How does it affect livestock?
Lupine is dangerous from the time it starts to grow in the spring until it dries up in the fall. Younger plants are more toxic than older plants; however, plants in the seed stage in late summer are especially dangerous because of the high toxin content of the seeds. Lupine is also more palatable than the dried pasture grasses in the late summer. The amount of lupine that will kill an animal varies with the lupine species and the stage of plant growth. A sheep that is getting good forage may not be affected by occasionally eating a small amount of lupine ( about 1/8 to lb.), but a sheep is usually poisoned if it eats 1/8 to lb. of lupine daily for 3 to 4 days. Cattle may be poisoned by eating 1 to 1 lbs. of lupine without other forage. Smaller amounts are poisonous if cattle eat the weed daily for 3 to 7 days. If cows consume the plant between days 40 and 70 of gestation, their calves will often suffer from crooked calf disease. These calves are born with cleft palates, crooked legs an
