# eating bamboo???



## StellaLenoir (Apr 17, 2007)

:bgrin Our new mini Silver, who came home on Sat, wants to eat some wild bamboo that grows in our back yard. She mainly eats the new leaves. It is not in her yard, but I do give her access to the back yard some during the day because it is so near the house and us it makes her feel more a part of things. She REALLY likes to be in the back yard, we have a screen porch and I think she would come in if she could pull open the door.






I looked up at least 15 poison plant lists and not one had bamboo on it. Then I looked up bamboo and lots of sites listed cattle and horses as the number one pest for bamboo growers. It is a grass so .... is it ok? Anybody have any opinions, or experience? So far the few times she has gotten to it, she has had no ill effects.

She does have access to reg grass areas and hay in addition to her 2 or 3 meals a day. thank you!!!!!


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## wiccanz (Apr 17, 2007)

We have a number of bamboo hedges on our property, and all the stock like to eat the young shoots and sometimes the older leaves.

Seems to do the no harm


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## StellaLenoir (Apr 17, 2007)

Thank you for replying I am new to all this so I wanted a second (or more) opinion. Silver really seems to enjoy it. She looks like a magic forest horse when she stands in the bamboo very pretty



:


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## Warpony (Apr 17, 2007)

Hm... the only thing I could find about it through google was this:

http://www.lemen.com/qa213.html

I think I would call and ask my vet to be sure.


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## StellaLenoir (Apr 17, 2007)

Ok, I called my vet which refered me to Auburn U large animal hos, they said NO, bamboo is not toxic to horses.

I also have the number of U of Florida and will call them tomorrow. She does not have access to it all the time and if need be I will remove it. I hate it anyway. But if anyone has ever delt with bamboo it is almost impossible to get rid of. It even grows through the bottom of our pool. I think our neighbor planted it, in 50 years the whole South East US will probly be coverd just from this grove. It is so invasive!!

Thanks and anybody else with knowledge please let me know.


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## susanne (Apr 17, 2007)

StellaLenoir said:


> ...But if anyone has ever delt with bamboo it is almost impossible to get rid of. It even grows through the bottom of our pool. I think our neighbor planted it, in 50 years the whole South East US will probly be coverd just from this grove. It is so invasive!!


Not to worry...kudzu will soon overtake it!

Seriously though, my favorite toxic plant website is now limited to veterinarians...you might ask your vet if he/she would access this site for you: http://www.ivis.org/

They have the most extensive toxic plant list I have found, one that dwarfs Cornell and most of the others.

However, the other toxic plant sites I have bookmarked did not show bamboo in general to be toxic. Cowboy Bob may be confusing regular bamboo with Heavenly Bamboo, which is actually NOT a bamboo at all. It is, however, toxic.

Since there are many, many different bamboo from different species, you would be wise to take a branch to a good, knowledgeable plant nursery (NOT a home garden center) and learn what variety you have, and write down the botanical name.

Check also with your county extension agent.

When it comes to the safety of your animals, make certain that you have both the common name and the botanical name for the plant. Common names are often used for very different plants. For example, poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a deadly herbaceous plant, whereas Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is a safe evergreen tree that. And once again, what is known as Heavenly Bamboo is not a bamboo at all, LOL.


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## lilmiraclesfarm (Apr 17, 2007)

Ah, I just love having bamboo in my yard. It grows so quickly and its always green through the winter. My horses love the stuff. Its so funny when I just let the horses out in the yard and I'll look out and all I see are butts. They bury themselves right into the stuff.


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## Shari (Apr 18, 2007)

My Icelandic has eaten my Bamboo for years..no harm has come to her because of it.

People eat the young shoots. It is really high in fiber.

Honestly do not think it is a problem for horses to eat it.

What Susanne said is very true and she gave very good advise.


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