Owners Beware: Some plants are poisonous to dairy goots

摘要

One winter several years ago, my family's entire dairy goat herd escaped from the barn and consumed a Japanese yew. Eight of our does immediately became terribly sick. They were lying flat on the ground with muscle spasms, projectile vomiting, shaking, diarrhea, and were screaming at the top of their lungs. It was horrifying.For almost a week we had all eightgoats hooked up to IVs, and forced fluids and mashed grain into their mouths and made them eat activated charcoal. (Activated charcoal helps prevent the poison from absorbing into the body.) We slept in the barn trying to comfort them as the toxins ran through their bodies. Watching my goats suffer from plant poisoning was awful beyond words. At the time our family did not realize that Japanese yew was toxic. We were able to save seven of the poisoned does, but ended up losing one doe, our Oberhasli, Honeysuckle. If I had known then what I know now, she would still be alive.