I read in a goat book that buttercups are poisonous to goats. Turns out my yard is full of buttercups. Any suggestions? I do mean full - my yard is just about yellow right now. Obviously we don't want to put out a poison and pulling them would be difficult on an acre....
So thanks in advance....
So thanks in advance....
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Mon, April 2, 2007 - 2:05 AMAre they eating the buttercups?
Animals are mostly pretty good at figuring out what's good for them.
It helps if there are other more edible options to choose from too.
I just double checked on that idea,
I started feeling irresponsible to give any advise if I didn't know just how toxic the plant was.
It looks like you're pretty safe with this one.
The goats should be able to figure it out.
Can you rotate pastures at all or are the goats always in the same field?
If you can find a way to mow back the buttercups once the goats have eaten everything good, It might help some of the other plants to take over
Good luck, and give your goats a good under the chin scratching from me
www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/ad...ant30.htm -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Mon, April 2, 2007 - 8:50 AMWe are about to plant a huge bag of seed we ordered that is goat grasses - oats, wheat and the like but it will take time for that to grow. We have some other grasses coming up now and will soon have a huge crop of knapweed. Montana is full of knapweed *sigh*
I don't have my goats yet - they are arriving this weekend. We are trying to get everything ready for them. It was in doing some reading that I got concerned about the buttercups.
We have moveable fencing that we will use to pasture them in various places on our lot and we are hoping to be able to use our neighbors empty lot as well. So much to learn, so little time :)
Thanks for your answer and the link -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Tue, April 3, 2007 - 1:47 AMSounds to me like you're being really proactive!
I think most of my firsts in farm animals came to me on a whim
My weakness at the farm auction!
I have often found myself bringing animals home
late at night and having to arrange temporary shelter!
They all survived the experience (and so did I)
don't worry, it'll be fun!!
it sounds like you're doing a great job getting ready -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Tue, April 3, 2007 - 7:22 PMPatty i don't know too much about buttercups because I am a visual person and need to see the plant.
My yard is FULL of ferns, completely full, which if eaten regularly by goats for three months are deadly toxic. All my goats are fine, they eat around the ferns until they die off or turn brown and then they nibble on the leaves (when brown).
On another note...I had one brand new adult goat about three years ago come to the property walk out of the gate eat one green leaf of a fern and it cost me 580.00 in emergency vet bills.... huge toxic reaction. It depends on the goat really, have on hand activated Charcoal, buy it now, keep it in the fridge.
When your totally ready for a disaster you won't have one right?? -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Wed, April 4, 2007 - 1:29 AMThat damned bracken fern!
It seems to be a big exception to the general rule
that animals know what is good for them!
I have had the worst splinters in my hand
from pulling that stuff up!
My sheep never seemed to care for it
but the Llama thought it was Belgian chocolate!
I'm sure he ate tons of it whenever he got loose
but he never showed any ill effects.
My sheep used to stick their heads
through the fence in the garden
and eat all the rhubarb leaves!
They are supposed to be deadly poison
but nothing ever happened to the sheep.
I especially planted the rhubarb up against the fence
because I assumed it would be safe from the sheep -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Wed, April 4, 2007 - 6:14 PMYes I have one goat that has a stomach of steel, I don't know what breed he is (rescue goat) but he eats everything and is probably the healthies goat around... Never Ever had to worm him either?
Maybe the bracken fern kills worms,, teehee -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Wed, April 4, 2007 - 11:59 PMIt must be good for something,
I used to eat it every spring
Now I'm told it is a slow poison.
Many people in Japan still eat it.
?????
Better safe than sorry (or sick) -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Thu, April 5, 2007 - 3:23 AMNothing is good for anybody in large amounts and that goes for goat people too! I would say that if you are concerned, reseed. And if you don't find a problem with them eating it, just do some liver flushes.
The only thing that I've heard of for certain that will drop a goat in it's tracks is rhodies. And I've grown to HATE Rhodies. They're ugly anyways. LOL. Good luck! -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Concern about buttercups
Thu, April 5, 2007 - 3:46 AMI don't doubt that they are deadly
but I planted them in my yard,
thought that was the one plant that
both the deer or the sheep would let live
but my ram ate two 3 ft tall rhodos
down to sticks and it didn't seem to bother him one bit!!??!
