Foxglove

[JoyAnna]

I understand that foxglove is toxic to ducks (and other beings), but I'm not sure what to do. My neighbor's field is over run with them, so of course they are coming up all over my place, everywhere I have stirred up the soil. In this same area, many other succulent plants such as dandelions, wild strawberries, mullein, etc. are growing and the ducks would just love these. Will they eat enough of the foxglove to hurt them, or will they instinctively maybe taste and then leave alone. Do I have to somehow try to pull all of them up? They are so beautiful when in bloom, but, of course the safety of my little gang is most important.

 

[veronicasmom]

I lost two ducks to nightshade poisoning several years ago. My ducks were fed well, had a huge area to roam in with many safe grasses and plants to eat. Two of them ate some of the nightshade that I didn't even know was growing there. They both got very ill and I had to have them euthanized. It broke my heart. I honestly would have thought with all that they had to eat and were fed they would have stayed away from what was toxic and would have eaten what was not.
So, I guess I'd recommend being safe rather than sorry.

 

[wackwack]

i have the same problem here, as i have lots of horses too, and goats as well as the ducks and foxgloves are deadly to all. 2 years ago i had none, then they felled a big forrest nearby and since then i am over run with foxgloves, i have sprayed some but they take quite a while to die and are probably still poisonous if not more so while dying, i find the easiest thing is to pull them. i have a lot of land and could spend a few hours today pulling them up and by next week there will be loads more... very annoying. they have small enough roots and are easy enough to pull up, but be careful, i had someone helping here a few weeks ago and she pulled some and left them in a pile (well out of reach of any animal) but she never picked them up.. they have all continued to grow and flower despite being pulled up and thrown in a pile, so i will have to burn them all

 

[Amiga]

It doesn't always work, but for largish areas, you could try solarizing with black plastic, then raking up the plant residue. There are nightshades that grow around here and I have spent quite a bit of time removing plants that could be toxic.

It is nice to think that ducks always know and do what is best for them, but that has not always been my experience.

I did not realize foxglove was that prolific. People pay for that plant around here.

 

[veronicasmom]

I had a few foxgloves growing when we first moved here. Thankfully, they did not spread. I pulled all the nightshade by hand. That was 3 years ago, I still look daily. Every once in a while I find some, but so far not much

 

[JoyAnna]

Thanks, all. I figured that would be you, answer so I'll add pulling foxglove to my list of chores. I'm also working on installing the perimeter fencing to keep ducks on the property and dogs out during the day. I will concentrate on the plants already in bloom to avoid any more seed falling. I wonder if it is safe to add the pulled plants to the compost, or is burning necessary? That lot next door is left, after being logged, to go wild, so this will probably be an ongoing battle.

Little did I know what was ahead when I brought these four ducklings home!