can goats eat cantaloupe?

[freemotion]

The feed companies really want you to believe that you are too stupid to figure out how to feed your animals properly. Manufactured feeds are yet another "value added product" which means, to the manufacturer.....move the decimal point on the profit margin in their favor. So if they convince most people....which they have....that your animals cannot be healthy unless you feed them mostly from a bag, you will buy more and more of their bags. And they will profit.

How can a fruit or veggie be bad for anyone? Sheesh. We are not talking about taking a goat who is used to dry foods and putting a gallon of rotting vegetables in front of them. We are talking about using our brains, here. No one will ever convince me that I am doing dangerous things by feeding the best I can get my hands on to my critters. They are marvelously healthy.

You all realize, don't you, that vets get a VERY short nutrition class in all their years of schooling, and it is usually taught by a guest....a rep from a major feed company. They can sum the class up in two sentences: Don't worry your pretty little heads about animal nutrition, we will take care of that for you. Feed our feeds and your animals will be at their best.

I prefer to think for myself. I am confidence in my intelligence and ability to read and learn. Bring on the cantaloupe!

 

[kimmyh]

Like with everything you read on the Internet take what works for you graciously and leave the rest.

Edited to remove reaction to sniping.

 

[Mini-M Ranch]

Defensive are we? Like with everything you read on the Internet take what works for you graciously and leave the rest.

Ok. Thanks.

***edited because I don't have the energy to argue***

 

[Beekissed]

I often get a little puzzled over this debate....it happens a lot on BYC and happens even more when discussing goats. There are those who are big on feeding formulated diets that are recommended by vets, scientists, and feed companies.

This is fine and, though some feel it lacks initiative and a memory that goats have been here since the beginning of time without the help of Purina, it still is touted as being the intelligent and caring choice for animals.

Then there are those who learn from history, do not take every morsel that is spoon fed by big agribiz companies and the scientists on their payroll, have proof that their methods yield healthy stock who have thrived on their individual animal husbandry methods......

And the former's only reply is to give dire predictions and accuse the latter of mismanagement and lack of caring for their livestock.

How is this considered appropriate at all? If we were to blurt out to the former party that, to only feed formulated feeds and hay is denying your animals the variety of nutrients they would forage themselves in a natural setting.....why they would take high offense and say we were picking a fight!

But the former group, described above, feel it is not only their right, but their duty to "correct" and to insult anyone with a different method of animal husbandry. Happens every time.

The OP asked if cantaloupe is dangerous or harmful to feed to goats. The truth of the matter is....it isn't. As a goat in the wild forages over wide terrain, they encounter all types of food sources, they rarely have a prescribed length of time to "develop the proper bacteria to digest" this variety. And, lo and behold, the Creator has designed them to adapt! Imagine that.....

As previously mentioned, the question did not imply that the OP was going to make cantaloupe a regular supplement to her goat's diet and I think everyone....er...nearly everyone understood this fact.

 

[trestlecreek]

The only thing I will add to this is in defense of all LA vets and their knowledge regarding nutrition.
No, reps do not teach vets animal nutrition.
They are taught by professors whom specialize in the science of animal nutrition.
I've taken animal sciences courses, including nutrition and they are well taught and are correct. No opinions; straight facts.

When goats start having a single stomach is when I will come back to reconsider this cantaloupe issue.

 

[Mini-M Ranch]

When goats start having a single stomach is when I will come back to reconsider this cantaloupe issue.

Well, I won't be here. I'm done considering cantaloupes. Fruit is too inflammatory. I need something more calm.

 

[trestlecreek]

 

[freemotion]

Well said, Bee. So true. Who knew that feeding fruit and veggies to ones animals could be so inflammatory. (Actually, they tend to be anti-inflammatory, but that is a different use of the word... )

Mini-M, please don't get chased off.....

And Trestlecreek, I will be the first to run to you when I need pharmaceutical advice....really, honest. I absolutely would consider what you have to say. As for vets and nutrition, you are fortunate indeed if all LA vets know animal nutrition. It is far from my experience here on the East coast. I have many vets and MD's that I speak to in social settings, and the story is very different from the one told in a client/physician relationship. I hear about the lack of nutrition training from many, many physicians and vets. Many.

I brought my dog in to a new practice for emergency surgery a couple of weeks ago, and had a conversation with the intake person about not feeding grain-based cooked foods to my dog, and I brought food for him. I'd been to 6 vets before I found one who knew there were nutrition options outside the major grain-based foods, and found one that helped my dog survive into adulthood. Not just survive, but finally thrive. I did not want him to be fed food that would make him sick when he was fragile from surgery. I was "yes'd" and ignored. He was fed Hill's garbage. The nurse who was giving me his post-op care instructions tried to assure me that it was the hypo-allergenic formula. I actually brought her over to the display and made her look at the label. Corn and soy. How is THAT hypoallergenic? Sheesh. What coyote or wolf would eat corn or soy? So pardon me if I am a bit cynical and don't blindly trust. She may know how to bandage and inject, but she knows squat about nutrition.

I have taught nutrition courses for both my vet and a number of doctors, to their patients. I am currently teaching a continuing ed course for licensed massage therapists, focusing a lot on the role of nutrition in inflammation and pain management. I know what I am talking about on this subject.

Bee, I don't get the either/or mentality I see on forums. I enjoy discussions where many different viewpoints are presented intelligently. You and I feed our hens quite differently. Neither of us has criticised the other for it. I have learned a lot from you, and I hope the reverse has been true. I won't be feeding layer mash anytime soon, but we can still be friends, can't we?

 

[Mini-M Ranch]

freemotion:

I'm not going anywhere. There is a lot of good info and lots of good people on this site. It is obvious that EVERYONE on this site cares about their animals Otherwise, they wouldn't be here getting info and connecting with other goat owners. We don't all have to agree on everything. And none of us should be attacked because we do things differently. I have several friends who do not raise their human children in the way that I think is the best, but that doesn't mean I go around calling them bad parents and saying they don't care about their kids.

This thread has been very educational. I have made my decision about this fruit and veggie thing. But, more importantly, I have learned that feeding is a topic to avoid, unless you feel like arguing (which I don't. I have a 4 and 5 year old, I hear them arging enough for a lifetime )

 

[freemotion]

Oh, don't avoid it, we can all use some spice in our lives! Just be ready to