Ok, so I am using my goats as brush goats to cut down on the whole hay issue (no money, 25 acres of brush, $2.00 per bale for hay). They especially like poison ivy. And I have loads of it. What happens to the urusiol present in the poison ivy when they eat it? Does it get excreted? Or is it in the milk? Can you get poison ivy internally from it? I know when they eat certain weeds they milk tastes bizarre (make cheese/add lots of Italian herbs :>) Thanks for any info

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), June 14, 2001

Answers

Hi,

I got every summer poision ivy on my arms form hand milking my does, used to dred summer coming. But here they don't get in it as they are in smaller pens and pastures. We're in Ar now. i have read in some old countrysides that it can be transmitted, there was an article about this guy who drank the goat milk to build up and immunity to it. But we drank the milk from the does who got into it and didn't have any problems. Maybe someone else can give a more definitive answer. I lost all my saved information on the hard drive of my last computer that crashed and had this type of info on it. Hope this helps a little.

Bernice Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), June 15, 2001.

My goats ate lots of it when we made a runway last summer for them to clean off the fencerow between the horse pasture and the yard. They cleaned up the fence real good, we and the dogs drank all the milk and it was fine. I believe it helps build up an immunity to it.

-- Cindy in KY (solid_rock_ranch@yahoo.com), June 15, 2001.

I have no first hand knowledge of it being transfered in the milk, but I have to say that my husband and I used to get it all the time before we had the goats. They eat the heck out of it so maybe we are building up an immunity. I wash with fels napha soap up to my elbows after each milking as I used to get it from handling the goats.

-- diane (gardiacaprine@yahoo.com), June 15, 2001.

I know the gals can carry it on their hair to infect folks, my vet, who is highly allergic to it, wears long sleeves when working with my goats. But I also know my husband will simply not drink goats milk this time of the year, he insists that it gives him a rash (where the sun doesn't shine :). I am not allergic to it. Though we have lots of poison ivy, we have found our first clump of poison oak this year. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), June 15, 2001.

milk from goats that have ate it,, is supossed to be an old time cure/ preventitave

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), June 18, 2001.