# Wysteria........goat consumption?



## GoatRancher11 (Apr 1, 2011)

Guys,

Can goats consume wysteria?  I think they can but I'm not sure.  I don't want to fence it in if they can't!!!


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## elevan (Apr 1, 2011)

GoatRancher11 said:
			
		

> Guys,
> 
> Can goats consume wysteria?  I think they can but I'm not sure.  I don't want to fence it in if they can't!!!


Here's a listing for you:
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm

I don't see it listed as poisonous.  Maybe someone else can pipe in with experience with goats and wysteria (I don't have any on my farm).


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## patandchickens (Apr 1, 2011)

Wisteria is pretty poisonous to mammals in general AFAIK (the seed pods especially)... google shows a bunch of sites that claim it to be poisonous to goats specifically (go google "wisteria poisonous goats") so although I lack personal experience I wouldnt' let them at it myslf.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## GoatRancher11 (Apr 2, 2011)

Dang it!  That's what I thought I had heard.  I appreciate the list and the feedback.  Guess I am fencing inside of the wisteria then!


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## TheMixedBag (Apr 4, 2011)

I don't know...we have a wisteria that I fed my goats all the time (it's not a huge plant, and they didn't really get much of it), and they didn't even bat an eye, they just broke down more and more of it to eat it.

Still, it would probably be best to fence it off, there's really no point in taking the risk.


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## Horsefly (Apr 4, 2011)

We have a section of fence covered in wisteria vines and the goats love it.  They eat all they can off their side the fence, I've never had a problem with them eating it.  I have read that goats will eat some of what is poisons but seem to know how much would be bad for them and not over eat it.  The exception to this is azalias, they can't control themselves with it and small amouts will kill them.


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## GoatRancher11 (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice guys.  I have heard azaleas are a mess.  Shouldn't be any of those on the property I don't think.


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 6, 2011)

Oh man, if wisteria was going hurt hem, ours would be dead 10x over! Our goats have eaten the heck out of wisteria and had no problems.


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## Greendecember (Apr 6, 2011)

Oh boy. I'm thinkin the list of non toxic plants is shorter  I was just gonna go buy some Wysteria and Lilacs. I just pulled out all my Daffodils and I know I'm going to have to keep my eye out for Poke berry bushes to remove.... 

I think my Roses and Tulips are safe maybe not FROM consumption but FOR comsumption anyway LOL


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 6, 2011)

Oh girl, unless you really want an intensive garden project, don't plant wisteria or bamboo on purpose in Oklahoma.     If you are wanting a nice vine for screening a view, shade, etc., go with Cardinal Vine. Beautiful lacy foliage and tiny bright red trumpet shaped flowers that hummingbirds love.  It gets thick and grows like a wildfire, then in fall, you just tear all the old stuff out and wait for it come back next spring.


http://www.easternoklahomacounty.com/flowers/hummingbird.htm


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## Greendecember (Apr 6, 2011)

Okie Amazon said:
			
		

> Oh girl, unless you really want an intensive garden project, don't plant wisteria or bamboo on purpose in Oklahoma.     If you are wanting a nice vine for screening a view, shade, etc., go with Cardinal Vine. Beautiful lacy foliage and tiny bright red trumpet shaped flowers that hummingbirds love.  It gets thick and grows like a wildfire, then in fall, you just tear all the old stuff out and wait for it come back next spring.
> 
> 
> http://www.easternoklahomacounty.com/flowers/hummingbird.htm


I jut like purple  Mom had one on the patio cover when I was growing up in California. 

What makes is intensive in Oklahoma? The Frost or does it over grow here?


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 6, 2011)

Unless you really keep after it, it will TAKE OVER. When we bought our new place last summer, there were (as best as I can tell) 3 "original" clumps of wisteria.  Two in the front yard and one in the back. The ones in front had grown together (they started about 30 feet apart) stretched out places in the chain link; we couldn't mow until I had cut and pulled all the runners off the ground, which covered almost the whole front yard, because they would get wound up on the mower.   Same story in the back yard, runners going 75 feet out in every direction except that one also climbed about 30 feet up a live oak tree and nearly strangled it out!  You bet I let the goats go after it!

I kept one in the front yard and kind of "bonsaied" it. It looks nice now (I'll grab a pic this evening so you can see) but you cannot let it get ahead of you!   If you just like purple, hyacinth bean vine makes very pretty screening, too!  The SEEDS of HBV are poisonous, though, so it would need to be in a goat-restricted area or you'd have to collect seed pods. 


Hyacinth








Purple Passion vine







Plain old Morning Glory


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## Greendecember (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks for posting and Sorry for Hijacking the Wysteria post hehe. 


Hrmmm well OK so I won't put it on the fence by the garden or house but if it will slow down my neighbors dogs from visiting and not hurt them or the goats  can I put it along the back of the property and let it run wild LOL. Does that make me a bad neighbor?  There is at least an acre between our houses I'm sure  Actually the section I am thinking of it for is well over 300 ft from our house and further than that from theirs. Their dogs are really sweet but I don't trust them with the live stock. (I have a Doberman too. I know how awesome and how destructive they can be). So I don't want to plant anything to hurt them either.


Now you have me all paranoid about the hyacinth bean vine LOL. SOMETHING was growing all over the horse (now goat) barn when we moved in it looked like that flower. I thought maybe a mini, wild, sweatpea looking thing. There was also some sort of thin vine with I assume a gord of sorts on it. They were smaller than a dime and looked like little watermelons. The goats stripped the barn yard clean and wanted more. Of course that was in September  and they are all still alive and well.  WHEW! 



I guess plants and animals and what they can and can not eat are like Dogs and garlic. All growing up mom fed the Dogs garlic for worms and they never had a problem but now they are saying don't feed your dogs onions or garlic and I'm like   They are trying to break my brain!!!


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 7, 2011)

Those were probably sweet peas, they are everywhere and common as dirt.  There are two possibilities for what was growing on your place that looked like watermelons. It sounds like this was an old homestead?  The most likely thing was PlumGranny, also called Victorian Melon or Queen Annes' Melon:
They are super fragrant when ripe and used to be used as sachets in drawers - very big in Victorian times.  They are green when unripe, but turn reddish orange when ripe.






The second possibility is Creeping Cucumber. 







Not "toxic" per se, but noted as an extreme laxative, so if your goats didn't get any diarrhea, it was probably PlumGranny.


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 7, 2011)

For natural fencing and dog deterrent, Osage Orange is a good choice.


"Before the invention of barbed wire in the 1880's, many thousands of miles of hedge were constructed by planting young Osage Orange trees closely together in a line.   The saplings were aggressively pruned to promote bushy growth.  "Horse high, bull strong and hog tight."   Those were the criteria for a good hedge made with Osage Orange.  Tall enough that a horse would not jump it, stout enough that a bull would not push through it and woven so tightly that even a hog could not find its way through! "


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## Greendecember (Apr 7, 2011)

I am pretty sure it was the Creeping Cucumber. I must have goats made of steel guts LOL THANK GOD! 

I don't have a lot of history on the place, as it was a repo.  I heard the main part of the house was moved out here from a near by town in 1960 then added on to. The man who lived here had horses beyond that it is all a guessing game.


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