Comprehensive list of poisonous plants and trees

[chickengeorgeto]

Sorghum is toxic at a certain life stages, generally beginning at 2 years old, or after it's cut or been allowed to seed (reports vary and it varies between types too) and it will kill cattle that are allowed to graze it, never mind chooks.

Sorghum can contain lethal levels of prussic acid (better known as cyanide). As well as cyanide, sorghum can have elevated levels of nitrates. Drought, reproduction, attack (whether by insects or human mechanisms) etc can all inspire elevated levels of toxins in the average plant.

Best wishes.

Sorghum is not toxic to cattle, all types of sorghum is raised and used for grazing, forage, and silage for cattle. Sorghum is still grown in the United States and is processed or used for a substitute for sugar, molasses, honey, or other sweaters. This product is known as "sorghum syrup"

http://www.southernliving.com/food/how-to/sorghum-syrup

Grain sorghum is an annual sweet grain. It is not a perennial. There are however some types of sorghum that are advertised as being bird resistant. These types of sorghum have a high acid or tannin content. This type of sorghum will give you a bad stomach ache if you eat too much of it. Sorghum grain is still widely used in Africa and also eaten or drunk as whole grain or beer still containing the grain.

When a load of grain sorghum reaches the elevator it is tested to see if it is the bird resistant variety before it is off loaded. The reason I know this is because over 60 years ago I rode around with my dad for two days in a two & a half ton truck loaded with bird resistant grain sorghum (sleeping in the cab) before pop found an elevator that would buy it. All I can say about this experience is "Thank goodness for 25¢ gas and Moon Pies."

I am unsure if the poster meant to say that grain sorghum is a perennial instead of an annual or that grain sorghum stored for two years will go bad, (which is true with sorghum contaminated with the Aflatoxin yeast spores associated with drought) or if he meant to say that grain harvested from second year or perennial sorghum plants is toxic.

Long stored grain sorghum like all stored grain is dangerous mostly because sorghum grain is today mostly grown as a drought resistant crop (at least in the USA) and because of this resistance to drought grain sorghum is highly prone to being infected with the afore mentioned Aflatoxin spores.

 

[chooks4life]

Sorghum is not toxic to cattle, all types of sorghum is raised and used for grazing, forage, and silage for cattle. Sorghum is still grown in the United States and is processed or used for a substitute for sugar, molasses, honey, or other sweaters. This product is known as "sorghum syrup"

I'm sorry but you've been misinformed about it not being toxic, 'sorghum syrup' notwithstanding, lol... As you probably (?) know, many plants we and our animals eat are toxic at certain life stages or under other circumstances. Doesn't mean they're not safe the rest of the time.

I think maybe you didn't read my post in its entirety or misunderstood it. I have bolded and made red the parts I think you missed. Feel free to look it up, this is common and widely known information, won't take much digging.

As I said:
Quote:

Grain sorghum is an annual sweet grain. It is not a perennial. There are however some types of sorghum that are advertised as being bird resistant. These types of sorghum have a high acid or tannin content. This type of sorghum will give you a bad stomach ache if you eat too much of it. Sorghum grain is still widely used in Africa and also eaten or drunk as whole grain or beer still containing the grain.

....Yes, thank you, but I already know all this; I feed my chickens grain containing sorghum seeds. But I don't let them graze the plant during its dangerous life stages.

When a load of grain sorghum reaches the elevator it is tested to see if it is the bird resistant variety before it is off loaded. The reason I know this is because over 60 years ago I rode around with my dad for two days in a two & a half ton truck loaded with bird resistant grain sorghum (sleeping in the cab) before pop found an elevator that would buy it. All I can say about this experience is "Thank goodness for 25¢ gas and Moon Pies."

I am unsure if the poster meant to say that grain sorghum is a perennial instead of an annual or that grain sorghum stored for two years will go bad, (which is true with sorghum contaminated with the Aflatoxin yeast spores associated with drought) or if he meant to say that grain harvested from second year or perennial sorghum plants is toxic.

So far as I've heard it's just the plant itself that becomes toxic for a period of time under certain conditions, not the grains.

Long stored grain sorghum like all stored grain is dangerous mostly because sorghum grain is today mostly grown as a drought resistant crop (at least in the USA) and because of this resistance to drought grain sorghum is highly prone to being infected with the afore mentioned Aflatoxin spores.

Best wishes.

 

[LotsOLopsChicks]

Is:

California Poppys safe for chickens?
Canterbury Bells?
Tiger's Eye Mix Sunflower?

Thanks N advance!

 

[chooks4life]

Is:

California Poppys safe for chickens?
Canterbury Bells?
Tiger's Eye Mix Sunflower?

Thanks N advance!

The Canterbury Bells and Tiger's Eye Mix I don't believe are toxic, however the California Poppy may be toxic if eaten, more specifically over-eaten, and particularly the roots.

Best wishes.

 

[LotsOLopsChicks]

The Canterbury Bells and Tiger's Eye Mix I don't believe are toxic, however the California Poppy may be toxic if eaten, more specifically over-eaten, and particularly the roots.

Best wishes.

