[izzy]

we have a laburnum tree over hanging our garden.is this a danger to our chickens

[Casey76]

Laburnum is acutely toxic (all parts) to mammals, I wouldn't have thought it was any different for avians.

Such a shame, because it is such a pretty tree

[izzy]

I agree. But my girls are more important better move the run to the other side of the garden

[Paul Plots]

There certainly is nothing much on the internet about the Laburnum and chickens...

I did find this though:

"That the whole tree is poisonous and not just the seeds is demonstrated by people who have lost kittens when they used a laburnum tree trunk as a scratching post. As long ago as in 1928, it was said that exposure to the sawdust of laburnum wood caused ‘constitutional symptoms’. This phrase is used to mean a general feeling of being unwell.

In the nineteenth century case of Webb versus Lemon. Webb’s laburnum tree overhung Lemon’s field and Lemon’s horse ate the foliage and died. The judge ruled that Lemon could remove any overhanging branches but that they must be returned to Webb as they remained his property. This is the precedent which is still applied today and leads to countless disputes between neighbours when the plant owner becomes aggrieved that not only has the plant been cut back but the cuttings have been ‘dumped’ on his side of the fence."

Web reference: The Poison Garden Website

[Lindeggs]

Well well well!  So that's all down to Webb vs Lemon!  We have that same law here in NZ (of course our legal system is based on the British system anyway).  So that case has been causing problems all over the world ever since! 

[Paul Plots]

Do you have Laburnum trees in NZ?

[Lindeggs]

No - not that I am aware of anyway.  We have plenty of our own poisonous trees though!  Our tutu berries once (famously) killed a visiting circus elephant.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/poisonous-plants-and-fungi/4

[Paul Plots]

No - not that I am aware of anyway.  We have plenty of our own poisonous trees though!  Our tutu berries once (famously) killed a visiting circus elephant.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/poisonous-plants-and-fungi/4

I guess there are loads of poisonous plants where ever you go...

Thanks for the link - I particularly liked the "waist high piles of v****" Lovely