creeping buttercup--how bad?

473 Views 3 Replies 2 Participants Last post by littleheathens, 11 mo ago

shawhaw

Discussion Starter · 11 mo ago

Hi all,
We are new goat owners (two wethers) and before we set up their pen, we checked to make sure no bad plants/shrubs were on there. unfortunately, none of the lists we looked at included creeping buttercup. so when one of our goats started having loose stools (not full diarrhea, but more like mini cow pies), i started googling each shrub in the pen and found that creeping buttercup can be bad. we found a good amount in there and i started pulling it all out as much as possible, either by physically pulling it out or mowing it down. because there's lots of other stuff for them in the pen (grass, blackberry, willow) they've largely been avoiding the buttercup that's left, but I'm wondering a) how bad it is that there's some left and b) if it could be responsible for the upset stomach. For what it's worth, other than the poops, his appetite and mood are totally fine.
Thanks for any advice

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littleheathens

· #2 · 11 mo ago

It's probably not the buttercup. With all the other good snacks, they may be avoiding it. I try to keep the undesirables from spreading (so, usually cut at budding or flowering).

It's more likely, if they are new to you, they have loose stools because their immune systems take a hit from relocation. Try immune boosters and keep charcoal on hand in case they get into anything toxic. You can run a fecal to see if there is a parasite you should be treating, and check FAMACHA.

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shawhaw

Discussion Starter · #3 · 11 mo ago

littleheathens said:
It's probably not the buttercup. With all the other good snacks, they may be avoiding it. I try to keep the undesirables from spreading (so, usually cut at budding or flowering).

It's more likely, if they are new to you, they have loose stools because their immune systems take a hit from relocation. Try immune boosters and keep charcoal on hand in case they get into anything toxic. You can run a fecal to see if there is a parasite you should be treating, and check FAMACHA.

Thank you so much, that's a relief to hear. Do you use charcoal powder (we got some just in case) or something else?

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littleheathens

· #4 · 11 mo ago

Any activated charcoal- there's a universal antidote paste that you can buy. I'd say it is probably more economical than capsules (and faster to administer than powder) but the chances of needing it might be slim, and then the chances of it saving your livestock is great.

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