I have a potential buyer for a goat or two, and he is wondering if honeysuckle is poisonous to goats? Our goats haven't ever had access to it, so I don't know if it would make them sick or not. I wouldn't think so, but, if you can let me know, I'd appreciate it :)

Thanks.

-- Sarah Wilde (gilded_lily_1@yahoo.com), March 22, 2001

Answers

I hope it's ok. Mine have cleaned out an entire fenceline of the stuff since last October. I asked the extension agent, and I got a blank stare and shrugged shoulders. Ah, thanks a bunch USDA! I always have to laugh when someone advises contacting their extension agent with a question. Maybe Vickie will have a good word for you.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), March 22, 2001.

Mine like Melinda's love the stuff. Though I don't eat the leaves, I still will pick a flower and suck the stamen like I did when I was a kid! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 22, 2001.

people make tea out of the flowers.And there still here.I'm sure the goats can handle it. But I've seen goats get the vines wrapped around there necks and choke.So it might be a good idea to be around while they're eating it.

-- Steve (a12goat@cs.com), March 22, 2001.

Goats love it. If it would hurt them we would have multiple goat deaths around here. I compare it to asking if American humans like french fries... We call it goat candy.

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.com), March 22, 2001.

Are you asking about honeysuckle as in members of the Lonicera group? I had heard that some members (of course I cannot find the book that it was in at the moment) are toxic. I also have had columbine identified to me as honeysuckle and people saying honeysuckle was not poisonous based on the fact that what they were consuming was columbine.

I haven't been able to find any on-line information about Lonicera being poisonous, but some of that is notoriously inadequate. I tend to watch the local deer herd for some clues. One is that they don't eat Lonicera much. They especially leave the shrub type alone, although they have been snipping off tips on the Lonicera vines.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 22, 2001.

Hi,

Mine LOVE honeysuckle, can't keep enjoy the smell of the flowers as they devour it. Oh well... makes them smell sweet:):) There is a website for posinious plants, let me see if i can find it and i'll post it. It was through Cornell University, but can't locate it on my favorites right now.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 22, 2001.

It is my understanding that goats and deer are very similar in their eating habits(digestion too I think). When I lived in east Tx we often went spotlighting at night for varmint control(wild hogs make an absolute mess out of pastures) and we would often see deer. I enjoyed seeing all the different animals more than I was really serious about eliminating the hogs I'm afraid. In one area of the ranch we had a large fence row of honeysuckle. We were nearly guaranteed to see deer there. They love the stuff! I'd assume goats would be the same way. I've always heard that if it is safe for deer it is safe for goats. I can't confirm this but it does seem like a good rule of thumb.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), March 23, 2001.

Hope he doesn't have chooks!

http://www.manzanodragon.com/manzanovalley/cyberlibraryI/toxic.html

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 23, 2001.

Rogo's link is why I asked about the specifics of latin names. There are many things that go under a single name, and I have found Poisonous Plant sites that list Jack-o-Lanterns as poisonous too. Pumpkins are poisonous? THis is BIG news to me! Did they mean Jack- in-the-Pulpit? That's poisonous. Or maybe they meant Chinese Lanterns...

I am not sure because I am missing some critical books that are favourites that I don't know WHERE they got to, but something is kicking the back of my mind that Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) is bad. I know that it is listed as an invasive exotic that should be wiped out, but I am not sure if it is safe to let your goats do the work. This is why I am asking for latin names so that we know what we're all talking about here.

-- julie f. (Rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 23, 2001.

An old goat man I once met told me that Honeysuckle had 16% protein. Don't know if that's true. He said it was one of the best things they could eat. I planted some as a back up just in case. But I like the flowers so much I never feed it to them.

Pauline NC

-- Pauline (tworoosters_farm@altavista.com), March 23, 2001.

Julie F. here's Lonicera:

http://sis.agr.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=120&p_type=all&p_sci=sci&p_x=px

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 24, 2001.

Ok, for those of you playing along at home, that's Lonicera tartarian that is poisonous, and apparently Lonicera japonica is just an invasive weed (and goats would probably be a great way to control an infestation.) Best to check which kind of 'honeysuckle' you have.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 24, 2001.