Treat for goats

[OHMYKIDS]

Is there any treats for goats that they can have?

I was also wondering if banana peels are okay?

 

[freemotion]

I wouldn't feed banana peels as they use some pretty powerful insectisides on them so as not to bring tropical spiders and such into the grocery stores. That would keep me out of the produce section, for sure!

Trimmings from your meal prep veggies, such as carrots, brocolli, salad veggies, etc. Fruit that you would eat, not so much the tropicals....apples, grapes, pears, etc.

Skins and seeds from winter squash. I wash the outsides of things that I will give them the skins, like watermelon, etc.

Never too much of a new food that they are not used to. Cut up chunky veggies into TINY pieces, especially for the little goats. They can't break them up.

Feed everything clean, goats will try lots of stuff but will only eat dirty food if they are starving.

Leaves and weeds from your yard that you KNOW are not poisonous. They love dandelions, leaves from maple, apple, pear, birch, willow, poplar. Cherry, nut trees, red maple, are toxic. Raspberry, blackberry, rose (unsprayed) are good. Wilted raspberry, etc are toxic until dry....very fresh or very dry only.

This is a very partial list, but I give only treats that will contribute to the health of my goats. They love anything they don't have regular access to in their pastures.

Raisins go well in your pockets, too, great for training.

 

[Rence]

Mine like animal crackers too. But the foods freemotion added were excellent choices because they're healthy.

 

[zatsenoughcritters4me]

mine love mini carrots! animal crackers in moderation also.

 

[Thomas423]

We break branches off of trees that they can't reach.

Oh, and animal crackers too. $1.88 large bag at Wal-mart.

 

[OHMYKIDS]

wow, freemotion, very informative, thank you for taking the time to let me know all that info.

Thank you to the others, had no idea they can eat animal crackers. I didn't think sugar was good for them.

 

[alba]

grass clippings, branches, twigs,brush blossoms, leaves. tree bark, human hair, corn & wheat(chicken scratch/horse feed/dog food), table scraps ANYTHING! If you live in the woods, your goats will think they live at a buffet restaurant, because everything in the woods is food for a goat....INCLUDING poisonous plants. You can give them a nicely diced fruit and vegetable salad if you'd like but they aren't picky.
Goats will eat ANYTHING at all!

 

[OHMYKIDS]

would they eat branches without the leaves. I've got apple tree branches

 

[freemotion]

wow, freemotion, very informative, thank you for taking the time to let me know all that info.

Thank you to the others, had no idea they can eat animal crackers. I didn't think sugar was good for them.

This is not meant to criticize anyone's suggestion .....just need to put this in perspective lest anyone else reading this start shovelling cookies into their goats!

The white sugar, white flour, and trans fats are no better for your goat than they are for your children. That being said, an occcasional cookie is not gonna kill your goat! The thing to remember is what the cookies are made of, grain. So keep volume in mind, too, whenever you are tempted to give anything with flour, like bread crusts, etc.

Be aware of what other family members might feed if goat treats are readily available, the unhealthy treats, that is. Many people equate treats with love, and overindulge both pets, children, and themselves, at the expense of health. DH is one of these people, and I have had many conversations about giving stuff to the goats, especially our two pygmies who do nothing all day but look cute and get chunky! Before I rescued one of them from a neighbor, I would see one of their little girls come out early in the morning and throw gobs of grain at them, or bring a whole loaf of bread out and feed it to them. No one inside the house knew, and this kid was 4 or 5. So glad they moved, I could go on for days at the silly stuff that went on next door.

The owner of a local pizza restaurant offered to give us leftover white bread for our animals, I refused it politely. It is a "displacing food," meaning it has almost no nutritional value and fills us up, which means we don't have room for nutrient-dense foods. To save on vet bills, feed mostly, if not all, healthy and natural foods.

Rant over...... you can come out of now.........

 

[FarmerMack]

my herd likes carrots, cabbage and their all time favorite is lilac leaves and flowers

Farmer Mack