Acorns Can Be Toxic - Link Provided

bcadybug · #1 10/21/10, 07:47 AM

I know someone was asking recently about acorns.... just came across this article on Hobby Farms website.

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/hobby-farm...my-acorns.aspx

Just thought I'd share.

Val

Lada · #2 10/21/10, 07:48 AM

There are a lot more acorns on the ground this year. The nut crop was bad last year, so the squirrel population is way down this fall, thus the abundance. My goats DO eat them, and so does the lamb. I just have no way of keeping every.single.acorn. out of their pen.

If you feel your animal has ingested too many, you can give them activated charcoal. It will absorb the toxins.

Whisperwindkat · #3 10/21/10, 08:15 AM

They have to really ingest alot most of the time. Also some oaks have more tannic acid than others. White oak varieties are lower in tannic acid than red oak. Tannic acid is also a natural anthelmintic and is the reason that AU has done the studies with the serecea lespedeza for grazing. This variety of lespedeza has high levels of tannic acid which is an effective natural internal parasite control. My goats tend to limit themselves, which is a good thing since there is no way that I could limit them with as many oaks as I have. Most of mine are white oaks though and we have made acorn meal for ourselves. It is an interesting process. Blessings, Kat

Jay27 · #4 10/21/10, 09:05 AM

We have tons of oaks and my goats eat tons of acorns... there is no way to limit them. I think they naturally limit themselves because I have never known anyone to have a problem... maybe if the critter didn't have any other food and that was all it ate. And not to split hairs, I prefer to get my toxicity advice from veterinary extensions over some article written in some kind of creepy critter third-person. I'm not saying that all of the articles on that site are untrue, but anyone can publish just about anything... doesn't mean it is true. Not trying to be a nay-sayer, but in my experience and the experience of my neighbors, acorns are not toxic in an otherwise healthy animal with additional forage options. (Strangely we were talking about this last weekend... not much of a crop this year, but last year the ground was literally COVERED)