Plant poisoning in goats

Abstract

As herbivores goats are at risk of plant poisoning. Poisoning may occur if goats are accidentally fed plant cuttings or through contamination of feed, but as goats are agile and inquisitive they can escape from their enclosure and encounter poisonous plants in gardens or woodland. They may also eat plants they would normally avoid if other forage is unavailable. Poisoning with plants containing grayanotoxins (Pieris and Rhododendron species) or cyanogenic glycosides (e.g cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus) is very common in goats. Other plants that have caused poisoning in goats include yew (Taxus species), oak (Quercus species), hemlock (Conium maculatum), leylandii (× Hesperotropsis leylandii), box (Buxus sempervirens) and plants containing cardiac glycosides such as oleander (Nerium oleander) or pyrrolizidine alkaloids such as ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). Sudden death is frequently the first sign of plant toxicosis in livestock. Management of plant poisoning in goats is supportive including removal from exposure, and providing analgesia, rehydration and potentially a rumenotomy for plant exposure in valuable animals.