Avoiding danger after the hurricane passes: toxic leaves

[BethW]

Hey guys,

We ended up with 7 inches of rain, a damaged barn roof and huge trees down after the hurricane passed, but all people and animals weathered the storm just fine.

Here's the thing. We have a wild cherry tree approx. 250 feet away from the barn. 60 MPH winds were blowing from that tree towards the barn for many hours and the goat field was covered in all kinds of leaves and downed branches (mostly oak, poplar and sweet gum).

We've raked the field up and disposed of most of it, but I'm worried there might be stray cherry leaves in the field as they could have traveled that far. I kept the goats in the barn all day yesterday and today. How long should I keep them in to be sure those leaves (if there are any) wilt and dry until they're not toxic?

[AuntKitty]

I don't know what size goats you have but if there aren't alot of leaves and they are used to eating them green occasionally, I would think that one or two sunny days should be all you need. I had a cherry tree come down in my pasture in a thunderstorm and the Nubians and I saw it at the same time. After a mad race to the fenceline where the tree had fallen and beating them off with a dead branch unsuccessfully, they ate quite a bit of wilted leaves and nothing happened. I don't know if this is because they eat the green or if I just got lucky...

Kitty