goats eating poke...

dk_40207 · #1 07/08/06, 09:20 AM

I've notice (to my horror) that some poke had come up in the goat yard, and has been munched on quite a bit. Nobody is sick, though

Is it not poisonous in the young form? I know that humans can eat it when it;s young...we have it everywhere! When we mived here, it was everywhere, and close to 10 ft tall, so it was reseeding for years, and very hard to be rid of!

ozark_jewels · #2 07/08/06, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dk_40207

I've notice (to my horror) that some poke had come up in the goat yard, and has been munched on quite a bit. Nobody is sick, though

Is it not poisonous in the young form? I know that humans can eat it when it;s young...we have it everywhere! When we mived here, it was everywhere, and close to 10 ft tall, so it was reseeding for years, and very hard to be rid of!

Pokeweed is one of my herds favorite foods. As long as they have a variety to eat, it will only do them good. I rejoice when I see a patch of pokeweed....more goat browse!!

KSALguy · #3 07/08/06, 12:16 PM

my goats would at it when it was young, then leave it alone when it got big till the berrys came out, then they would eat the berrys and then eat the rest in the fall

Spinner · #4 07/08/06, 01:48 PM

I thought the berries were the poison part? I know chickens eat the berries all the time, but are they safe for goats?

TexCountryWoman · #5 07/08/06, 02:37 PM

We have it everywhere too. My goats and cattle munch on it whether i want them to or not if given the chance. i can't stop the cattle, but i do pull it up out of the goat yard. It keeps coming back. When the vet was here, he was horrified and told me it would kill them....well it hasn't...but his reaction has influenced me a bit and I am more cautious about it now. We eat poke salad in the spring, just the young shoots, boiling it off three times..lots of people claim it is dangerous and poisonous to humans even then, but many southeners eat it and look forward to it every year.

KSALguy · #6 07/08/06, 03:35 PM

according to most everyone i have talked to and mentioned this to i should be dead a few times over, BUT i am not,
sence the birds and the goats LOVE the berrys i tried some, even thought about makeing a jelley out of it, they dont have a particularly great tast to them but i am sure if you put enoug sugar and maybe some other fruit juice with it that it wouldnt be half bad,

i dont know when or what part is poison but the goats eat it at differint times i know, mostly when it gets on toward fall, but the berrys are eaten as soon as they are ripe,
i figured if the goats can eat it why cant i? and i aint dead,

ozark_jewels · #7 07/08/06, 05:35 PM

The goats love the berries and come in with stained mouths, red pee and purple poops.

As for the vet panicking......My vet panicked over some of the stuff my goats browsed on as well......until she got a few goats of her own.

Those poisonous plants lists were mostly made for other animals and very little is actually known about what is poisonous to goats. My rule is, if the goats are free to choose, moderation is the key and they can handle almost anything.

lgslgs · #8 07/09/06, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSALguy

my goats would at it when it was young, then leave it alone when it got big till the berrys came out, then they would eat the berrys and then eat the rest in the fall

Thanks for saving me typing time! That's exactly how mine do it too.

At berry time they look like they are wearing lipstick!

Lynda

PlowGirl · #9 07/12/06, 08:30 PM

Wish my goats would eat that stuff. I have huge horrible patches of it that go completely ignored, along with buck-brush. Even the hogs won't eat poke or bother to root it out. Maybe if I fenced it off it would become more desirable?

Corky · #10 07/14/06, 05:19 PM

The more I am around goats , the more I think they are like us.
They all have different taste buds just like us humans.
I have goats that love sun flower seeds and goats that won't touch them.
I have had kids that follow Mom around and bite off what she is eating only to spit it right back out and go eat the plant she just passed up.
Some love poison ivy. Some won't eat it.
Some like Virginia creeper and some won't touch it.
Most will eat poke but not every goat. Most of my goats have loved my english ivy growing all over my house and back retaining wall.
Molly will only eat the young tender leaves if she is in the mood.
I also noticed it has something to do with breeds too. After all, they are not the same animal. Just close.

lgslgs · #11 07/14/06, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlowGirl

Wish my goats would eat that stuff. I have huge horrible patches of it that go completely ignored, along with buck-brush. Even the hogs won't eat poke or bother to root it out. Maybe if I fenced it off it would become more desirable?

If your goats do start eating it, you'll end up with it everywhere. The seeds in the berries end up everywhere the nanny berries fall.

We've got a lot of poke coming up in garden beds that use goat bedding compost. Fortunately they are easy to spot and pull out cleanly in the garden beds.

Lynda

Corky · #12 07/15/06, 07:36 AM

So? What is wrong with it comming up in the garden? After all, it is a green leafy vegtable. I have a little poke and also lambs quarters comming up in my garden. I didn't know what the lambs quarter was for a long time and got rid of almost all of it in the garden so now I am letting one plant go to seed.