# Treats for goats? (sorry its a caffeinated rant)



## redtailgal (Jun 18, 2011)

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## Squirrelgirl88 (Jun 18, 2011)

OMG - You should write a book. Your story telling is wonderful.

My goats won't try apples, or strawberries, or lettuce, or turnips, radishes, yogurt......

But they will eat sunflower seeds like I eat M&M's 

If you find a therapist willing to "talk goat" let me know - I'll bring the M&M's.


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## Roll farms (Jun 18, 2011)

Are you trying any of these treats in front of them?  Greed is the way to a goat's stomach.  If Creampuff (my persnickity eater) sees me eating something, SHE MUST HAVE SOME.  

I bought some nasty vanilla flavored rice cake snack thingies...
But Puffy *thinks* I like them, so she will snarf them down like there's no tomorrow.


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## Goatherd (Jun 18, 2011)

All my creatures get some kind of treat be it home made or bought.

I found a recipe on line for a goat treat and tried it.  After making it once, I tweaked it to suit my personal thoughts as to how it would work better for me. 

The goats love these treats and they will do anything for one.  They are healthy and I know what goes into them.








They basically contain carrots, apples, ground flax seed, rolled oats, whole wheat flour (to bind) yogurt and molasses.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Jun 18, 2011)

Mine like carrots, cucumbers, tomatos, any kind of bread, saltine crackers and horse treats.

However they get very little of them because I have two whethers and two does and worry about them getting over weight and developing urainary issues.


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## elevan (Jun 18, 2011)

Goatherd - those look like hamburgers...  

My goats are picky too!  Although some like apples, some like horse treats...they all like BOSS.

My goats won't go near mud...so yeah, I think your goat is weird that way.

But the hair brush is a great goat making friends tool    My goats LOVE that!


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## MissDanni (Jun 18, 2011)

Mine LOVE apples, but I have to cut them in to thin slices or they look at me like I have two heads.

They also like celery, watermelon and horse treats (the dry little blobs that supposedly taste like apples.. haven't tried them myself.)

Bread, they go crazy over and don't want to wait for me to break it up, they just want the whole slice.

Carrots, but again they have to be sliced in to thin pieces.

They also really love spruce branches, DH goes into the forest and brings back some limbs and puts them in with them and they just love it... also seems to give them nice fresh breath. BONUS!

Trouble really likes Juniper bark, she treats it like chewing gum.


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## willowbreezefarm (Jun 18, 2011)

My two pygmys are VERY VERY picky about what they eat. The only treats they will eat are the SUNFLOWER SEEDS. 
But my nigerian dwarf, well she will eat ANYTHING!! I cannot keep that goat out of anything. She has managed to figure out how to open the feed been so now I have to lock it so she cannot get in it. 
So sometimes I sit back and say that I love my two that arent interested in so much!


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## ksj0225 (Jun 18, 2011)

Mine will do anything for animal crackers and peanuts!!


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## terrilhb (Jun 18, 2011)

All of mine love bread and they want chicken scratch(I say no) and the youngest doe will eat anything. Lettuce, yogurt you name it and she will eat it.


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## ChksontheRun (Jun 18, 2011)

Mine love treats, but they are choosy about which ones.  Beet greens rank up there, as do frosted mini wheats.  Raisins are yuch, banana peels are to die for.  Who knew that goats would loooooove banana peels


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## crazyland (Jun 18, 2011)

Mine are picky too.
Valentine will try and eat just about anything.
Shootingstar won't touch anything her mom has touched or has hit the ground, plus when she does try something she nibbles it making half of it fall out of her mouth.
Frosty won't touch anything either. I had to shove raisins in his mouth before he would chew and it took several tries on that.
I keep trying though. And finally after all these months they will eat raisins, bread, broccoli, summer squash, apples and corn cobs.


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## Goatherd (Jun 18, 2011)

> Goatherd - those look like hamburgers...


Actually, they are about the side of a slider hamburger!  Forgot to say there are raisins in there too.


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## ChksontheRun (Jun 19, 2011)

goatherd, can you post the actual recipe.  I would love to give it a try.


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Jun 19, 2011)

The only veggies mine won't eat are onions, peppers and citrus.  We have yet to find a fruit we don't like.  Apparently nilla wafers are actually manna from heaven. 

And I think I could serve rocks if they had peanut butter on them.


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## Goatherd (Jun 19, 2011)

Here's a link to the actual recipe.  http://www.hobbyfarms.com/food-and-kitchen/cookies-hobby-farm-goat.aspx

I've made these so many times I will tell you that I have added and deleted ingredients from the original recipe, because to be honest, I didn't really like the original recipe.  If you do make it exactly, you'll find the batter too wet/moist.

Here's what I've done...

I didn't use the wheat germ as I didn't have any to start with.
I ground flax seed for added benefit.  Instead of the applesauce I used apples.
Used a food processor to chop the carrots and apples as this makes them the perfect consistency.  Threw in a handful of raisins.
Added an individual carton of plain yogurt.  Use whole wheat flour to add substance to the dough.  
You need to make the dough very stiff.

They tell you to put "balls" on a cookie sheet.  They will not flatten on their own so I flattened them like you would a peanut butter cookie.
I also used a cookie scoop to make them consistent in size, but that certainly isn't necessary.

I also baked them on parchment paper to prevent any sticking and this works great.  I increased the oven temp to 350 and turned the treats over after about 20 minutes of baking and continued to bake them.  They take longer to bake than what the recipe tells you, but I can't give you an exact time.  You have to wing it.  Trust me, you won't over bake them.  They also get harder as they cool. 
I would describe them as hard/chewy.

They need to be kept refrigerated if you keep them for a while.  Found out the hard way and they got moldy being left out, even in a plastic container.

That's about all I can think of for now.


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## julieq (Jun 19, 2011)

Our goats turn up their little noses at anything except animal crackers.  We purchase them in the big containers at Costco.  I'm sure sliced apples or homemade cookies would be better for them, but they just won't try anything else.


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## ChksontheRun (Jun 20, 2011)

Thanks for posting the recipe.  I think I will give them a try.


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## mabeane (Jun 20, 2011)

Mine love strawberry leavings (tops etc) and carrot scraps and in the winter food processed orange peels. Apples cut up are another favorite.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jun 20, 2011)

Ours are some serious treat snobs too.  When we first got Sunny and Daisy, they were very unfriendly and after a few weeks of trying to just be aloof, sit with them, do all the stuff you are supposed to do, we tried treats.  No luck-salad, raisins, crackers, cereal, apples, even fresh grass-they wouldn't touch it.  

After lots and lots of time, Sunny is fairly sweet now (Daisy is still kind of nutty and unpredictable) and they will take those licorice treats from me, but that is it. 

What really blows my mind is the other stuff they DO eat (a wood bench, a part of a nylon camp chair one of the kids left in the barn, Styrofoam we insulated the wall with, and an attempt on some shingles I stapled to a crate thinking it would be nice to rub up against).  Oh silly little goats....


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