# Chrysanthemums??



## supermom (Feb 24, 2009)

Can feeding mum petals hurt a goat? My friend's Nigie has barely eaten in 2 months. It all started after she fed her some mum petals....just a few. SHe had just finished a round of antibiotics for a uterine infection after kidding a freaky dead kid. I saw the doe tonight and she is down to skin and bones. Her owner has done all she knows to do. She simply won't take more than a couple bites of anything. She has tried to coax her to eat with anything she can find. She has taken her to the vet. She has given supplements. It's not making any sense. The goat seems depressed. She walks around. She will nibble at stuff, but a couple bites is all. She can't last much longer. Anytime now it looks like her heart could just stop because she is so feeble. I would go ahead and put her down now, but they are not ready. 

Anyway..... I have been looking up chrysanthemums. They are on the toxic lists, but I haven't found anything specific to goats about their toxicity. Just wondering if anyone has had a bad experience with mums. Could a mildly toxic plant affect a goat worse if the goat had just finished a round of antibiotics? I thought maybe her immune system was down at that time, but I might be confused as to how antibiotics actually work.


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

I'm not sure on the chrysanthemums but I would recommend a rumen transfer and some b vitamin shots. Im sure someone with more info will come along.


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

What has her vet said about it?


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Chrysanthemums contain pyrethrum which is a strong insecticide. It attacks the nervous system of insects and kills them. It should be less toxic to mammals. A few petals really shouldn't affect a goat and since I believe the poison is mainly in the seeds (oily parts) of the plant, I wonder if the goat possibly had access to more mums that you think, or if something completely different is going on with this doe and the fact that it coincided with your friend feeding her a few petals could be completely coincidental. 

Uterine infections can be awful and it sounds to me that it would be more likely that that's what's ailing this doe. Two months is a long time to still fix stuff and you didn't describe what all has been done for this doe. Next time with a uterine infection make sure to use banamine beside your antibiotics, since apart from it's anti-inflammatory and fever reducing effects, it's also an anti-toxic (severe ilnesses can induce toxicity in an animal without any poison being around!). 

On the workings of antibiotics: they fight bacterial infections, They do not help against toxins or viral infections at all.


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## supermom (Feb 24, 2009)

She's tried everything she can...... except the C&D Antitoxin. We didn't think at the time that the mum petals could have been the culprit, but late last night she told me she also had eaten some leaves. In the beginning I had googled chrysanthemums and goats, but found very little. Last night I looked up "animals" and chrysanthemums and found a lot more. Dermatitis is #1, then digestive issues, and depression...if they eat enough of it. We didn't think she had eaten that much, but she was losing a huge amount of hair when this started. My friend kept telling me that, but we didnt' know it was a symptom. She has acted very depressed the whole time, and during the first couple weeks she had a sick stomach. The vet thought it was bloat and gave her oil. If it was still a uterine infection, you would think the vet would have figured that out since he had treated her for that just 3 weeks earlier. 

Anyway....I don't think we will ever know for sure and I think it's probably too late. If it were a toxin, would 2 months later be too late to give it? They have spent so much money trying different remedies that they aren't sure they should spend another $40 on anti-toxin if it's probably not going to turn her around. She really looks bad and is feeble. If the chances were very good the anti-toxin would fix her, then they would do it. 

I knew the antibiotics would not help with a toxin, but.....could they possibly cause her body less able to fight off a toxin? Weakened her immune system? I thought perhaps a few petals and leaves may have not affected a 100% goat, but because she was just getting over something else....she was less able to fight the toxin.

Well, thank you for your input. I wish it was easier to figure these goats out!


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