When raising farm animals how do you ensure that you’re keeping grazing livestock safe from poisonous plants?

When we began our goat grazing/browsing venture, one of the first things I did was research. I wanted to make sure that we knew what the heck we were doing.

Yes, goats are pretty incredible at clearing land. But how do we ensure we are keeping all of our livestock safe?

The last thing any of us want is for our animals to get sick, to suffer, or to possibly die from something that we could have possibly prevented.

Keeping Livestock Safe from Poisonous Plants

Before we go into safety, it’s important to differentiate livestock diets.

Goats and cattle have different diets and preferences. Cattle graze on mostly grass, whereas goats prefer to browse and eat weeds, brush, tree bark, etc. The goats can be rotated in to eliminate most of the undesirable vegetation that the cows have left behind.

The first step to livestock safety, is to research. Know what is a hazard in your area and then learn how to identify that plant.

Scout the area where you’re to keep your livestock and unsure there aren’t any toxic plants.

Remove plants if you’re able to do so or fence off the area to keep the livestock from entering the area.

Ensure they have access to plenty of fresh water, and salt & mineral.

This is a good resource for some poisonous plant identification.

What do livestock need to avoid?

Although the goat’s digestive system is similar to that of cattle and sheep, who are “grazers” and eat grass, goats are more related to deer, who are “browsers”.

As browsers, goats are designed to eat and prefer, brush and trees more than grass. It is natural for them to nibble a little here and a little there.

Because of this, even if you have poisonous plants on your property, very often, if they have plenty of “safe” browse, they rarely eat enough bad stuff to cause any real harm.

Here are some plants known to be poisonous to livestock. It is important that these plants are removed prior to livestock browsing on your property:

*note this list is not extensive. It is something I compiled through research. Whenever we are unsure of a plant, we look it up!

Plants to avoid:

Boxwood

Burning Bush berries

Calotropis

Cassava (manioc)

Choke Cherries, wilting especially

Choke Cherry Leaves in abundance

Datura

Dog Hobble

Euonymus Bush berries

False Tansy

Holly Trees/Bushes

Ilysanthes floribunda

Japanese pieris (extremely toxic)

Japanese Yew

Larkspur- a ferny, flowering plant in shades of blue, pink and white.

Lasiandra

Lilacs

Lily of the Valley (Pieris Japonica)

Milkweed

Nightshade- appears on both lists: Ok in moderation.

Oleander

Pieris Japonica (extremely toxic)

Ponderosa Pine

Red Maples

Rhododendron

Rhubarb leaves

Tu Tu (the Maori name for Coriaria arborea)

Wild Cherry

Yew

Safe Plants (because I once thought some of these were toxic, but I was wrong!)

Acorns (in moderation)

Blackberry bushes (all parts)

Cedar Needles (leaves) & Bark

Clover

Corn husks & silk

Cottonwood

Dandelion

Douglas Fir

Elm

Fescue grass

Hemlock Trees (which are not the same as the poisonous hemlock, an herbaceous species of plant which is in the carrot family that bears the scientific name “Conium maculatum”)

Ivy

Maple Trees, leaves & bark – (goats will readily strip the bark and kill the tree)
NOT Red Maples (Red Maples can be toxic)

Marijuana-in moderation

Mint

Moss

Mulberry (entire plant)

Nettles

Nightshade – appears on both lists. Ok in moderation.

Pine Trees

Poison Ivy

Poison Oak

Poplar Trees

Poison Sumac, the vine

Rose, all, entire plant (goats loves roses)

Spruce trees

Sumac, the tree

Sunflowers

Yarrow

Yucca

Weeping Willow

Wild Rose, entire plant (goats loves roses)

For a free downloadable list of plants to avoid, sign up below!