Can Goats Eat….Yellow Squash?

Yes, along with many other things. But they can’t eat everything. There is a huge myth out there that goats can eat anything and they can’t. In fact goats are incredibly picky eaters and they can/will eat a lot of different types of food. They have a type of sixth sense that tells them not to eat certain foods. However, if it’s in the pasture and they are hungry, they will eat it. Can goats eat yellow squash? Yup, and they love it.

Before We Get Into What Goats Can Eat

This is not a complete list of every single thing they can eat. Nor should it take the place of your vets advise. When it doubt, contact your vet. Also, when introducing a new food to your goat, keep an eye on them for allergic reactions, choking, etc. Midas absolutely loves cantaloupe rinds but I didn’t chop them small enough, he almost choked in his gusto to eat them before everyone else could.

So when it comes to the question; can a goat eat…. the answer is maybe.

What Grasses Can Goats Eat

Goats will eat grass, but when given an option between grass and weeds, they will go to the weed. That is because they are browsers and not so much grazers. Our pastures are mostly grasses with a ton of briars, poke berries, and other weeds that they love.

I’ve been hearing more and more that goats are “growse-rs”. Basically what that means is that they will browse on weeds and woody stemmed plants but also graze grasses and other low laying plants. And it’s true, they are “growse-rs but I don’t think it’s because they are supposed to be. I think because they have been in human care for so long they have adapted to grasses and hays.

Which Fruits Are Safe

Fruit should be fed in small quantities as well as in small pieces. Don’t let your goats gorge on it. That being said, goats can eat apples, cantaloupe, and really any fruit. But make sure you cut it small enough and remove any pits or seeds.

To expand a little further on whether a goat can eat fruit, I would say that for the most part goats can eat just about any of them. My concern is more the pits and seeds. If the pit or seed is too big, they probably shouldn’t eat it.

Veggies They Can Eat

My goats get about 20% of the garden waste when the garden is in full production. Usually they end up with the scraps from squash, cucumbers, etc. But at the end of the season, we will usually let the goats into the gardens for a couple of days for them to nom nom anything that is left over. They save us a ton of labor tearing out plants and money because we don’t have to feed them.

I will say that the only thing we have noticed when it comes to potato leaves is they will get loose stool occasionally. It could be from the potato leaves or because the sky was a weird shade of blue. Goats can be very finicky health wise so it’s always good to err on the side of caution. So we don’t intentionally feed them potato leaves anymore.

But that doesn’t mean that they don’t get into them.

Horse Quality Hay

When purchasing hay for goats, they can eat the same as the grasses above. But we really want to make sure that it’s good quality hay. Some people do not get quality hay for their goats and instead get cheap hay. Don’t do this.

Goats can get really sick from moldy hay. When you see “last year’s hay, good for mulch, bedding or goats” run for the hills. You will have more headache from that hay then it is worth.

Also, understand that when it comes to hay, your goat may absolutely love Brome but hate Orchard. Our girls loved Timothy but refused Brome. Or my personal favorite, they will eat Orchard grass but refuse Orchard hay… Go figure.

Can Goats Have Grain

Grain is great for pregnant or lactating goats. I’ve written up an entire post about grain and it’s place in your goats diet.

Another thing is that grain should only make up maybe 5-10% of their diet. In fact, goats don’t need grain at all. The only time we feed them grain is when they are pregnant, lactating, or we need to hold them still for hoof trims and to give medications.

Weeds To Plant Or Protect

Goats are technically browsers and they will eat themselves out of a job if you let them. Now, I am not saying that you need to plant weeds in your pasture. But I am saying that if you end up falling in love with your goat ***raises hand****, you will end up planting weeds in your pasture.

Supplements

Can Goats Eat… Yellow Squash?

At the end of the day, you have to figure out what is best for your goats. We feed our goats scraps from the garden based off this list. When the green beans come in and we start processing, they get a pile of ends and dropped pieces. Same with our chickens.

I would say that a goat can eat a ton of different foods, but there are a lot of foods that can make them very sick. The best thing you can do is make sure that you give small amounts and see.

If you are concerned about what your goats are eating or what they can have, contact your small rumen vet and see what they say.

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