Washingtonians

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: Yup I had to feed the kitty cause I broke down (nothing major) and had to be towed 3+ miles on the sand.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: OK just give some notice so I can get time off. Let me know what time of day.

 

[TerrorBird]

Are they just eating the leaves? Maybe it's the flowers that have the digitalis in them. Or, maybe digitalis doesn't affect chickens.....

The whole plant is toxic and I've heard other people saying that their birds have had problems with foxgloves. I think my girls are just nuts.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
I just wanted to say I LOVE your avi. That bird is gorgeous!

 

[itsren]

Well I just heard in the beginning that chickens won't eat the stuff that is bad for them and not to worry about it. I might be wrong, but my girls also eat foxglove out of our out of control weed garden "wildflower garden" all the time and they seem fine. Poops are normal and they're growing. I don't think everything you read is always accurate, so I'd wait and see if they get diarrhea or keel over before tearing out the foxglove

In humans, foxglove will slow the heart, cause an irregular heartbeat and can cause convulsions. My grandfather, a cousin, my mom and myself have all taken beta blocker drugs that have been manufactured from the Foxglove plant. It is highly toxic. It messes with the heart.

How long have your chickens been eating Foxglove? Prior to your giving them the meds, were they eating it?

Cowlitz County has a PDF file that talks about plants that are highly toxic to livestock. Foxglove can be found on page 3. http://www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/noxious...e to Plants Toxic to Horses and Livestock.pdf

ETA: Oops... page 3 if you look at the page numbers on the bottom of the page.

 

[SusanRenee]

Muhhhahha! So good with sharing!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
I'll have to read that tomorrow but now you've piqued my interest! They *could* have been eating Foxglove before, but I don't know that they were. It's all over the garden but the sneezing began before they ever ventured that far away from the coop and run. They used to stay super close to the coop, never going further than the bridge. I only just caught them in the garden about 3 weeks ago and they'd been sneezing long before then. Perhaps we'll burn out all the foxglove this year though and make sure not to let any come back next spring. Thanks!

 

[itsren]

Just another comment on Foxglove... in Washington, it is considered a noxious weed and is supposed to be destroyed. I know... it's pretty, but, I'm sure the state has it's reasons for classifying it as such.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Just another comment on Foxglove... in Washington, it is considered a noxious weed and is supposed to be destroyed. I know... it's pretty, but, I'm sure the state has it's reasons for classifying it as such.

Well in part, I totally agree. That stuff spreads like wildfire! We're fairly new to this house, moved in April 2011 just over a year ago. Last year there were a few foxglove plants. This year without any help at all on our part, dozens and dozens of plants grew up. It is pretty, but I kinda want it gone now.

 

[TerrorBird]

I just wanted to say I LOVE your avi. That bird is gorgeous!

Thanks! Muffet is my favorite baby. I have two australorps and a black star, but my barred rock is the best. This batch of kids turned out to be terribly sweet.