Chickens exposed to oleander...now what?

[DianeB]

There is an oleander bush in our neighbors frontyard that sometimes hangs over our front gate. Normally, my hens do not go over there. I clean up any leaves I find. My sister's cat and my hens were in that area. I am not sure if they ate any. I didn't see any nibbled leaves or steams. So, I am assuming that they didn't. One hen was standing on one of the leaves, though.

Is it possible that they will get sick from casual exposure? It has been almost 2 hours and no signs of illness. How long can it be before they will show symptoms?

 

[Imp]

Oleander poisoning occurs when someone sucks nectar from the flowers or chews leaves from the oleander or yellow oleander plant. Poisoning can also happen if you eat honey made by bees that used the oleander plant for nectar.

Sounds like you (or chickens) would need to eat or drink the plant to get sick. I think your chickens are safe.

OLEANDER (Nerium oleander, other species); entire plant, and water used for cut plants; cardiovascular system affected by the glycosides oleandrin, oleandroside, and nerioside; plant also causes dermatitis.

Imp​

 

[chickenzoo]

Quote:
Sounds like you (or chickens) need to eat or drink the plant. I think your chickens are safe.

OLEANDER (Nerium oleander, other species); entire plant, and water used for cut plants; cardiovascular system affected by the glycosides oleandrin, oleandroside, and nerioside; plant also causes dermatitis.

Imp​

You mean sounds like they didn't eat the plant.


Just keep an eye on them............

 

[Imp]

Well that was nice & clear wasn't it.

This is what I meant:

Sounds like you (or chickens) would need to eat or drink the plant to get sick

Imp​

 

[DianeB]

Don't worry, I know what you meant imp. They seem to be doing fine. I was worried because my sister's cat's vet insisted that he be taken in for tests and observation. Apparently, oleander is that toxic. Wonder why people plant it? There are other pretty plants that aren't deadly.

 

[cobrien]

I have oleander in my yard and none of mine eat it. I have seen them sample it and they spit it out. I agree, watch just observe; watch them for a several minutes ~3x/day during the day, they'll probably be fine.