What do you use for a lover flush? -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Thu, April 5, 2007 - 4:01 AMI would start with Milk Thistle. I would say 1 caplet a day to start, see about the reaction and ramp it up within a week. Like 1 one day and 2 the next until you reach the adult dosage for humans on the bottle. It depends on what strength you get but don't give more than the maximum adult dosage. I have an old crossbreed doe named Meggie and she was in HORRID condition when she got here. She ate MANY grape leaves and that also seemed to help. When the grapes start sprouting, I would look around for a local small winery where you can get grape leaves and also pomace (leftover stems and skins from the winemaking process)
Also, if their skin start getting patchy or their coat looks really shaggy and messy (depending on what kind of goat you have...I'm sorry I didn't read back too far) also consider a flush diet of the standards like orchard grass and lots and lots and lots of clean cool drinking water. I don't know what your set up is but I do buckets because I can carry them inside to the hot water and scrub the hell out of them. I'm kinda scared to use a bathtub or big waterer for that reason...especially during the summer...ewwww....
Buttercups also usually grow where there is lots and lots of water available. So, I don't know how you place is, again...but if you can do something to dry out their pasture, it is possible some of the buttercups will go away. Also, make sure to look out for the hoofrot.
Hoof rot is the bane of my exsistance. -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Sat, April 7, 2007 - 8:16 PMThanks everyone! Fortunately the buttercups seem to be dying off! And my goats aren't here yet. I am getting two Nigerian Dwarf goats. The little goat house is built. But my husband hasn't gotten the electic fencing up yet. He will build the bigger barn by winter - I am in Montana. Yes close to water - Right on the Clark Fork River. But high river bank. The river is about 150 ft. below us.
I am excited about getting my two babies - well maybe three as Pricilla is hopefully pregnant. I have lots to learn.... -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 5:50 PMI have Nigerians too but don't have the electric fencing, hope to someday soon. Montana gets cold you'll need your little barn for winter. Also for kidding out your little doe. They need that two week bonding time or she may leave her babies to die.
Sounds like your doing everything right, I did mine backwards. Mum dropped off my first goat and we had NOTHING absolutely nothing done or ready. It was a shocker. -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Fri, May 18, 2007 - 2:13 PMI have never heard this about buttercups..interesting
In my experience most everything they are not supposed to eat is "programmed in" to their little heads, with the exception of cherry trees and azaleas. (toxic!)
They generally ignore the ferns around here, although both types we have are edible by humans.. and one of them even tastes good, sort of like mushrooms & carrots. They do really like the wild grape leaves.. and I can cut down a Camphor tree and stick it in the fence, and they will all gather round and strip it as fast as they can, bark and all. They think it is made of Candy or something, and I suspect it is good for them.. but yeah, good discussion here, because if there is anything else on the "do not let them eat" list, I want to know about it -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Fri, May 18, 2007 - 8:44 PMWe did read to keep them away from Ponderosa Pines. Which is challenging as we have several large ones in our yard and baby ones popping up all over. They love spruce though.... -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Sat, May 19, 2007 - 1:58 PMPonderosa Pines?? Really?? Mine eat them but we really don't have that many, we have Oaks everywhere and they oh so love them, they actually climb them too -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Sun, May 27, 2007 - 12:11 PMThe electric fencing is a bust. My little Abigail has learned to jump over it! Not to mention that she will also jump right through it and the shock does not bother her. So we are now refencing with regular deer type fencing that is 6 feet tall. Goats are tricky little devils, aren't they? -
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Wed, May 30, 2007 - 2:38 PMyes indeed I have seen them open gates and door-handles.. (and knock the crap out of dogs) truthfully, you gotta almost go "fort-knox" with the fence.. I wish i could say my fence didn't suck.. I'm slowly working on fixing my weak spots, and lately I have had a little (15 months) doe finding the weak spots and coming out.. (she's showing me where they are so I can fix them...) What I figured out, to try to get her to STOP coming out, is to put her in "Time out" when she does it.. catch her, stick her in a little pen by herself for a couple hours, (she hates it) trying to get the message thru that "if you escape from the herd, you get locked out of the herd.." after 3 days of doing this little cause-and-effect training, it's working.. she hasn't been looking for a spot to get out today, she's being good.. (think she figured it out? I do...)
the point of this rambling goat story, I guess, is YES they are way smarter than most people give them credit for... tricky, clever, sometimes even downright amazing
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Re: Concern about buttercups
Thu, March 20, 2008 - 2:37 PMI think variety is the spice of life for goats. Mine nibble a number of plants, including ivy and are thriving. I have removed all ragwort. I have heard that goats get used to the pasture they are brought up on and can get sick when moved onto a different type of pasture because their stomache isn't used to the different plants. Sounds logical to me.
