# Feeding Goats Beet Pulp?



## Goatgirl47 (Feb 18, 2016)

We give our milk cows Beet Pulp (soaked, of course) every time they are milked, and I was wondering, is it 'safe' to feed milk goats Beet Pulp? Does the milk taste any different? 
I'm sure it's fine, but just in case... 

Thank you!


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 18, 2016)

Beet pulp is fine for goats 

It shouldn't affect the flavor of the milk. Getting them to eat it is the issue, our dairy girls won't touch anything new let alone anything that is wet!


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## Goatgirl47 (Feb 18, 2016)

Clover LOVES Beet Pulp. It sounds so funny when she eats it.


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 18, 2016)

Our goats are just little snots


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## Southern by choice (Feb 18, 2016)

Many people do.
Our girls won't eat it. Not unusual for our brats.


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## Hens and Roos (Feb 18, 2016)

mine love it and eat that first


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## babsbag (Feb 18, 2016)

Mine eat it dry and also in pellet form, they seem to like it quite a bit.

@Goat Whisperer ...your goats are just weird. They remind me of my nephew that wanted his lemonade strained (as an adult at a restaurant).   Tell those girls to eat what they are given.


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## Goatgirl47 (Feb 18, 2016)

I thought you weren't supposed to feed it dry because it expands up to three times it's size when wet?


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## babsbag (Feb 18, 2016)

Well oh well, I have never heard that and I have been feeding it dry for 7 years... Who knew?  Lately though I have been buying it in pellet form, I guess that expands too.  No more beet pulp for them; I'll be darned if I am going to cook for my goats.


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## babsbag (Feb 18, 2016)

I just did a quick Google, I'm not the only one that feeds it dry; I feel a little better.  Mine get maybe a cup mixed with their grain when they are on the milk stand.


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## Goatgirl47 (Feb 18, 2016)

I just did a Google too. A good many people feed it dry.  But I'll stick to soaked beet pulp. Clover will be happy either way!

I have to go outside now and stanchion-train Kendall/feed Clover before they start yelling.


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## Bunnylady (Feb 18, 2016)

I'd heard that the shreds can be fed wet or dry, but the pellets should always be soaked because they are compressed and they do expand. I feed beet pulp and alfalfa cubes to my horses  (soaked, of course; seems like you can never get too much liquid into a horse . . . "lead a horse to water, " and all that), and my goats get a handful of each. They'll clean up anything the horses spill, too.


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## saje (Feb 21, 2016)

The biggest problem with BP fed dry to horses is that they can choke on it. They don't suffocate, but it blocks the esophagus and a long term choke can cause pneumonia and other horrible things. It can be fed dry if your horse is a nibbler and not a greedy pig, but generally it's not recommended. 

I'm a relative newbie to goats, can they choke like that? God knows they get all sorts of other things wrong, so what's one more on the list!


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## Goatgirl47 (Feb 26, 2016)

saje said:


> The biggest problem with BP fed dry to horses is that they can choke on it. They don't suffocate, but it blocks the esophagus and a long term choke can cause pneumonia and other horrible things. It can be fed dry if your horse is a nibbler and not a greedy pig, but generally it's not recommended.
> 
> I'm a relative newbie to goats, can they choke like that? God knows they get all sorts of other things wrong, so what's one more on the list!



I don't know if goats can choke on beet pulp, I just thought that you weren't supposed to feed BP dry because it swells up to 2 (or 3) times it's original size. I'm sure goats can choke on it if they are, like you said, greedy pigs. 

Do you feed beet pulp to your goats?


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## newbiekat (Feb 27, 2016)

I feed it to my girls wet. I usually put it in a 5 gal bucket (about 3/4 full of dry pulp) and fill it to the brim with water, it usually fills the whole 5 gal bucket in about an hour of soaking.  I've never had an issue with them choking on it.


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