consumption of more than a few stressed or wilted leaves. I have black cherry trees in my shade areas and I am not concerned with the cattle eating a few non wilted low growing leaves. If a tree toppled, I would move the cattle or the tree.


----------



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Thanks Agman,just wanted to make sure this wasn't another old wives tale!
That bumms me out big time. Fenced in the woods so they'd have some nice shade and now I gotta worry about killing them!
The woods are so thick in the middle ,you can't really walk in it. I figured the cows would clear it a bit. So I really have to check the whole woods which is gonna be a pain. Plus last time I got a huge case of poison ivy!
So if there are tress or branches that fell a long time ago, do I have to worry about them too?
And will they eat them if there is lush grass to eat?
Man,I had enough problems with this fence already,the posts are up, I gotta put up the wires yet. If I would have known that I think i would have just fenced in a small part that's easier to monitor.
I'm just getting sick over this
Chris


----------



## anvoj (Feb 1, 2010)

I can't speak to the poison question, but our highlanders eat a lot of leaves even when they could be eating good grass. They'll push small trees over to get at the leaves they want.


----------



## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Chris, with the amount of cattle you have I'd not be worried at all. Once again dried cherry leaves are fine to eat, green cherry leaves are fine to eat. The wilting leaves are not good to eat. If an entire tree fell over I'd be concerned, a few branches to me is not a big deal. Only starving cattle would stand at the downed tree and continue to eat leaves all day long. My wooded pastures are full of cherry trees, never been an issue. My cattle love to eat leaves, they eat some here and there and keep moving on. I surely would not create new worklist based on cherry trees, and besides it's a bit hot out these days....JMO...Topside


----------



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Yes ,I know mine like to eat the leaves of the one shade tree they have,a wild cherry! They trim it where they can reach it.
I will get rid of the big dozed one ,or fence it out for now (DH is working 6 or 7 days these days and does not feel like working at home too) but I'm worried about all the fallen branches inside the woods.
And yes it is too hot here in NE OH too and I have 16000 feet of HT wire to put up! 
Thanks,Chris


----------



## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

I have a highand, a mini angus, and a zebu, up here in NE Ohio as well. There are at least 50 cherry trees in the pasture. They have been eating them with no ill effect for over a year.


----------



## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

Agmantoo told it like it is. The poison in the cherry leaves is fairly dilute until the leaves wilt. Then it is concentrated. It doesn't take much to kill a cow. It has done it and will do it again.

Keeping black cherry trees in a cow pasture is dangerous. Keeping cows in a black cherry orchard is very risky.

All of the malus fruit trees (apple, pear, cherry, peach, almond, apricot, etc.) carry cyanide in their tissues and are a risk to cattle of all breeds.

A downed tree is mentioned in many of the horror stories. The leaves dry out and concentrate the poison. The sudden availability of a new taste treat entices the cattle to eat a lot. Disaster ensues.

Genebo
Paradise Farm


----------



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Ok,seems to be a little conflicting here.
Everybody agrees on the wilt poison, but some do ,some don't worry about having wild cherry trees in the pasture too much.
Lasergrl,is your pasture pretty thick with trees?
I'm worried cause it is so thick, I can't see or check if there are any downed trees or branches.

Will this poison be inactive after a while? I mean like after a downed tree lays there a few weeks or over winter or something?
Thanks,Chris


----------



## lasergrl (Nov 24, 2007)

I do worry about them but isnt much I can do right now. They are sparse, a tree every 30 feet or so, and they are immature. In this picture from last spring you can sort of see in the right upper corner what I mean. The heavy tree line is outside of the pasture


----------



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Hey Lasergrl CUTE PIC!!!
How old is your Highland?
Yeah,I wish mine were sparse like that,I'm not sure what to do except fence them out for now :hrm:


----------



## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Chris, come cooler weather target the cherry trees for firewood, the leaves will have fallen and cherry is a fine firewood. It's only my opinion but the leaves will not kill cattle or goats unless they eat large amounts of the leaves. Plus the large amounts need to be eaten during the wilting stage....Come on how long does that last? Seriously, my goats and steers eat mountain laural, very poisonous plant, they only eat little bits at a time and move on....Enjoy your weekend and rest.....Topside


----------



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Hey topside, thanks. So you mean the wilting stage eventually turns into the dead stage so after they dry out it's ok?
I mean I know that's how it is with other trees but I mean poison wise.
We did target that big one for firewood that's why it wasn't pushed over the highwall:sob:


----------



## ufo_chris (Apr 30, 2010)

Just a bump ,hopefully someone will answer my Q.about the poison drying up with the leaves.


