The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: northernengine on August 23, 2016, 07:12:39 pm
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A little help please folk..
Now I know that bracken is very bad for goats. Most of mine leave it alone, but one just insists on eating it! Dont worry, we had just moved her in, and as soon as she started, Iv removed her and penned her away from the bracken. There is plenty of other food for her, but she is just one of those goats that has to eat everything!
I have had and know of plenty of goats that eat plants supposedly poisonous - my neighbours love Yew, and have eaten it for years. Mine like Broom, Elderberry and Cherry leaves.
So - is bracken poisonous for ALL goats? And if so, what to do with the bracken? I can go cut it all, but bracken flourishes when burnt or cut back.
Cheers!
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My neighbours goats eat it - they have a lot of land and the goats roam free, so you would think they would leave it alone, but no - they eat it same as everything else.
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I should add that I dont recommend it, I was just making a point that some goats seem to be more resistant or even totally immune to some plants that are described as very bad for them. I just wondered if bracken was more like Rhodie, that seems to affect all goats, or some of these other plants that affect some more than others.
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My understanding is that bracken causes vitamin b deficency so the affect is not immediate like some other toxic plants.
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Ah, that's interesting. I'll do some research. In the meantime I have removed all the bracken I can, so the temptation should be vastly reduced!