Safety Margin for Gardenias, Elderberries & Tall Lettuce

I have searched many websites and many of the posts on this forum but have not found the answers to some new questions.

Gardenias: I have a large gardenia bush in the middle of the pasture that I am going to fence in for goats. Are gardenias safe for goats? I do plan on fencing it off but need to know if it's safe or not so I can plan on fencing options.

Elderberries: I have about 6 elderberry plants on the new property. I do plan on fencing them off so I can harvest them but again, I want to know if they are safe for goats.

Tall Lettuce: I have one stalk along my driveway. From my research, it's also called Poor Man's Opium... makes me think it's not safe for goats once it goes into bloom. But I want to know for sure.

Thanks!

I don't have experience with those plants, and I have not found any good lists online that are accurate about what is and is not poisonous to goats. It's pretty well accepted that goats don't usually eat things that are poisonous UNLESS nothing else is available. There was a lady on here a few years back who had oleander in her pasture, which is highly poisonous, and her goats never touched it until there was nothing else left, and then some of them got sick and died from it. I'm not saying you should necessarily give them the opportunity to eat them, but if they do accidentally get to them, you don't have to panic immediately.

If you want to harvest the elderberry, I would absolutely fence them off. My goats have killed so many cherry bushes, apple trees, plum trees, and on and on! The LOVE tree bark, especially on smaller trees and bushes, and if they strip the bark all the way around the tree or bush, it will die. Cherry trees are even one of the things I've seen on lists that are supposed to be poisonous to animals, but my goats killed several. I'd say the same with any plant that you love. Protect it! I used to think that once a tree had a trunk of at least 4 inches in diameter, it would be safe, but my goats have killed some that big too. I think if it's feasible that you have enough goats that they could eat the bark all the way around a tree, the tree should be protected. If you only have a few goats, then the 4 inch in diameter is probably a good rule, but we've had 15-22 does for the last ten years or so.

Hickory trees are absolutely fine. We have shagbark hickory trees all over our property. Oak trees are also fine -- at least burr oak and white oak -- because we have tons of those everywhere also, although I know a lot of lists include oak as poisonous. I think the problem is that there has not been that much research done on goats, so a lot of lists are just copied from horses, which are known to be poisoned by a lot more plants that goats would be.

Replies

Deborah Niemann-Boehle May 21, 2017 at 8:28pm

I don't have experience with those plants, and I have not found any good lists online that are accurate about what is and is not poisonous to goats. It's pretty well accepted that goats don't usually eat things that are poisonous UNLESS nothing else is available. There was a lady on here a few years back who had oleander in her pasture, which is highly poisonous, and her goats never touched it until there was nothing else left, and then some of them got sick and died from it. I'm not saying you should necessarily give them the opportunity to eat them, but if they do accidentally get to them, you don't have to panic immediately.

If you want to harvest the elderberry, I would absolutely fence them off. My goats have killed so many cherry bushes, apple trees, plum trees, and on and on! The LOVE tree bark, especially on smaller trees and bushes, and if they strip the bark all the way around the tree or bush, it will die. Cherry trees are even one of the things I've seen on lists that are supposed to be poisonous to animals, but my goats killed several. I'd say the same with any plant that you love. Protect it! I used to think that once a tree had a trunk of at least 4 inches in diameter, it would be safe, but my goats have killed some that big too. I think if it's feasible that you have enough goats that they could eat the bark all the way around a tree, the tree should be protected. If you only have a few goats, then the 4 inch in diameter is probably a good rule, but we've had 15-22 does for the last ten years or so.

Hickory trees are absolutely fine. We have shagbark hickory trees all over our property. Oak trees are also fine -- at least burr oak and white oak -- because we have tons of those everywhere also, although I know a lot of lists include oak as poisonous. I think the problem is that there has not been that much research done on goats, so a lot of lists are just copied from horses, which are known to be poisoned by a lot more plants that goats would be.
Cynthia Koscinch May 21, 2017 at 3:52pm

Also, I don't see hickory trees on any of my lists...good or bad. My neighbor is cutting down some hickory trees and he said I could have the leaves if I wanted them.

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