[AlpacaTalk] Re: Wild Cherry
Hi,
I would have someone from your local cooperative extension come out
to identify the trees and whether there is anything else toxic in
the pasture. I believe it is only one type of cherry that is poison,
the wilted leaves have high concentrations of cyanide. The fruit
itself isn't toxic, but the pit may be.
I have one cherry on my land, and, since I can't cut it down and I'm
not sure what type it is (the deer sure love it and it hasn't killed
them...) I am fencing around it as wide as its canopy and I cut all
the low branches. I figure this way the fruit will fall in the
fenced area, as will most of the leaves. I will also not use that
pasture in the autum when leaves are falling, but can open it up
again once I rake any stray leaves.
Good luck!
Morgen Bowers
Dreamwood Farm
Claverack, NY
--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
>
>
>
>
>
> I know Wild Cherry is toxic. Does anyone know the details? I
know it
> is the wilted leaves and the bark from what I have read. I have
done
> an inventory of my wooded pastures and discovered to my dismay
they are
> full of huge, tall mature wild cherries that are currently thick
with
> the cherries, which of course are dropping in the pastures. I
have
> never noticed this before, but then I have noticed a lot of wild
fruit
> trees bearing this year that have never borne fruit before. I
believe
> there is a panicked survival mode happening around here due to our
> extended drought. Are the cherries toxic as well? Surely not.
>
> I have had an estimate done on removing these trees......$
I
> don't have that kind of money and would have to get rid of the
alpacas I
> have, before I could spend that kind of money. And I have no
other
> place, without cherry trees, to move them. I only have 4 left
having
> buried 2 breeding adults last year and numerous premature babies
over
> the past several years :-(. I guess I now know why all the
premature
> births - wild cherry? And I can only guess they are also the
cause of
> my two adult deaths. The stud male I had an autopsy done on and
was
> merely told he had some sort of intestional obstruction. He was
fine in
> the morning, dead by night, after much obvious distress for which
the
> vet could apparently do nothing. The female, I did not even know
was
> pregnant, was just dead in the pasture one morning with a nearly
dead
> baby a ways off from her. I managed to keep that baby alive only
about
> 4-5 days. He seemed fairly strong and would drink from the
bottle, but
> he had some sort of deformity on one of his front feet that made
it hard
> for him to get around. He went downhill one night and was dead by
the next.
>
> The male died in the winter when I suppose it is possible he was
eating
> the dead leaves off the ground. I have seen many of them eating
the
> dead leaves......
summer's
> most brutal heat wave. She was fine the day before, but didn't
eat
> dinner, and was dead by morning. The trees are so tall they
cannot
> reach their leaves, so I do not believe she was eating anything
from
> these trees.
>
> These wild cherries are absolutely everywhere around here. If
they are
> so toxic how do wild life manage to survive? A walk thru revealed
that
> the horse pasture is full of them.....still in the bushy stage
which I
> am cutting out myself. The horses are not touching them.
>
> What brought my attention to this whole situation was one of the
alpacas
> had pulled down a sapling and they had stripped it of its leaves,
so I
> didn't recognize what it was. I had it cut out one day as it was
> hanging in my way, and saw the alpacas crowd around acting like
kids in
> an ice cream store. They were gnawing on the little branches left
> behind and literally sucking up the sawdust off the ground from
where it
> had been cut like it was candy and I panicked. I got them away
and
> quickly cleaned up what was left.
>
> Hence my dilemma.....
them
> (the trees) out of there without creating more hazard from the
sawdust
> and also wild cherry is a weed that will sprout forevermore from
the
> stump left behind. One of the tree services that came out to give
me an
> estimate said to pour concrete all over all the stumps, when I
told him
> I wouldn't want to use an herbicide around the alpacas. How awful
that
> would be.
>
> Do you think this is really what has been causing all my premature
> births and deaths?
>
> Thanks! Janice
>
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posted by Chaddo at 7:22 AM
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