Thank you!

 

[Naser]

Many plants are toxic to animals. the simple fact is animals don't eat those plants, genes that make animals find poisonous plants edible don't stay long in the chain of evolution. I have many poisonous plants around my chickens they simply don't eat them. if animals eat poisonous plants you wouldn't find rabbits or deers in the wild.

 

[chooks4life]

Plants have varying toxin levels, their chemical makeup fluctuates nonstop just as every other living being's does. It responds to cloud levels, moisture, sunlight, storms, drought, insect attacks, its own reproductive stages, etc. They can be perfectly safe to eat one hour and kill you the next. Many plants humans eat are dangerous under some conditions.

Chickens test-taste regularly, in fact most animals do this, because toxic plants are a normal part of possibly the majority of all herbivore's diets.

Animals kept caged with over-limited and over-protected lifestyles and restricted diets lose instinct in a matter of generations, even faster in social species that rely on education from parents, and are the primary toxicosis victims because they are often desperately deprived nutritionally ('complete' diets notwithstanding) and naive about taste testing, smell-testing, and consuming only limited quantities, and only at certain times, and only certain parts of the plants. Wild animals often have amazingly accurate self-medicating instincts.

Also, many animals have multiple methods of controlling the risk level presented by eating poisonous plants. Sheep, goats etc will intentionally graze toxic plants in limited quantities to control internal parasites. Like some birds (macaws), and some monkeys, (just for two of the countless possible examples), they may add clay or charcoal to their diet to detox it so it doesn't hurt them. In every culture all around the world, enormous amounts of medicinal plant lore was gathered by watching what the animals ate, when, how much, what part, and for what health conditions.

Deer do eat toxic plants, as most wild animals do. They have proteins in their saliva that break down toxins. Others have specialized gut flora/probiotics/etc that do this for them. Many animals have specialized digestive tracts that though a very diverse spectrum of mechanisms enable them to cope with a wide array of toxins that would fell the average human in a far smaller dosage.

Just because one sees a bird or herbivore eat something does not mean it's safe. That's one old nugget of misinformation that was widely taught when I was a kid, but now scientists are discovering exactly how they can consume toxic things without dying.

Best wishes.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Many plants are toxic to animals. the simple fact is animals don't eat those plants, genes that make animals find poisonous plants edible don't stay long in the chain of evolution. I have many poisonous plants around my chickens they simply don't eat them. if animals eat poisonous plants you wouldn't find rabbits or deers in the wild.

This is really only true when you're talking about plants and animals in their natural habitats. White tailed deer in the USA have been naturally selected against eating poisonous plants that are common in the USA - but they haven't really been selected for invasives, foreign ornamentals. Livestock have very different selective pressures on them than wild animals - if a poisonous plant is growing in a sheep pasture, the plant is removed - it's too expensive to let flocks of sheep die until you find resistant sheep.

It doesn't take long on a livestock forum to find examples of livestock eating things they shouldn't, and getting extremely sick or dieing.

 

[MeganLee2004]

Hello! I'm in TX and a new chicken lady to 4 six week old ladies (2 Buff Orpington: Fluffy-butt & Prim; and 2 Bared Rocks: Pecka & Pebbles.) Our coop will be up this weekend (moving out of the big house and into Clucking-ham Palace!) but we want to have some natural sun shade with the use of trellis and fast growing vines with white flowers. We have a backyard wedding planned for next March and our coop is white with black hardware. Some of my favorites are: White Rosemary, Common White Jasmine Vine, Moonflower, Iceberg White Roses, & Climbing Sally Homes White Roses. We would also like to plant a White Profusion Butterfly Bush. Are all of these safe for my chickens, children, and dog? Thank you in advance!!!

 

[chooks4life]

White Profusion Butterfly Bush is considered safe for humans, dogs, cats, etc.

Roses in general are safe as well.

Rosemary is also safe unless the concentrated oil is consumed, which can cause miscarriages. Some sites say rosemary is toxic to cats and dogs but they don't appear reputable and the reputable sites say no such thing so I'd guess it's possibly a scapegoat in such cases. Sometimes blame just has to be laid somewhere.

The official stance is that in order to become toxified from rosemary the individual would need to consume an 'impossible' amount. Death from overconsumption till bursting point should be obvious to diagnose.

Moonflower --- if you mean Datura --- is extremely toxic to humans and animals. Mention that name anywhere and most people will probably tell you it's beautiful but destroy it for safety's sake. We did the same with ours. Far, far too dangerous. If you really want one for your wedding, I suggest borrowing a potted one and removing it afterwards, off the property, and keeping a really close eye on your kids and animals around it.

True Jasmine is considered safe by most sources for dogs, cats, humans, etc, but there are some relatives that are not so safe. You need a real ID on it, that needs the scientific name and identification by an expert, but even the potentially harmful forms are not anywhere near as much of a risk as compared to Datura. Jessamine is one you should avoid but otherwise it's fairly unclear.

So many plants share a common name that it's dangerous to use that alone. Especially because some plants can only be told apart by true experts and even then only at certain life stages.

Best wishes with your wedding.