Frequently (and not so frequently) Asked Questions
BRIEF: Have you ever heard cattle dying from eating buttercup?
QUESTION:
I am an insurance adjuster and have a claim for 11 cattle which died
allegedly due to eating crawling buttercup in a pasture. I cannot find
any information indicating that cattle die from this weed...only irritation of
the skin and mucous membranes. Cattle in a pasture next to this field
were not affected. Have you ever heard of cattle dying from eating buttercup?
ANSWER:
It is possible. There are records of at least one cow dying eating
Rannuculus repens and many sheep dying from eating a related plant with
the same toxin.
It is unlikely. You are correct, the irritating toxin usually prevents the
animals from eating much. The symptoms are usually limited to blisters, GI
irritation and diarrhea. In order to take a dose to cause the liver damage
or severe enough gut tissue damage to kill the cattle, they would have to
come onto a pasture in which a large portion of the dry matter (maybe 50%
of the available forage) was creeping buttercup hungry enough to eat the
awful stuff and keep eating while it pain.
A definitive answer to your question would require verification of the
identity of the weeds present, their approximate frequency of appearance
and the condition of the cattle coming in.