We have a peach tree in our yard, though not where the goats are normally. Sometimes they do get into our little yard and my dad said he read that peaches were poisonous.
I just looked it up and there seems to be a lot of conflict about this. Some people say only the peach pit is poisonous and the leaves and flesh are fine, some say only the leaves are bad, some say only wilted leaves are bad, and so on.
So I'd like to know what's your take on this? Do you have any experiences with peach trees and goats?
Replies
Yes, she is, Margaret. Still acting normally and they do have access to baking soda 24/7. They also have kelp and minerals in front of them in addition to the standard "salt" block which I doubt they use. They do go through the kelp quickly at times and others don't seem to touch it. The same seems true of the baking soda.
I think I shall get some of the chewable vitamin C to keep on hand. Charcoal was recommended to me when I had the first NDs who ate rhodie leaves. I was able to get it down one but not the other but neither goat seemed to have any ill effects from it, thankfully, but I had it here for them within the hour. Yet, I know of other goats that have died eating them and I am wondering if they ate a lot whereas mine ate only a couple of leaves (or less) as I saw them and got out there. I had fenced off the bush but carelessly left access to it once. It was out of the ground and to a friend's house before Capri and Summer ever got to go out in the yard; careless once but not twice. (She says having left that hornet nest where it could be reached.)
Glenna, I just saw this. Is Capri still ok now? Does she have access to baking soda? and If she is acting like anything is wrong give her some people chewable vitamin C. I bought 500 mg. dollar store when ours pigged out on the azaleas. I think I gave them about 3 each. You can probably get an accurate dose on-line. I don't remember if I got the dosage off fiasco' site or where. It seems to be a HUGE help with this. (more seems better than less and I melted them and drenched them) I am guessing that she is probably ok or we would have heard something else by now! I need to read some more on this because I have seen someone else mention charcoal but never saw that when I was searching what to do for my 3 who ate the azaleas. I don't have a clue what you do with charcoal. That vitamin C really helped the people who wrote about it were I found out about it and they had tried everything else. I tried all kinds of things too, but didn't get much for results til I started the Vit. C. I had to repeat it once or twice. About 12 hours apart. Mine were real sick. Slinging their heads and that gross slimey green stuff everywhere. I mean they were super sick. They ate a lot!
I hope I don't have a bigger problem. Day before yesterday when my son took the ladder down in the garage, he knocked off a huge hornet nest I had in there that one of the ladies in our garden club brought in. (That was the day of the multiple accidents.) He set it down on top of a box. Yesterday, Capri was in the garage munching on something; it was the leaves on the bush the nest had been in which I didn't realize then! This is several years dried. This evening I moved the nest to a better location and realized it had been in a rhododendron bush. The leaves she ate yesterday were dried rhododendron leaves. I cannot remember how many leaves were on the branch; I am hoping and praying she didn't get more than one or two. Because I realized so late what it was that she had munched, it's a bit late to do charcoal. She seems to be acting just fine.
I did read somewhere that many of these things that are toxic are so when there is repeated exposure or they eat a lot of it. I feel just awful. There had been a leek there whose top she has munched on every time she gets into the garage so when she was there I simply took her collar and back to the patio with her - I didn't even look at what she was munching thinking it was the leek. I've deliberately left the leek there so she is distracted to it and doesn't go farther in to get to the grain. There is chance it was the leek and not the rhodie at all. I wish I could remember how many leaves the thing had on it then I would know.
If she was going to have any problems, there would be some indication by now, wouldn't there?
I would check big time before doing that Glenna. It would be horrible to take down that tree for no reason. I have heard conflicting stories on all of them too. So much of this stuff just seems not to be a problem as long as they have plenty to eat. I would double and triple ck. before cutting anything!
I had a similar conversation about cherry trees with opinions widely varying. To expand the pen where I have my goats, there is a Queen Anne cherry tree that will have to come down. On one list, it listed only choke cherry.
Yep, I've read the same thing too. Funny thing is that my lil goats go straight for the silly peach trees here.I keep them away as much as possible but it's funny that seems to be what they enjoy. That and fresh dropped misletoe, which is supposed to be very bad as well. The day they each got a spring of misletoe I had to wrestle it away from them. I think they were laughing at me, too!
MsC