My goats have occasionally nibbled on holly in their pens but had no ill effect. However my buck is having digestive issues and today I saw him eating bark off the holly tree. I'm wondering if the holly is what is making his rumen upset? Anyone have experience with this? I know the books say it's supposedly poisonous but no one has gotten sick from it yet.
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I haven't had experience with holly specifically, but the thing with goats is that they tend to not eat things that are poisonous to them as long as they have plenty of choices. I don't know if you were on this group back when Margaret talked about some of her goats living in a pasture with a poisonous plant and leaving it alone until there was nothing left, then they ate a bunch and got sick. That's pretty standard for goats. They also tend to be highly resistant to most poisonous plants, so nibbling at things doesn't usually make them sick. However, too much and they can definitely become ill.