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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
Sena wrote:
You don't happen to know of anything other than those little black catterpillars that eats that tall yellow stuff horses mustn't have, do you? Ragwort... and no. That'll be Cinnabar moth caterpillars... the moth itself is day-flying and very pretty.... bright cerise and black. http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...d_freshwater/T yria_jacobaeae/ARK013988.html?size=medium The caterpillars are yellow & black striped, like Tigger. -- Sue Pendragon Hamstery Portsmouth, Hampshire UK --http://www.pendragonhams.com-- |
#4
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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
said...
Sena wrote: You don't happen to know of anything other than those little black catterpillars that eats that tall yellow stuff horses mustn't have, do you? Ragwort... and no. That's the one! I knew it, but the name just wouldn't come to me. That'll be Cinnabar moth caterpillars... the moth itself is day-flying and very pretty.... bright cerise and black. They're gorgeous, aren't they. They don't seem to actually eat the plant - or if they do they're not very thorough. My main concern is that the (almost) feral rabbit will develop a taste for the stuff. I assume that so far he hasn't, as he's still very much with us... http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...d_freshwater/T yria_jacobaeae/ARK013988.html?size=medium The caterpillars are yellow & black striped, like Tigger. Tigger was a caterpillar?? -- To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @ where common sense dictates. |
#5
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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
Sena wrote:
Ragwort... and no. That's the one! I knew it, but the name just wouldn't come to me. That'll be Cinnabar moth caterpillars... the moth itself is day-flying and very pretty.... bright cerise and black. They're gorgeous, aren't they. They don't seem to actually eat the plant - or if they do they're not very thorough. My main concern is that the (almost) feral rabbit will develop a taste for the stuff. I assume that so far he hasn't, as he's still very much with us... Ah... you might want to watch out for that. From what I know, it's a cumulative poison stored in the liver, so even though your bunny is still ok now, one day out of the blue he might not be -- Sue Pendragon Hamstery Portsmouth, Hampshire UK --http://www.pendragonhams.com-- |
#6
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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
EastneyEnder wrote:
Sena wrote: Ragwort... and no. That's the one! I knew it, but the name just wouldn't come to me. That'll be Cinnabar moth caterpillars... the moth itself is day-flying and very pretty.... bright cerise and black. They're gorgeous, aren't they. They don't seem to actually eat the plant - or if they do they're not very thorough. My main concern is that the (almost) feral rabbit will develop a taste for the stuff. I assume that so far he hasn't, as he's still very much with us... Ah... you might want to watch out for that. From what I know, it's a cumulative poison stored in the liver, so even though your bunny is still ok now, one day out of the blue he might not be Here we go again. I have posted several times about this but it needs doing again I see, No actually it isn't s poison that is stored in the liver. The damage is cumulative but the poison disappears. There is actually very very little risk from ragwort at all. It can cause poisoning in very very rare cases but that is usually caused by it being present in hay. There are a whole series of thresholds before any damage is done at all so, contrary to what you may have read, small doses have no effect at all. I know that there is a lot of stuff around telling you that Ragwort is dangerous but it all comes from a few dodgy sources who have been publicising it for their own interests. It is almost a classic example of how to deceive people with bad science. Since I got interested in this I have spent a lot of time checking scientific papers to get at the truth. Some of the bad science has even got repeated in government press releases! For more details on the science see http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ There is little risk to animals like rabbits and Guinea pigs for unless it is dried it tastes and smells so awful to them that they won't touch it. In fact one of the signs that a place is being overgrazed, by rabbits or anything else, is that ragwort its growing there in abundance. The moth is gorgeous and the website debunks a myth about that too, but it isn't the only thing that depends on this plant. Neil Jones http://www.butterflyguy,com/ |
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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
Neil Jones wrote: [...] Here we go again. I have posted several times about this but it needs doing again I see, No actually it isn't s poison that is stored in the liver. The damage is cumulative but the poison disappears. There is actually very very little risk from ragwort at all. It can cause poisoning in very very rare cases but that is usually caused by it being present in hay. There are a whole series of thresholds before any damage is done at all so, contrary to what you may have read, small doses have no effect at all. I know that there is a lot of stuff around telling you that Ragwort is dangerous but it all comes from a few dodgy sources who have been publicising it for their own interests. It is almost a classic example of how to deceive people with bad science. Since I got interested in this I have spent a lot of time checking scientific papers to get at the truth. Some of the bad science has even got repeated in government press releases! For more details on the science see http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ There is little risk to animals like rabbits and Guinea pigs for unless it is dried it tastes and smells so awful to them that they won't touch it. In fact one of the signs that a place is being overgrazed, by rabbits or anything else, is that ragwort its growing there in abundance. The moth is gorgeous and the website debunks a myth about that too, but it isn't the only thing that depends on this plant. As a sometimes enthusiastic revisionist about many things, I agree it's an interesting site; but it doesn't seem to quote very many papers, and it certainly doesn't deny the toxicity of these plants. You don't want them in hay or silage. I wasn't at all cheered by reading that some unnamed scientific hooligans only managed to kill 75% of a sample of cattle by feeding them 0.6% of their body weight of fresh ragwort a day for 20 days: in the dried form, that would be quite a small amount -- perhaps something like the volume of a packet or two of tea -- and might well escape the stockman's detection. The way the result was quoted represented the dose as very large, and appeared to be an attempt at reassurance. I was struck by the quoted findings of a US study on the seed dispersal of one species (it didn't say, but I assume it was only a single species). It seemed the results of the study were being called in evidence to suggest that there was no need to worry much about ragwort populations on waste ground catastrophically "infecting" cultivated areas: my intuitive sense is that that's right, as long as neighbouring areas are well managed. Of course people shouldn't panic about the ragworts; but they _are_ toxic, and they aren't endangered, so getting them out is generally a good idea, especially in fodder crops. Even if one has no susceptible stock, I think it's reasonable to be a good neighbour to others, especially if any of one's neighbours are practising organic husbandry -- they should be helped, not given extra work. -- Mike. |
#8
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Best way to treat a lawn that is shared with guinea pigs
said...
Sena wrote: Ragwort... and no. That's the one! I knew it, but the name just wouldn't come to me. That'll be Cinnabar moth caterpillars... the moth itself is day-flying and very pretty.... bright cerise and black. They're gorgeous, aren't they. They don't seem to actually eat the plant - or if they do they're not very thorough. My main concern is that the (almost) feral rabbit will develop a taste for the stuff. I assume that so far he hasn't, as he's still very much with us... Ah... you might want to watch out for that. From what I know, it's a cumulative poison stored in the liver, so even though your bunny is still ok now, one day out of the blue he might not be He's certainly fine at the moment. Four babies in a hutch show that not only does he know what do with a doe (we didn't realise it was a doe but that't irrelevant) but that he can also release her from her hutch in order to do so. http://frances.fotopic.net/c951846.html (I got a bit carried away with the photos...) -- To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @ where common sense dictates. |
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