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Watch out for poisonous plants in pasturesBy Randy Buhler CSU Cooperative Extension, Logan County agent, agronomy Colorado Soil temperatures have warmed enough to start spring plant growth in earnest. Some of our early to green up plants are also poisonous plants. Poison hemlock, cocklebur, Riddell groundsel, locoweed, larkspur, and some of the mustard family members cause acute to chronic health problems in livestock and horses. Each spring, one to several people in Logan County experience loss of livestock due to plant poisoning. Horses are no longer livestock in the United States since the Humane Society of the United States succeeded in eliminating all horse slaughter. For our purposes, we will still include horses as livestock in this article. Each livestock species has unique physiological reactions to the chemicals naturally found in plants. Some livestock may be perfectly healthy grazing on a noxious weed like leafy spurge, while others get ill or avoid the plant. Some plants are too toxic for unwary livestock to get a second chance. Contrary to the anti-chemical crowd sound bite of 'no chemicals in natural food', plants are veritable chemical factories. Each species produces chemical compounds that promote life and health, protect from free radical damage (anti-oxidants), or protect from attack by disease organisms, insects, herbivores, or other plants. For horse owners, a new publication is available to help you prevent poison plant problems. The publication is Colorado's Poisonous Menace. The booklet contains information about diagnosing poisoned horses and identifying the troublesome weeds that cause these problems. The Boulder County Horse Association sponsored the publication in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado State University Extension, and Dr. Anthony Knight from the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The free publication is available from your local weed district, extension office, or by ordering from the Boulder County Horse Association. BCHA has a website at www.boulderhorse.org. Livestock owners should inspect their pasture prior to turning animals out to graze for the first time this season. Lack of available grass and presence of poisonous weeds is good reason to delay putting animals on that pasture. When sufficient grass is available, most livestock will not ingest enough poisonous plant material to suffer injury, illness, or death. Another good practice is to feed the livestock prior to releasing them into the pasture, so they do not put their heads down and gobble any green shoot they find. Animals are self-regulating when they have a choice and are not hungry for any feed they find. This character protects them from consuming undesirable or poisonous plants under normal grazing activity. Information, prior inspection, and caution can help you avoid the costly event of animal poisoning this spring. 4/28/08 Date: 4/23/08
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