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Discussion on How poisonous is early growth of dock weed (Rumex ssp.)?
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Member:
Kg6hdp
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 5, 2006 - 10:40 pm:
My donkey that is recovering from founder had a recent mild lameness episode that was probably a mild founder. I have her confined to her stall. Of my other three donkeys, two now have diarrhea. I haven't changed the hay or my feeding regimen. We did have a half inch of rain in the last two weeks, but the grass isn't sprouting yet. I inspected the field, and the only green I can see is a tiny weed which appears to be curly dock. If I dug them all up in the one acre field, they would easily fit in a small plastic bag. They are hard to find though as they are so sparse.
The donkeys don't seem to be bothered by the mature dock, and it's often a weed in baled hay. Apparently, dock can be a problem with cattle and sheep as it contains oxalates. I'm wondering if the early growth could be more toxic.
Has anyone had experience with curly dock poisoning?
Last year, they had access to the same field with even more weeds at the same time of year, and I had no problems.
Nancy
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Nov 6, 2006 - 7:39 am:
Hello Nancy,
I have never heard of horses poisoned by dock and neither oxalates or nitrates have diarrhea as a primary symptom.
DrO
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Member:
Jojo15
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Posted on Monday, Nov 6, 2006 - 8:11 am:
nancy, in my neck of the woods, i don't see the same things year in and out. Sometimes, the weed stays dormant for years that might be in question, and the weather is what brings it out. Truly odd.
I have lived here for 3 years now. Never once saw Eastern black nightshade before, and just this year it was all over the place. The soil, weather, rain, humidity changes all took place to make this weed grow...And i'm noticing other kinds of stuff too, i've never seen before. It's not enough to check the land once a year...
Are they eating anything dead? Or did you mow recently and let them out on the pasture? i wonder if just the same thought as above the weather changes make for a richer pasture they just aren't used to..
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Member:
Jojo15
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Posted on Monday, Nov 6, 2006 - 8:15 am:
https://www.safergrass.org/
here's a good site that might have some references for you.
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Member:
Kg6hdp
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Posted on Monday, Nov 6, 2006 - 10:32 pm:
This is a color photo of the most lush grass in the field, and most of the field is dirt. Today, I closed off a small section of the field, and after the next rain I'll check what grows. Perhaps what caused the problem was already eaten. Outside the field, the only green plants are morning glories and curly dock, and the morning glories are mature plants. I didn't see morning glories in the field as the donkeys ate them up in June.
My hay was delivered on October 22, and I switched to the new hay slowly. It's a good quality, first cutting orchard grass which may have some timothy. The hay (almost 4 tons) is all from the same farmer. Some of the bales are heavier, with a slightly different texture, which might be timothy.
The only donkey I have that can eat anything and be fine is my elderly insulin resistant gelding with cushings. He is on Pergolide though.
I'm afraid to let the donkey that foundered out of her stall, and she's tearing up my barn. I'm worried that she'll eat something and founder again. My vet says her heels are too high, so maybe her recent lameness episode was not from something she ate. The vet has been out of town and his partner has jury duty, so maybe he'll return my call tomorrow.
Nancy
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 7, 2006 - 4:35 pm:
boy, I'd personally be surprised if thee was enough of anything there to cause a problem.
We have a wild morning glory here that I've been told is poisonous, but I don't know how poisonous or if it grows in your "neck of the woods." You might check with your local farm bureau extension office or on a site like the Colorado State U. site.
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Member:
Warwick
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 7, 2006 - 5:20 pm:
Sara, we have lots of morning glory here and I've read that it's very toxic. Causes intestinal paralysis if I recall correctly. It's hard as hell to get rid of as apparently the root system can carry on for incredible distances underground. So you kill it in one spot and it pops up in another. Luckily horses don't seem to be too attracted to it although I did catch Alnwick romping around the field this summer trailing a huge vine of it as his new playtoy. It didn't appear that he had ingested any although I did call the vet to let her know what he'd been up to and she was a bit horrified.
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Member:
Kg6hdp
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 7, 2006 - 7:38 pm:
The wild morning glory is also called bindweed, and it's a terrible problem at my place. My orchard is organic, and I use the manure as fertilizer. I can't use Roundup, which is what most people use when it first sprouts. I'm experimenting with some "organic" herbicides.
My donkeys love bindweed, and I'm sure that's what caused one of Jet's founder episodes. The others don't seem to be bothered by it. The seeds and perhaps the leaves are hallucinogenic.
The vet thinks the hay may be too high a quality for the donkeys. It's lovely green hay and smells great. He said to inspect each flake for any legumes, but I haven't seen any. He didn't think it was anything in the field at the moment, but that I do have to be diligent.
I let the foundered donkey out of her stall after I talked to the vet. She's a happy camper now, and I've reduced her Bute to once a day.
Here's a picture of Jet in better days...
Nancy
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 7, 2006 - 7:50 pm:
Ahhh, Nancy, she's so cute!
Yes, it's called Bindweed by some people here, too. It's a real pain. It looks really pretty climbing all over the fences, but is almost impossible to get rid of.
Nancy, if you find something that will get rid of it without being poisonous to animals, please let me know!
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 8, 2006 - 8:07 am:
She's darling, Nancy. Love those ears! I hope she feels better soon.
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Member:
Kg6hdp
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Posted on Tuesday, Dec 5, 2006 - 10:15 pm:
I tried the herbicidal soap on various plants a few days ago. The product killed the dock, the morning glories, and other weeds that I sprayed. It didn't kill some weedy grass though. I don't think I'd let my donkeys in an area I'd sprayed for a few days, but it's supposed to be safe to use near vegetables. The brand name is Weed-Aside and it is made for Gardens Alive--https://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=8206
Nancy
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Member:
Peggyr1
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 6, 2006 - 9:06 am:
Nancy, thanks for the product info. I must have missed this post originally and wanted to say Jet is beautiful! I've raised a number of black donkeys with the white points but I've never been able to get a Jenny, always boys!
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