Can Goats Eat Daisies?

Daisies are special types of weeds that look edible and palatable to eat. They can grow along with the vegetables in the garden. As such, you can be tempted to feed your goats with it; hence, can goats eat daisies?

It would help if you never allowed your goats to eat daisies as they contain toxic substances that affect their health. Examples of such harmful substances are alkaloids and Pyrethroids. Gat consumption of daisies can lead to a series of effects and possibly death.

In this post, I will explain what daisies are and why you shouldn’t allow your goats to feed on them.

Can Goats safely eat Daisies?

Daisies are edible-look-like plants that are categorized as weed plants. They grow along with your vegetables and often compete for nutrients with them.  

However, it has been observed that some goats feed on daisies, and nothing happens to them. This means that some goat breeds are resistant to daisies’ effects. This is not to say you shouldn’t be careful about what your goat feed on.

Daisies are harmful to goats because it contains alkaloids and Pyrethroids, which are toxic substances capable of causing diarrhea, oral irritation, watering poop, and stomach upset. It may be mild or severe, depending on the number of daisies consumed.

The funniest thing is that most daisies’ plants do not look harmful or poisonous. However, some species of goats have been observed to avoid daisies when they come across them in farmland or garden. This is because goats have the instincts to spot a poisonous plant; when they do that, they immediately avoid it.  

What Happens if Goats Consume Daisies?

Due to the instinct of goats as browsers, they tend to play around and feed on any plants they behold, and they may mistakenly feed on daisies during their little adventure. However, when this happens, try not to panic; you have to make a charcoal paste for them to feed on immediately.

When the effects are not subsiding, you should immediately take them to a veterinary doctor. Also, there are cases where the goat will not show any sign of illness. In this case, all you have to do is let them off into their penthouse and keep a close eye on them. After which, you prevent them from eating it again.

Does the scent of Daisies affect Goats?

It has been observed that some poisonous weeds have strong scents, which are capable of causing the same effects on the goats as when the goats feed on them.

However, with daisies, this is different. Daisies do not give out a strong scent, so nothing will happen to your goats if they smell it or walk past it without eating it. 

Does serving with other feed reduce the poison?

Perhaps you are a new goat owner and want to try out serving daisies with other feeds, or you have seen some goat owners doing it, and you want to replicate them. In this case, I want to inform you that serving edibles with poisonous plants is wrong.

In that case, daisies shouldn’t be served directly or indirectly with other feed to your goats. The edible feeds cannot stop diluting the toxins found in the daisies. The effects will remain the same as the goats feeding on it directly.

Effects of Daisies on Goats

The effects of daisies vary from one goat to another, depending on their body system. However, they are general signs showing that your goat has eaten something poisonous.

Some of the signs include:

  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Loss of appetite
  • Oral irritation
  • Vomiting
  • Tiredness
  • Excessive drooling
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Tremor

These signs can persist for days and possibly lead to death when not treated. Do remember to use the charcoal paste as first aid against daises. When symptoms are persistent after 24 hours, do consult a vet doctor.

How to prevent your Goats from eating Daisies

If your goats are free browsers that feed on unwatched vegetables, one of the measures to take is to remove all daisies plants on the field, garden, or farmland.

You can remove daisies either manually or through the use of pesticides or herbicides. Also, you can regularly check the fields, gardens, or farmland to see that no daisies can grow back.

Other poisonous plants your goats should not eat.

As a goat owner, you must know what plants your goats should eat and those poisonous plants they shouldn’t feed on. No goat owner will want to see their goats die or always fall ill as such; take this information very seriously.

Some of the poisonous plants your goats should never eat include:

  • Buttercup
  • Poison Hemlock
  • John’s wort
  • Tulips
  • Bracken fern
  • Grapevine
  • Boxwood
  • Flixweed
  • Fusha
  • Japanese yew
  • Chinaberry
  • And so many more.

Conclusion

Can Goats Eat Daises? The above explanation shows that daisies are poisonous plants that your goats should never eat. This is because Daises contain alkaloids and Pyrethroids, which are capable of causing your goats to fall ill and possibly die.

As a goat owner, you are responsible for preventing your goats from coming in contact with daises. One such method is never allowing daises to grow in your garden or farmland and using a controlled feeding mechanism.

I hope you loved and found this article interesting. For more interesting posts on Goat health, check out the posts below.

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