Reducing Incidence of Plant-Caused Congenital Deformities in Livestock by Grazing Management

Abstract

Effective grazing management can reduce the incidence of plant-caused deformities in livestock. The degree of success to be expected is related to certain principles of teratology. The following factors are among those that play a role: animal genotype, nature of the teratogen, dose, and susceptible gestation period. Each plant teratogen exerts its effect by a specific mechanism, and yet widely divergent teratogens can produce similar effects. The developing conceptus is not nearly so well protected as once thought from hazardous chemical compounds in the maternal circulation. When offending teratogenic plants grow in a restricted habitat or are hazardous only at certain growth periods or when the susceptible gestation period is short, then considerable success can be expected toward reducing incidence of deformities and attendant financial loss by careful grazing management methods.