The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: Flump74 on May 24, 2016, 12:24:19 pm
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We have a large patch of buttercups in our goat's pen, but am in two minds as to whether to go out and dig them up !
Any thoughts anyone?
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Forgive the stupid question but why would you dig them out?
My goats love to eat them - maybe that is where I am going wrong!
I am looking forward to seeing what advice you get - I might be out with my spade sooner than I thought...
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I thought they were poisonous. My goat would never touch them and I assumed that was why.
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I know they give horses belly-ache when fresh and they avoid them, but I'm pretty sure my sheep eat them without effect.
Not very helpful, as neither are goats, but I assume goats are closer to sheep than they are horses! ;)
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Photo from BBGS web site
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Ha! Just as I thought....mixed opinions :)
I had read in several places that they were poisonous when fresh, but fine in hay.
Well they don't seem to eat them anyway, and they've not keeled over yet!
Think I'm going to leave them for now.
Maybe dig them up over the winter and plant something more useful in their place!
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That's really good to know. You mention spreading lime. Do the goats need to be off the land before it is spread. Again probably a daft question ......
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The biggest problem thy could cause is photosensitivity.
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Lime in itself is not poisonous and is most likely to make the grass taste unpleasant until washed off with a good shower of rain. though to some extent it does depend on what liming product you are able to use, I would also add that although liming grass fields periodically is a good idea it does not necessarily follow that buttercuos will miraculously disappear. in acidic soil buttercup easily outcompetes grass, which prefers a higher ph soil, but buttercup can still grow happily in most soil types, particularly if well established. I agree with those highlighting buttercups mild toxicity and regard it has having little in the way of value to a field beyond it looking pretty
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Buttercups are poisonous when fresh and are ok in hay. Some of my goats ate them, you could see them picking the flowers of No direct I'll effect but the milk was tainted. Don't know if this helps ?? Given the chance I would always remove them :wave:
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Buttercups are toxic but not horrendously so and few animals will eat them in excess unless there is nothing else in the fields.
The colour is a give-away.... natures danger colour is yellow (although some plants/animals mimic it to convince predators to give them a wide berth).
It is a sign that the ground needs lime, and you'll notice a huge difference if you spread some, the grass will quickly recover and crowd out the buttercups. I would do the lime rather than trying to dig them out personally, but it's probably worth doing a soil analysis whilst you're at it in case the ground is deficient in other ways.
I read somewhere else recently about goats eating buttercups having red urine... I'm no vet, but I would think that was a sign of blood staining the urine and therefore not a 'good' thing.
My land is covered in buttercups and the sheep leave them alone. I only thought they were poisonous to cattle? You have definately reminded me to do a soil analysis though and maybe lime is in order, I shall miss them though :'(