----------



## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Dried cherry leaves fall out of the trees each Fall. Cherry leaves are on the list below...Topside

Poisonous:

African Rue 
Andromeda (related to foxglove) 
Avocado- South American Avocado leaves/tree such as Haas or crosses with Haas 
Avocado- Fuarte (definitely) 
Azalea 
Brouwer's Beauty Andromeda 
Boxwood 
Calotropis 
Cassava (manioc) 
China Berry Trees, all parts 
Choke Cherries, wilting especially 
Choke Cherry Leaves in abundance 
Datura 
Dog Hobble 
Dumb Cane (diffenbachia) (Houseplant) 
False Tansy 
"Fiddleneck"- know by this common name in CA. It is a fuzzy looking, 12" to 15" plant, with small yellow blossoms, shaped on a stem shaped like the neck of a fiddle. 
Flixweed 
Fusha 
Holly Trees/Bushes 
Ilysanthes floribunda 
Japanese pieris (extremely toxic) 
Japanese Yew 
Lantana - appears on both lists 
Larkspur- a ferny, flowering plant in shades of blue, pink and white. 
Lasiandra 
Lilacs 
Lily of the Valley (Pieris Japonica) 
Lupine - appears on both lists: Seeds are the part of the plant that are the greatest problem. 
Madreselva (Spain) patologia renal 
Maya-Maya 
Monkhood 
Milkweed 
Mountain Laurel 
Nightshade- appears on both lists: Whether this is really poisonous is questionable because I have received a post saying "my goats eat nightshade all the time". We also have a lot of Nightshade on own property and none of our goats have died from it. I tend to think it is ok in moderation. 
Oleander 
Pieris Japonica (extreamly toxic) 
Rhododendron 
Rhubarb leaves 
Tu Tu (the Maori name for Coriaria arborea) 
Wild Cherry, -wilted- leaves (fresh and fully dried are not poisonous) 
Yew

Edible:
Acorns (in moderation) 
Agapanthas 
Althea 
Angel Wing Bigoneas 
Apple 
Arborvita 
Avocado*- Mexican Avocado leaves/trees such Pinkerton might not be (*note-South American Avocado leaves ARE poisonous) 
Bamboo 
Banana, entire plant, fruit & peel 
Barkcloth fig (ficus natalensis) 
Bay Tree Leaves green and dried 
Bean (all parts) 
Beets, leaves and root 
Blackberry bushes (all parts) 
Black Locus (we had quite a few of these until our goats ate them all) 
Bramble 
Broccoli (all parts) 
Buckbrush (aka coralberry or indian currant) 
Cabbage 
Camellias 
Cantaloupe: fruit, seeds and peel 
Collard Greens 
Carrots 
Catnip 
Cedar Needles (leaves) & Bark 
Celery 
Citrus 
Clover 
Corn husks & silk 
Cottonwood 
Coyote Bush (Baccharis) 
Dandelion 
Douglas Fir 
Dogwood 
Elm 
English Ivy (we feed lvy trimming all the time; they love it) 
Fava Bean pods 
Fern 
Fescue grass 
Ficus 
Garlic 
Ginger Root 
Grape, entire plants 
Grape Vine 
Grapefruit, fruit & peel 
Greenbrier 
Hay Plant 
Heavenly Bamboo 
Hemlock Trees (which are not the same as the poisonous hemlock, an herbaceous species of plant which is in the carrot family that bears the scientific name &#8220;Conium maculatum") 
Hibiscus 
Honeysuckle, entire plant (goats love honeysuckle) 
Hyssop 
Ivy 
Jackfruit leaves 
Jade 
Jambolan leaves 
Japanese Elm 
Japanese Knotweed aka: polygonum cuspidatum aka: fallopia japonica. 
Japanese Magnolias (blooms/leaves) 
Johoba 
Kudzu 
Lantana - appears on both lists 
Lilac bark /branches 
Lupine - appears on both lists: Seeds are the part of the plant that are the greatest problem. 
Magnolia Leaves green and dried 
Mango leaves 
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) 
Maple Trees, leaves & bark - (goats will readily strip the bark and kill the tree) 
Marijuana-in moderation 
Mesquite 
Mint 
Mock Orange 
Monkeyflower (Mimulus) 
Mountain Ash (excellent goat forage tree) 
Morning Glory 
Moss 
Mulberry (entire plant) 
Mullein 
Mustard 
Nettles 
Nightshade - appears on both lists:- I have received a post saying "my goats eat nightshade all the time". We also have a lot of Nightshade on own property and none of our goats have died from it. 
Lemon Grass 
Oak Tree Leaves 
Okara- pulp left over after making Soymilk 
Onion 
Orange, fruit & peel 
Paloverde - needles & seed pods 
Patterson's Curse 
Pea Pods 
Peanuts, including the shells 
Pear 
Pencil cactus 
Peppers 
Pepper plants 
Photinia 
Pine Trees (we had hundreds of small trees until our goats ate them all) 
Plum, all 
PrivetPumpkin 
Poison Ivy 
Poison Oak 
Poison Sumac, the vine 
Pomegranates 
Poplar Trees 
Potatoes 
Raisins 
Raspberry, entire plant (goats loves raspberry) 
Red-tips 
Rose, all, entire plant (goats loves roses) 
Rhubarb Leaves 
Salvation Jane 
Sassafras 
Southern Bayberry (myrica cerifera) 
Spruce trees 
Sumac, the tree 
Sunflowers 
St. John's Wort (can cause sun sensitivity in light skinned goats) 
Strawberry 
Sweet Gum Trees 
Sweet potato leaves 
Tomatoes (cherry tomatoes make wonderful treats) 
Tomato plants- in moderation (mine eat them with no problems) 
Tree of Heaven 
Turnips 
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) 
Yarrow 
Yellow Locus 
Yucca 
Vetch 
Virginia Creeper 
Wandering Jew 
Watermelon 
Wax Myrtle (myrica cerifera) 
Weeping Willow 
Wild Rose, entire plant (goats loves roses) 
Wild Tobacco


----------



## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm


----------



## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Prunuse.htm


----------

