Goat advice

[Jesusfreak101]

Oleander sorry phone keeps correcting me like it knows what i want to say. Anyways they apparently cut down the bushes and left the stumps or remains stick up above the ground and she stepped on them while outside bare foot and the toxins from the plant killed her. Their toxin or poison attacks your cardiovascular system i for get the exact name of their toxin.

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

oh ok! Do you possibly have a picture of one?

 

[Jesusfreak101]

These are from Google as we don't have any on the property.

 

[Wild Bug Ranch]

oh ok

 

[Ridgetop]

They are very popular as a landscaping shrub in desert type dry climates. Just have to know that they are very poisonous and the poison can be absorbed through the skin in some cases.

 

[Jessica C]

Around here we have azaleas galore. My property used to be part of a Tung oil farm, and that plant is highly prolific and toxic. Saplings are constantly springing up and I kill them when I see them, but the goats haven’t eaten them, as far as I’ve seen. Otherwise we have pine trees and the goats love to eat the needles.

 

[Ridgetop]

Azaleas and Rhododendrons are very poisonous. Goats usually don't have a problem with being poisoned by shrubbery because of the way they graze. They nibble a bit here and a bit there as the move around foraging. I think they would only be poisoned if they had nothing else to eat and hat to eat the poisonous shrubs. On the other hand, DH hates highly toxic shrubs. Having eradicated the Oleanders, he has waged war against the Castor beans as they come up each year down in the gully. He finally almost has them under control.

 

[MtViking]

That would definitely be correct. A while ago I came back to my house to find our neighbor's dog attacking my chickens. When confronted, they said it couldn't be their dog as it doesn't leave their land. But if I see it on my property again, an airsoft gun won't kill it, and it couldn't be their dog, after all. But yeah, any others?

I don’t where you live but here in Montana it’s legal to shoot to kill any animal going after live stock or pets. That includes neighbors dogs. Which is probably why we don’t have a stray dog problem and people keep their dogs fenced or contained pretty darn well. Coyotes, mountain lions,eagles, hawks and bears are still a threat. I’m not sure what would happen if I shot an eagle killing my chickens that’s probably asking for trouble but the other ones I wouldn’t hesitate to take out if needed. Most of us are trying to produce food for our families any threat to that is meet with force. Might sound cold hearted but my animals are as much family as they are livestock.

 

[Ridgetop]

Roaming dogs are some of the worst predators and definitely should be shot or put down. Unless there is identification it is useless to try for compensation although the law usually provides for it.

In the majority of states there are laws on the books still that it is legal to shoot predators attacking your animals. However, in certain states some species have been protected. Here in California it is cougars, and it is illegal to shoot one. However, they have become so numerous now that the native deer population has suffered big losses.

In Montana and certain of the middle western states, particularly near Yellowstone, where wolves have been reintroduced it is illegal to kill them unless the F & G allows it. One rancher saw a wolf pack pull down a calf and notified F & G for a permit. They came out and told him that it was a dog kill. This was when they were first introducing wolves and did not want their early introductions endangered.
Bears of certain breeds are protected in some states. And of course, eagles are off limits.

My preference is, legal or not, to Shoot, Shovel and Shut up. No need to brag about what was shot, just quiet control of a predator. You never know what the Fish and Game or Wildlife authorities will do or say anyway. Unless you can claim damages from the government (some states and fed have repayment for livestock losses from wild predators) just SSS. Of course, SSS works just as well after the claim is verified and filed with the government agency. LOL

 

[Caprine]

I live in Wisconsin, where it it legal to kill a dog that is attacking livestock, or a short time after. Wisconsin is a free-for-all state, one of the few where it's legally easier to own a tiger than a dog. Coyotes and foxes are fair game. We don't really have wolves. I have chickens, and while I have no idea how legal it is to shoot raptors, if my chickens were free-ranging and a Cooper's came after them...