Plants and feed toxic to livestock
Learn about common toxic plants and how to prevent, diagnose and manage poisoning in cattle and other livestock.
Ingesting toxic plants and unsuitable feed supplements such as bread (or grains in small ruminants) can cause serious health problems for livestock.
Often, the greatest risk is when you have moved animals to a new paddock, or during drought when pastures are poor and food is scarce.
The best prevention is to eliminate weeds from your property. Treatment is not always successful (or possible) and can be very expensive.
Types of toxic plants
Bracken fern
Bracken fern affects the bone marrow leading to clotting disorders, blood loss and reduced immunity. It can also cause cancer, predominantly in cattle.
Bracken fern poisoning can occur if an animal has eaten bracken over two to four weeks.
The plant is most toxic when it is young with tender shoots.
There is no effective treatment for bracken fern toxicity.
Lantana
There are more than 30 colour forms of Lantana.
Lantana poisoning is generally associated with ingestion of the orange/red flowering plants rather than the lighter pink flowering variety, however all are toxic.
Ingestion of lantana causes liver damage and successful treatment depends on how much has been consumed and over what timeframe.
Death can occur anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks after ingestion.
Plant type | Lantana | |||||||
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Scientific name | Lantana camara | |||||||
Appearance | Toxic forms include:
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Distribution and habitat | Coastal and subcoastal Queensland and NSW, on a range of soil types and forest types | |||||||
Toxic to | Ruminants | |||||||
Poisoning circumstances | When cattle are introduced to unfamiliar surroundings containing the plant or during droughts or floods when regular feed is sparse | |||||||
Clinical signs |
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How to treat |
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How to prevent and control |
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Poison peach
This inconspicuous plant causes acute liver damage (periacinar necrosis).
Most animals die within 2 or 3 days of ingesting it.
Native plant nurseries often stock it.
Plant type | Poison peach | |||||||
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Scientific name | Trema tomentosa | |||||||
Apppearance |
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Toxic to | Ruminants, horses, deer and camels | |||||||
Toxin | Trematoxin, a glycoside of unknown composition | |||||||
Distribution and habitat |
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Poisoning circumstances |
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Clinical signs | Most animals show symptoms on day 2 or 3 after exposure and die within 3 days:
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Pathology |
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How to treat | No known effective treatments; although cattle sometimes eat it without ill effect, always regard it as potentially poisonous | |||||||
How to prevent and control | Deny access |
Wild tobacco
There are many species of poisonous wild tobacco, including devil’s apple and boxthorn.
These plants cause intense abdominal discomfort, severe diarrhoea and sometimes death.
Plant type | Wild tobacco | |||||||
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Scientific name | Solanum mauritianum | |||||||
Appearance |
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Toxic to | Livestock | |||||||
Distribution and habitat |
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Poisoning circumstances | Birds and flying foxes spread seeds | |||||||
Clinical signs |
Intoxicated animals sometimes die within a short time while others can recover | |||||||
How to prevent and control |
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