Large Animal Toxins:
- Lead (Old batteries, crankshaft oil, grease)
Symptoms: Blindness, staggering, bellowing, bloat, diarrhea
- Urea (Fertilizer, Open lick tanks)
Symptoms: Muscle tremors, wildly aberrant behavior (agitated, violent), bloat, inability to breathe, salivation, death within hours
- Insecticides (organophosphates, arsenicals, metaldehydes)
Symptom: Colic, diarrhea, muscle tremors, ‘sawhorse stance’, salivation, death from respiratory failure
Toxic Plants:
- Brackenfern
- Symptoms: Bleeding from body orifices (eyes, nose, insect bites), fever. Usually fatal within 1-3 days
- Wilted cherry
- Symptoms: Usually found dead, respiratory distress, bright red mucous membranes. Survival over 2-3 hours usually recover
- Jimsonweed
- Symptoms: Trembling, aggressive behavior, convulsions
- Milkweed
- Symptoms: Tremors, ataxia, increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate, collapse, death
- Oak buds, acorns
- Symptoms: Occur only after 75% of kidney cells non-functional. Weight loss, diarrhea, inappetance, death
- Poison hemlock
- Symptoms: Trembling, weak, slow heart rate, cold extremities, ataxis, coma and death
- Water hemlock
- Symptoms: Violent grand mal seizures, rapid pulse, respiratory rate, salivation, dilated pupils, coma, death often within 1-2 hours
- Rhododendron/Mountain Laurel
- Symptoms: Colic, bloat, diarrhea, mechanical obstruction, often death if untreated
- White Snakeroot
- Symptoms: Ataxia, inappetance, weak, fast heart rate
- Japanese Yew
- Symptoms: Death….usually found dead in pasture. Very small amount is deadly
- Pigweed
- Symptoms: symptoms similar to acorn toxicity. Diarrhea, down cows, bloat, weight loss
- Sweet Vernalgrass
- Symptoms: Very similar to a rat poison, weak, ataxic, pale mucous membranes, respiratory distress (internal bleeding), death if stressed
- Blue-Green Algae
- Symptoms: Acute death within minutes. Colic, bloody diarrhea, tremors, vomit, seizures, death. “Bloom” occurs in late summer during periods of extended heat. Usually see fish kill first.
