# Okay, Laymens terms needed....



## NYRIR (Sep 5, 2012)

Exactly WHAT trees/shrubs are poisonous to goats? Every site I go to has either technical names or no pics to show what they look like. For people like me who are nowhere near plant savvy...(I can name all the plants I know on my hands )
So is there any site that has names with pics?
Thanks a bunch for any help


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Sep 5, 2012)

This is my favorite site (and I do have several others listed on my website that I use occassionally but the ones you are more likely to see are on the Cornell site).
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/


The subsection from their site on just goats
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/goatlist.html

Rhododendron and azaelea are the big ones I have known to have killed people's goats and are popular landscaping plants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron

If you snap pics of ones on your property, I can probably identify most of them for you.


----------



## NYRIR (Sep 5, 2012)

That would be great! I'll have to do so tomorrow or Friday as I am busy today but boy would I appreciate it!
I keep looking up stuff and it is such a LONG list....for my own garden I have Tiger and Day Lilly's, Cone flowers, Black eyed susans, Yarro, Rose of Sharon, Forsythia,Hibiscus,roses,Lambs ear, daffodils, Bleeding hearts, Purple (gay feather I was told by a gay friend of mine...so no offense to anyone I hope), Tall phlox, hydrangea,blueberry bushes, raspberry bushes, pink pussy willow, weigela, hostas, mini iris, lilacs...those I know off the top of my head...

For trees mostly Maples, Pines and Oaks, some Yellow Birch, a Hawthorne and some Golden Rain Trees....geesh I wish I knew what they all were!!

The goats are in an enclosure but I would like to know what I have that is no good for them....there are a TON of weeds around :/ in places I wish they weren't.... 

I'll get the pics asap and be more than happy to ask you about them!

Thanks again!


----------



## NYRIR (Sep 11, 2012)

Been super busy this weekend....hope to get the pics this week!


----------



## pdpo222 (Sep 22, 2012)

We have Rhodedendrons all over our yard.  A whole line of them in one area, but I have noticed when a wayward goat has gotten loose they don't bother them at all.  In the pastures around here you can see the cows have not eaten buttercups which is another thing I have seen not good for livestock.  So I  assume   some goats avoid these types of plants.  Not saying there aren't some out there that wouldn't.  Just what I noticed about mine.  Would I  fence an area close to them.  Never, just notice they avoid these for better eating else where.


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Sep 22, 2012)

Unfortunately, goats will eat things that will kill them.  Some animals avoid toxic plants but this is not true of goats, in my experience and the experience of many other goat owners.  It doesn't take much azalea to kill them either.  If you do a search on this forum for that topic, there are several members that have lost their animals because of ingesting it (  ).  If it is possible to fence off this plant or to remove it altogether, it might save some heartbreak and expense down the road.

Edited to add, it could be as little as one ounce to take out a small goat or a kid.


----------



## Queen Mum (Sep 22, 2012)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> Unfortunately, goats will eat things that will kill them.  Some animals avoid toxic plants but this is not true of goats, in my experience and the experience of many other goat owners.  It doesn't take much azalea to kill them either.  If you do a search on this forum for that topic, there are several members that have lost their animals because of ingesting it (  ).  If it is possible to fence off this plant or to remove it altogether, it might save some heartbreak and expense down the road.
> 
> Edited to add, it could be as little as one ounce to take out a small goat or a kid.


I am not disputing you on this matter at all, but I am wondering if some goats are more tolerant to the plant, or if they can build an immunity to Rhodies.  A couple of my goats ate them quite regularly.  In fact, they developed a taste for them.   None of them died from it.  They started as kids (about 3 months old) and continued into adulthood.  The queen, Mama, would severely punish them for going near the Rhodies and still they would sneak the leaves.  Eventually they would eat the flowers.   Finally all the Rhodies were trimmed to goat height by the goats.  They even killed a few of the bushes.   

It was very vexing as we would have regular vomit fests at my house.  It was maddening.  I was constantly bringing out the pepto bismal and the tummy remedies.  I finally gave up.   It didn't seem to affect their growth or their health at all as they are all big and healthy now.  

My landlord wouldn't let me remove them as we had hundreds of them on the property.


----------



## Pearce Pastures (Sep 22, 2012)

It sounds possible.  I mean we can build up a resistance to certain poisons by taking small doses over time.  All the same, if there is a plant to be noted as not good for goats, it is this one.  Other than that, most of the stuff said to be toxic would have to be eaten in a very large quantity to do damage.


----------



## Queen Mum (Sep 22, 2012)

I also think they may be different in different parts of the country too.  Either way, i would get rid of them if they are in your yard.  They made my goats sick for sure, just ddin't kill them.


----------



## Ranchhandok (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks for the web sites. They are a big help.


----------



## JanetM (Mar 26, 2013)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> This is my favorite site (and I do have several others listed on my website that I use occassionally but the ones you are more likely to see are on the Cornell site).
> http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/
> 
> 
> ...


This website is great! I have researched the same as NYRIR and I need pictures/common names too. We have 2 little pet wethers in our back yard and I have even went as far as asking the neighbors is they know what kind of plant is growing on their side of the chain link fence


----------

