Poisonous Plants

I often gaze upon my freshly growing spring lawn with the same wonder as do my alpacas. It must surely look like a salad bar to my camelid friends. If only, they seem to be saying, if only I could have one hour, just ONE hour on that untouched, never-grazed lawn! It is springtime and plants, lawns and pastures are coming back to life. It would be a simple enough task to indulge the longing of my alpacas- just shut the gate to the main road and let them out for a feast. It might even cut down on the task of mowing, too.

Hmmmmm . . . worthy of consideration? Better rethink that idea.
The very plants we love (and some we don’t) can be fatal to our four-legged friends. Who doesn’t love daffodils, lilies, dieffenbachias, hyacinths? How about cherry trees, roses, rhododendron and hydrangeas? Plants that look quite beautiful to us, and are, can also be appealing the soft pallet of our alpacas. Unfortunately, many people have no idea that these, among many other common ornamentals, nuisance weeds, wildflowers, and even vegetables can be life-threatening to many species of livestock, including alpacas.

How can you prevent an emergency?

• Plant all trees, flowers and vegetables out of reach.
• Never dispose of yard waste within reach of your alpacas.
• Educate yourself, then walk your pasture and fence lines regularly in search of hazards.
• Trim any limbs hanging over your pastures.
• Be extremely cautious with the use of herbicides — some make dangerous plants even more palatable to alpacas.
• Keep plenty of forage, whether pasture or in the form of hay before your alpacas at all times. A well-fed alpaca is less likely to seek out unfamiliar plants.

Have you found yourself with an urgent situation? Don’t wait; contact your own veterinarian, stat. If you have questions about what’s growing on your property, both ornamental and wild, contact your local county extensive office. They can provide you with information, and sometimes even analysis of plants indigenous to your area. To learn even more, you may want to visit the web site of Cornell University, where an extensive list of plants and toxic agents deemed dangerous to livestock has been published.

You can view that list at: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/alphalist.html.

Susan

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