Can Goats Eat This?

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The answer is a lot but not 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. But what exactly can they eat? I have compiled a list and separated it into categories. So feel free to scroll through and find what you need.

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.

Grass

A note- 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.

Alfalfa

Clover- Careful with this one, too much can cause your goat to get sick. We haven’t had any issues but I know white clover can be a danger.

Timothy

Bahiagrass

Fescue- We have fescue in our second pasture because there is not a lot of sunlight. So far it has held up really well.

Bermuda

Bromegrass

Millet

Ryegrass

Orchard

Fruits

Fruit should be fed in small quantities as well as in small pieces. Don’t let your goats gorge on it.

Apples

Banana and peels

Cantaloupe and rinds

Honey Dew and rinds

Plum- no pits

Grapefruit and peel

Kiwi

Mango

Oranges

Peaches- No Pits

Pineapple and rinds

Blueberries

Raspberries

Watermelon and rinds

Grapes

Apricots

Veggies

Turnip- They like the greens vs the actual turnip

Green Beans

Zucchini

Carrots

Pumpkin

Summer Squash

Corn

Squash

Garlic- small amounts. Can also help with worms

Hay

Same as the grass list just make sure that it is good 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.

Alfalfa

Timothy

Orchard

Bermuda

Tall Fescue

Grain

Note- grain is great for pregnant or lactating goats. However, in bucks and especially whethers, you risk urinary stones that are extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. If you choose to feed grain to your goats, make sure it has ammonium chloride in it. This will help keep them from getting them, and if they do get them anyways will make them smaller.

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.

We exclusively feed Tucker Mill Dairy Goat. It’s in the pink bag and we have seen an incredible turn around in the condition of our thinner goats. We also will give grain to our boys when in full rut. The reason is because the boys will stop eating when they go into rut. We want to make sure that they have access to as much food as possible.

Weeds

Briars- I am the crazy lady that went and replanted all the briars from the property and replanted them in the goat pastures.

Poke Berries

Multiflora Rose

Ragweed

Crabgrass

Chicory

Kudzu

Sericea Lespedeza- If you can get your hands on this seed do it! Seriously, this has been studied extensively had has been proven to be a natural dewormer.

Supplements

Loose minerals

BOSS- Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

Nutridrench

Baking Soda

Goat Probiotics

Salt

Electrolytes

Copper Bolus– We take them out of the capsules to prevent choke

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.

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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