Poisonous Pastures

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Poisonous Pastures

• By John E. Woodmansee
• Extension Educator
• Agriculture/Natural Resources
• Purdue Extension Grant County
• Reviewed by Glenn Nice, Extension weed scientist
• Purdue University

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(No Transcript)
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Introduction

• Your veterinarian will be the person to check
  with for symptoms/treatments/cures
• Some sources of information you find on this
  subject may contradict each other
• Well discuss most common plants as referenced in
  Purdue Extension publication WS-9, Indiana
  Plants Poisonous to Livestock and Pets
  supported by many references/research

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Source Purdue Extension publication WS-9,
Indiana Plants Poisonous to Livestock and Pets

• Available on-line at http//www.vet.purdue.edu/de
  pts/addl/toxic/cover1.htm

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Introduction

• In Indiana, poisonous plants far outnumber
  poisonings
• Animals generally prefer other plants to
  poisonous plants may only eat poisonous plants
  when nothing else is available
• Poisonings most common in early spring, second
  most common in winter

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You suspect a poisoning

• Eliminate all other possibilities
• Positively identify suspected plant
• Match symptoms to those reported for plant

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Prevention is the key!

• No antidotes for many of the poisons in plants
• Know the poisonous plants in your pasture and
  control or keep animals away with fencing
• Supply good forage or feed
• Avoid overgrazing

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If an animal appears poisoned

• Avoid disturbing animal as much as possible
• Contact your veterinarian
• If practical or advised move animal(s) to fresh
  pasture or give fresh feed/water

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Animals react differently

• Individual animals within a species may react
  differently
• Different types of animals react differently
  (e.g. cattle may be killed, but swine fine)

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Possible Symptoms

• Birth defects
• Bleeding
• Blood clots in stools
• Blue coloration
• Breathing difficulties
• Death (sudden)
• Diarrhea
• Drooling
• Dullness, depression
• Excitedness, unusual behavior

• Gangrene
• Heart or pulse problems
• Jaundice
• Nausea
• Prostration
• Rash, sunburn
• Staggering, incoordination
• Stomach upset, colic
• Throat irritations
• Trembles, convulsions

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WS-9 Plants that cause physical injury (skin,
eye, mouth, stomach, or hair-ball problems
mechanical injury to animals)

• Foxtail barley
• Common burdock

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WS-9 House/Garden plants that poison

• Aroids (Jack-in-the-pulpit, philodenron, etc.)
• Bulb-bearing plants (lily-of-the-valley,
  amaryllis, hyacinth, iris, daffodil, etc.)
• English ivy
• Lupine, wild and cultivated (bluebonnet,
  Quaker-bonnets)
• Catnip
• Christmas plant (poinsettia)
• Rhubarb
• Azalea, rhododendron
• Castorbean
• Common tansey

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WS-9 Forage and crop plants that poison

• Cultivated oats (nitrate poisoning)
• Ergot (a fungus parasite on heads of grasses)
• Tall fescue (varieties infected by Acremonium
  endophytic fungus a mold)
• Sweetclover, yellow and white
• Tobacco
• Alsike clover

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WS-9 Woodland plants that poison

• Jack-in-the-pulpit (Indian turnip)
• Larkspur, dwarf and cultivated
• Dutchmans breeches, squirrelcorn (staggerweed,
  bleeding heart)
• White snakeroot (white sanicle, richweed)
• Brackenfern (brake fern)
• Groundsel (butterweed, ragwort)
• Green falsehellebore (white hellebore, Indian
  poke)

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WS-9 Marsh and streambank plants that poison

• Milkweeds
• Spotted waterhemlock (waterhemlock, spotted
  cowbane)
• Poison-hemlock
• Field horsetail, scouringrush
• Buttercups
• Nettle, stinging and wood
• Common cocklebur

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WS-9 Plants of fields, roadsides, and open areas
that poison

• Redroot pigweed
• Mustard family (wild mustard, pennycress,
  peppergrass, etc.)
• Hemp (marijuana)
• Jimsonweed (thornapple)
• Spurges (prostrate spurge, cypress spurge, etc.)
• Common St. Johnswort (klamath weed)
• Star-of-Bethlehem (snowdrop, nap-at-noon)
• Common Pokeweed (pokeberry, pokeroot, inkberry,
  poke)
• Bouncingbet (soapwort)
• Nightshades (eastern black nightshade, Carolina
  horsenettle, bull nettle, bitter nightshade,
  climbing bittersweet)
• Johnsongrass

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WS-9 Trees and shrubs that poison

• Ohio buckeye
• Black walnut
• Wild black cherry
• Red oak
• Black locust
• Yew, English and Japanese

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WS-9 Most common toxic plants in Indiana

• Alsike clover
• Bitter nightshade
• Black nightshade
• Common cocklebur
• Dutchmans breeches
• Dwarf larkspur
• Groundsel
• Johnsongrass
• Poison-hemlock

• Redroot pigweed
• Field horsenettle, Scouringrush
• Spotted waterhemlock
• Sweetclover
• White snakeroot
• Wild black cherry
• Yew

Source WS-9. All line drawings and pictures to
follow are from WS-9 unless noted.
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Alsike Clover
Animals affected dogs, sheep, cattle, poultry,
caged birds
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Bitter nightshade (also called bittersweet
nightshade, climbing nightshade)
Animals affected Calves, goats, sheep, swine,
poultry, rarely horses and cows
Line drawing USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database Bottom
photo credit George F. Russell _at_ USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database
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Black nightshade
Animals affected calves, goats, sheep, swine,
poultry, rarely horses and cows
Photo credit Purdue Extension CD-ROM, CD-AY-3,
Broadleaf Weed Seedling Identification.
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Common cocklebur
Animals affected cattle, swine, sheep, poultry
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Dutchmans Breeches
Animals affected cattle, horses
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Dwarf larkspur
Animals affected cattle, horses, sheep
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Groundsel (Senecio spp.)(also called
Cress-leaved groundsel, Butterweed, Ragwort)
Animals affected cattle, horses
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Johnsongrass
Animals affected all types, especially ruminants
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Poison-hemlock
Animals affected cattle, dogs, goats, swine,
horses, sheep, poultry
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Redroot pigweed
Animals affected cattle, goats, sheep, swine
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Field Horsetail, Scouringrush
Animals affected horses, rarely cattle and sheep
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Spotted waterhemlock
Animals affected all livestock, especially cattle
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Sweetclover
Animals affected cattle, horses, sheep, rabbits
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White snakeroot
Animals affected cattle, horses, goats, sheep,
swine (if they eat roots)
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Wild black cherry
Animals affected cattle, horses, dogs, goats,
swine, cats, caged birds
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Yew(also called English or Japanese Yew, Taxus
spp.)
Animals affected all livestock (especially
horses), dogs, caged birds