# Goat safe leaves??



## daisychick (Oct 30, 2011)

As lots and lots of leaves are falling all around my property this fall, I am wondering if most of them are safe for the goats to enjoy?   

I have mainly cottonwood, black walnut and willow trees dropping leaves within reach of my goats.  Are these ok for them to eat??  Can they have too much and get an upset stomach from over eating them??


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## elevan (Oct 30, 2011)

Too much of anything can cause upset tummies so just be watchful and keep baking soda handy in case you need it.  That said, your goats should be just fine eating all those leaves.  Leaves become the main diet of my goats in the Fall, the love "goat chips" aka tree leaves


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## daisychick (Oct 30, 2011)

Thanks for the reassurance, We have just never had so many leaves at once on the ground.   We had an early snow and the trees all dropped their leaves in one day.   So needless to say the goats are going bananas for the leaf buffet.


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## Chaty (Oct 31, 2011)

You dont want them to eat Cherry leaves as they are toxic. I know there are some others but off hand I remember this 1.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 31, 2011)

Chaty said:
			
		

> You dont want them to eat Cherry leaves as they are toxic. I know there are some others but off hand I remember this 1.


Regular cherry tree: fruit is fine(don't feed pits) leaves are only toxic when they are wilting. Fresh or dry are fine. It is all forms of the choke cherry that are toxic(leaves at all stages, fruit & bark).


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## daisychick (Oct 31, 2011)

No cherry trees here.    So far they are enjoying, cottonwood, willow, black walnut, and apple tree leaves.   I read through the poisonous list and I am pretty sure we are in the clear.


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## Stacykins (Oct 31, 2011)

daisychick said:
			
		

> No cherry trees here.    So far they are enjoying, cottonwood, willow, black walnut, and apple tree leaves.   I read through the poisonous list and I am pretty sure we are in the clear.


Isn't black walnut toxic?


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## elevan (Oct 31, 2011)

Stacykins said:
			
		

> daisychick said:
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You're gonna see stuff on both sides of it.  Some even use it as a natural dewormer.

My goats eat a ton of black walnut and are doing just fine.


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## 20kidsonhill (Oct 31, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

> Stacykins said:
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MIne have access to tons of black walnut leaves for years now.   And there are wild cherry trees in the field as well, Not saying those aren't harmful. But my understanding is they are only harmful when they break off or are blown down and begin to wilt.  

A goats perfect weather forcast would be:  Windy with 100% chance of falling leaves.


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## Okie Amazon (Oct 31, 2011)

Ours eat lots of Black Walnut leaves with no ill effects.


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## Stacykins (Oct 31, 2011)

That is good to know. I had always been under the assumption that they were quite dangerous. I know for horses it still is, but for goats, it is OK? I don't have any black walnut on the property (yet). I planted a few walnuts from my aunt's trees on a far corner of the property away from everything else. But knowing goats, if they escape they seem to have a magnet for going to things that are bad for them, or so I am told.


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## elevan (Oct 31, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> A goats perfect weather forcast would be:  Windy with 100% chance of falling leaves.


Very true


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## elevan (Oct 31, 2011)

Stacykins said:
			
		

> That is good to know. I had always been under the assumption that they were quite dangerous. I know for horses it still is, but for goats, it is OK? I don't have any black walnut on the property (yet). I planted a few walnuts from my aunt's trees on a far corner of the property away from everything else. But knowing goats, if they escape they seem to have a magnet for going to things that are bad for them, or so I am told.


I have horses in the same field and they don't touch the walnut leaves...don't eat any leaves from what I've seen.  But, yes walnut is bad for horses.  Goats are fine with black walnut imo.

On cherry leaves - wilting leaves are the problem.


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## ThornyRidgeII (Oct 31, 2011)

also know that red maple are supposedly bad for horses too and along with wild cherry, black walnut I have a plethora of red maple in my wooded area.. goats scarf em up.. actually watch them fall to the ground from 20-30 feet or more and then run to them and gobble gobble.. first thing in the morning when you open barn it is a stampede to see who can get the most leaves that have fallen from night before.. no ill effects around here.. but keep an eye on em.. thankfully the bag worms took care of my cherry trees again for second year in a row.. but tons of maples and walnut.. actually the falling walnuts are far more dangerous to me than the leaves are to the goats.. I took a couple in the head that came down unexpectedly..ouch!!!


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 31, 2011)

I will add, if you have Striped Maples, leaves will be gone before they can hit the ground! They have large leaves... about the size of an adult human's hand fanned out... some times larger. 
That and black birch are always a favorite with our does, not so much with the bucks. And Beech leaves are gobbled by all! They are high in protein too, so if you need to bulk up some goats quick.. feed them beech branches.


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