Poisonings in Alpacas Part 2 - Garden Plants and Garden Escapes
By Elizabeth Paul - Erewhon Alpacas 2021
Alpacas, more so than other large livestock, are regularly brought into barns, or closer to the house garden with temporary yarding. They are more at risk of accidental poisoning from ea�ng garden shrubs, vegetable patches, or accessing toxic chemicals stored in the barn. Owners should be able to iden�fy the plants in their house gardens, and ensure that their alpacas do not have access to the garden, the vegetable patch or the compost/rubbish heap. Fence lines should be inspected to ensure that trees and shrubs from neighbouring proper�es overhanging their laneways or eg new border plan�ngs/hedges, are not likely to be toxic. However the most common cause of accidental poisoning in alpacas is garden clippings thrown over the fence. Owners need to make it crystal clear to everyone who lives/works/ arrives on their property, that NO garden clippings/lawn mowings/garden cleanup or kitchen waste of any kind are to be thrown over the fence to their alpacas. OLEANDER - common oleander, rose laurel Nerium oleander Family Apocynaceae
Oleander This common garden plant has been responsible for more alpaca deaths than almost anything else. It is lethal from only one leaf or a couple of flowers and should not be grown on any livestock property, as the chance of accidental poisoning is too high. One breeder lost a large number of females in one group when oleander clippings were thrown over the fence during a garden cleanup while they were away. Another breeder put alpacas into a paddock with an uniden�fied oleander tree, with inevitable results. Note that oleander wood dust and smoke are toxic, so oleander should not be burnt off, and the sap will contaminate water supplies so it cannot be thrown down the creek either. It is advisable to wear gloves, long sleeves and goggles when cu�ng it down. The roots must also be dug up otherwise it will sucker again, and all material should be bagged and disposed of, away from the property. If taking alpacas to another property, eg stud males, inspect yarding and proximity to overhanging shrubs before unloading them. There are no second chances with oleanders. Related Species - the houseplant Desert Rose (Adenium), frangipani, Theve�a or yellow oleander and the common garden groundcover blue/white periwinkle (Vinca ).
Mul�stemmed shrub with pink, white, red, apricot or yellow flowers smooth greyish stems and long pointed olive green leaves with prominent midvein. See Pic above. 39
