Plants that are poisonous to animals

The yew tree is toxic to cattle.

Rhodedren nearly lost 4 rams to it years ago

BIG buckets of tea helped cure them :P

RD10 wrote: »

Hi all, am pulling out an old laurel hedge at the minute, have heard it toxic to cattl & dont think its the nicest anyway. Anyone know anything about Aucuba japonica? Is it safe for cattle?
Any other shrubs or trees us farmers need to be wary of?

If laurel is poisonous to cattle then the variegated form is surely too..?

Tbh I've had laurel trees on ditches and never had a problem with poisoning with cattle. I've even had the leaves end up in the silage and the cattle just leave those bits. Maybe that's luck???

Sycamore seeds are supposed to be poisonous to horses.
Oak leaves and acorns if eaten in an amount are poisonous to cattle and horses.

https://www.vpisglobal.com/2019/10/01/cherry-laurel-and-other-cyanide-containing-plants/

A bit of reading for you

_Brian wrote: »

Problem with cut anything including grass is it allows them eat way too quickly and easily and they will sicken themselves.
Part of our land backs onto laurels amd I’ve ever seen cattle touch it at all

It's strange though remember the post here a few weeks ago of an animal that died after eating fox gloves. Never saw an animal eat them either

Driving around the country I am seeing a lot of ragworth in fields, I detest the sight of them, I cant understand why people don't pull them. Thankfully I have none, but I do keep an eye every day I am herding the cattle and pull any I see, I have a new parcel of 20 acres rented this year and there was a few in it but I think I have them all now. I have noticed that the road verges have a lot of them especially the motorways, the council / NRA should take some responsibility in doing away with them.

Capercaillie wrote: »

Will generally only eat laurel if they are starved. The same with fern poisoning, they will generally only it it if starved.

We had a problem a couple of years ago when ESB contractors cut ferns on a ditch to get access to a pole. Some yearlings ate some of the wilted ferns and we had to get the Vet to treat seven. They all made a full recovery but were off for a few days.

whelan2 wrote: »

It's strange though remember the post here a few weeks ago of an animal that died after eating fox gloves. Never saw an animal eat them either

Wonder how hungry was that animal, or what essentials was it lacking that drove it to eat a poisonus plant like that.... Have never ever seen any animal eat fox glove and some years we have plenty.

Castlekeeper wrote: »

St John's worth, an Hypericum, causes photosensitivity.
Bracken is poisonous but rarely eaten, apparatus the danger stage is when the fronds are unfurling if stock are hungry.

The stock go mad for bracken here (and ivy)

Not sure what that says about my stock?

_Brian wrote: »

Wonder how hungry was that animal, or what essentials was it lacking that drove it to eat a poisonus plant like that.... Have never ever seen any animal eat fox glove and some years we have plenty.

Ye my dad still says he never heard of anything eating them ever

Castlekeeper wrote: »

St John's worth, an Hypericum, causes photosensitivity.
Bracken is poisonous but rarely eaten, apparatus the danger stage is when the fronds are unfurling if stock are hungry.

Our Vet told us that Buckwheat causes photosensitisation too. Some wild bird cover mixes contain buckwheat.

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

I see horsetail in that list. We have an invasion of horsetail along by the river. The cows eat them, I didn't know they were poisonous.

Apparently they are very difficult to kill out. We don't have any but my brother had some growing years ago along one hedge and had to use brushwood herbicide to kill them out as I didn't want them in the hay.

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Thanks
I better lift the few just to be safe

TBH we have some growing in the fields and until seeing your post I didn't know they were poisonous.
Did Kovu post a pic a of them a few weeks ago?

Base price wrote: »

TBH we have some growing in the fields and until seeing your post I didn't know they were poisonous.
Did Kovu post a pic a of them a few weeks ago?

Wasn't me, I don't think!

Tig98 wrote: »

I think Ivy is actually good for them, something like iodine in the leaves that's good for their immune system. They all love it here anyway, especially before they come in and grass is tight

My father had a cow here years ago that ate ragwort. The vet gave her an injection to make her eat and she was fine. Its the same thing they give to old ones in nursing homes to give them an appetite apparently

Ivy is great for them, always give it to cows off colour here. It's something which they might actually pick at when they're turning their nose up at grass or hay/silage.