[laurelrus]

There's so much cow parsley growing around our field, I'd like to know if it's something that sheep and goats like to eat? I've been looking at lists of what they can/can't eat but can't see cow parsley on any list.
Thanks

[landroverroy]

 They love it!
It's not poisonous and they'll eat it with relish.
 

[Fleecewife]

As LRR says, they love it.  It's one of the things we feed an unwell sheep, or take to shows as treats while they're stuck in tiny pens.  It's good in hay as well, as long as it dries properly.

BUT be very sure it really is cow parsley, not something horribly toxic like Hemlock, Hemlock Water Dropwort, or Cowbane   .  There are 44 different white umbellifers  in my wild flower book (Collins), so it's worth identifying what you've got quite carefully.

[Kimbo]

Its at this time of year with the new cow parsley that I get a lump in my throat over my darling dressage horse Uppsala who dropped dead in his field 3 years ago    It was his all time favourite and I couldn't resist letting him have a little  graze of it. When I see it it always reminds me of my beautiful and funny boy.

Cow parsley is so pretty too isn't it? Lacy

[Penninehillbilly]

 I think sweet cicely is a relative, smells of aniseed and one boer goat esp. will  manage to get some on the way to the field, often wonder what her milk tastes like for her babies.
Maybe not relavant but couldn't resist mentioning that. :-).
 
As Fleecewife says, there are so many similar that I'm wary of letting my lot near anything I'm not 100% sure about.
When we were kids there was a plant everywhere called 'motherdie?' any idea which that was?
 
Kimbo - so sorry about Uppsala, was it through eating the Cow Parsley?

[Fleecewife]

We had a drama here a few years ago now.  Our (usually nice) neighbour had put stirks in the field next to ours.  We had a huge mass of cow parsley growing up against the fence, within neck reach of the stirks.  They spent several days stuffing themselves with the cow parsley.  Big hammering on the door....one of the stirks (inevitably very valuable) was lying dead up against our fence, and neighbour was blaming our 'poisonous' cow parsley.  He called vet who opened up the stirk there and then, to find all its stomachs, rumens, whatever cattle have, totally crammed full with very long tangled stalks of cow parsley.  There was nothing else in there, so it hadn't eaten any grass, and was totally blocked up.  So although cow parsley isn't poisonous, it can kill. 

[laurelrus]

Fleecewife - that's a great idea, I'm going to get a book on wild flowers. Will really help with the vast quantity of things growing here that I have no idea about 

[Buttermilk]

Mothers die is hemlock. It has purple spots on the stem.

[Kimbo]

 
Kimbo - so sorry about Uppsala, was it through eating the Cow Parsley?

Errrrrr, NO?? Heart attack ( well, an aortic aneurism actually)

[Kimbo]

Mmmmmm, Hemlock. Its supposed to be a really good way to murder someone 

[Penninehillbilly]

 
Kimbo - so sorry about Uppsala, was it through eating the Cow Parsley?

Errrrrr, NO? ? Heart attack ( well, an aortic aneurism actually)

Sorry, reading your post it did seem connected in some way?

[Fleecewife]

Mmmmmm, Hemlock. Its supposed to be a really good way to murder someone 

Unless you're the one being murdered...........

[Kimbo]

LOL!
I meant that its not very easy to detect after death and mimics some natural cause of death that Ive forgotten!

I think I must read too many detective novels!

[Fleecewife]

Didn't the ancient Greeks use it a lot?  And Victorian ladies bumping off their husbands?

[Penninehillbilly]

can someone supply the recipe?