Can anyone recommend a hedging plant for a fenceline that wouldn't harm stock (cattle) if they nibbled on it!Preferably something that doesn't grow too high,Many thanks.
spiritofgonzo,
Nov 17, 6:32am
height can be controlled by pruning, which is inevitable for a hedge.You could use conifer farm hedges such as pine or japanes cedar.How big do you want it to grow to!You can use pittosporums for some native flavour, as far as I know they are ok for stock.Plenty of choices.
janes12,
Nov 17, 6:54am
x1
Olearia Traversii ( Chatham Island Akeake ) is harmless to stock. Our dairy cows chewed on what they could reach and never had any harm come to them. Can be trimmed easily to any height. I would highly recommend it.
pandaeye,
Nov 17, 8:16am
pittos and photinias. all our goats/ sheeps love nibbling on them.
lalbagh,
Nov 17, 6:04pm
you dont want something the stock will eat, unless you want a very chewed hedge.Or you will need to protect it with hot wires. Barberry makes an excellent stock proof hedge but is unpleasant to prune and has become unpopular with the plant nazi crowd. Try asking in Farming, they may know of suitable alternatives
omamari,
Nov 17, 8:44pm
Stay away from conifers, they have been known to cause in calf cows to abort. I'd go for a coprosma or pittosporum. Two wire electric fence on the stock side. The cattle will keep in neatly trimmed
laurenlee,
Nov 17, 9:10pm
I endorse what omamari has written.conifers-eg lawsoniana,benthamine cyprus,are toxic for pregnant animals.
cookiebarrel,
Nov 18, 11:23am
I need to put up a hedge along the fenceline between my place and the neighbouring industrial section and as our wee Shetland pony visits, was wondering if the coprosma or pittosporum would work there and be okay if she was inclined to nibble it.She loves the camelias and they all look a bit like mushrooms as she has well pruned them underneath to her 'I can reach to here' height.Kind of cute really and we don't mind.Had thought of using camelias but thought cost wise it might be a bit much.What does the price of the coprosma or pittosporum work out as!Also as neighbours keep pushing metal over into my property every time they shift anything near the boundary and it is also quite a clayish soil would they cope with these conditions!
pollockette06,
Nov 18, 12:18pm
i think your native hebes are ok, we have grisilina (Sp) green shiny leaf and our horses and cattle havent been affected by it, in saying that they dont get a chance to scoff it much.We have also planted some flax as hedging mainly for wind protection but it also acts as a wormer to stock when they nibble at it to keep it trimmed
annies3,
Nov 18, 7:34pm
x1
Camelias like rhodo and azaelias are poisonous as far as I know so you are lucky the pony hasnt died, barberry is an effective hedge but it is dangerous in that it causes serious injuries to animals especially horses by spearing the hoof with their vicious barbs, have known of one at least having to be destroyed because of bone infection following being speared in the fetlock joint.
pandaeye,
Nov 19, 7:36am
x1
camelia is not poisonous.
arabelle,
Nov 20, 1:06am
x1
Camelia is poisonous to sheep and goats esp, but at different times of the year. usually when flowering.Avoid all shiney leaved trees as a general rule.
pandaeye,
Nov 20, 2:50am
actually it's not poisonous, it's bitter to the taste that goats usually avoid it. the taste that we like (tea) is the taste they don't like.
woody89,
Nov 20, 4:01am
Second this. Sheep, cows, donkeys & a horse have all nibbled with impunity for many years. (Rhodo's & Azalia are poisonous though)
cookiebarrel,
Nov 20, 12:10pm
Yer, knew that rodies and azalias were poisinous, had problems with a goat once with them, so careful checking when I moved to this property 25 years ago and camelias were on the OK list.She has been pruning our camelias for all that time and is now 32 years young, so guess if they were going to be a problem would have done it by now!It is because of her that I have asked for a hedging/tree to put up between our place and the industrial bomb site next to us.Just am so over having to look at it all the time and maybe they feel the same way about my place, so it could be a win/win situation.
lalbagh,
Nov 20, 1:06pm
have youthought of totara! Slow growing but makes a dense hedge if trimmed, and unpalatable to stock because of its hard spiky leaves.Thats why they are virtually a weed in northland
freedreamz,
Nov 20, 7:22pm
i vote for flax as well, its cheap if you can find someone that has it and can get pups off the side of it.
woody89,
Nov 12, 10:03pm
We've got a planting of mixed natives ie totara, banksia, ake-ake, titoki, pittosporum,flax. It runs the length of a paddock & our race runs between the planting & the neighbours. It has grown well over the last 5-8 years & gives complete privacy to either side. Also as the trees are accessible to stock from both sides the overhang gets nibbled & hasn't harmed donkeys, sheep or cows. ETA As a bonus we have vastly increased tui population.
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