Amaranth? Toxic or safe?

[For the Love of Dirt]

I am seeing very mixed information on whether or not amaranth is safe for goats. Some say it is toxic due to levels of Nitrates, other sources say it is a great feed source and very nutritious and one even talked about using goats to control it's spread because they don't mind the thorns where other herbivorous animals won't touch it. Has anyone had experience with it causing issues? Anywhere in my pasture where the soil has been disturbed (the garden where we tilled and where we used to have pig pens) is COVERED in the stuff! I don't yet have goats but wanted to know so I can work towards eradicating it before I get them if it does pose a problem.

 

[Mini Horses]

You probably have a wild variety....are the seeds black?

Amaranth can be grown as seed and forage crops. It's been around a long time. Was eaten by Aztecs, that's a long time! I have seed for golden amaranth and that can be used to eat, make flour, etc. my chickens like it. But it does have some acids in leaves that can interfere with certain nutrients absorption. Fed or eaten as part of a ration, it's safe. The wild varieties ??? Mine have no thorns are you sure that's what it is?

Generally goats will nibble and leave things not good for them....not always but, usually. Unless there's no other feed.

 

[For the Love of Dirt]

You probably have a wild variety....are the seeds black?

Amaranth can be grown as seed and forage crops. It's been around a long time. Was eaten by Aztecs, that's a long time! I have seed for golden amaranth and that can be used to eat, make flour, etc. my chickens like it. But it does have some acids in leaves that can interfere with certain nutrients absorption. Fed or eaten as part of a ration, it's safe. The wild varieties ??? Mine have no thorns are you sure that's what it is?

Generally goats will nibble and leave things not good for them....not always but, usually. Unless there's no other feed.

It's Amaranth Spinosa, a wild type amaranth. The stuff keeps taking over our garden and is a pain to get out, literally, the thorns are almost an inch long... I was really hoping to put goats in there and in our orchard (protecting the trees of course) when I got some to help get it under control, but then I started reading that it's toxic. Another conflicting bit was that on the first page I read it said that it was only toxic to ruminants, the second page I read included swine, though my mom has been chucking it to our pigs after weeding the garden and it hasn't affected them. Yet... I'm so confused...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

If it's the same thing that we call spiny pigweed around here - my goats eat it. They don't eat it to the ground unless it's very young. Once the stem starts to thicken they only pick off the leaves. It's never hurt them.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep probably same. Because grain amaranth is good. I'd burn that stuff. There's a gazillion seed!
Grain varieties are very productive. Easy to harvest by hand as the huge seed pods are at the top and you cut it off, drop in a bucket. Grows well, little care needed, drought tolerant.

 

[SageHill]

We've got it here, I originally thought it was good. Was even excited when I saw and identified it. (No thorns) It was last year when I was documenting what grows on our ranch. The basics I read were it was toxic - but there were mixed "opinions" on it. So - I put it on the "NO" list.

 

[murphysranch]

Love lies bleeding here. I give the long drooping red plumes to the chickens. I hope thats ok.

 

[murphysranch]

Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some of the more well known names include "prostrate pigweed" and "love lies bleeding".

Love-Lies-Bleeding is member of the amaranth family. Amaranths are a diverse species with plants whose foliage and inflorescence range from yellow to red to deep purple. In addition to producing very showy inflorescence, amaranths are edible. Both the leaves and the seeds are harvested as food all over the world.May 24, 2011

Oh good - its ok for chickens.

 

[Baymule]

Pigweed. I hate that stuff. My sheep eat it just as @frustratedearthmother said her goats do.