What are your favorite goat treats?

[stano40]

I've given my goats cut up & bite size pieces of apples, oranges (peel and all), they didn't like bananas, they'll eat pine tree's all day long they'll eat the needles and the bark.

Animal crackers, they love chopped up cabbage, lettuce, squash, some zucchini, I'm going to try celery soon and see if they like that.

Here's a nice list of what they can eat and not eat that I refer to for a quick glance.

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/poisonousplants.htm

bob/Maine

 

[lupinfarm]

Om nom nom..

carrot slices, animal crackers (preferably the winnie the poo ones), my clothing, me, ...

 

[freemotion]

How do you know which christmas trees are good for goats? Are they all the right kind? We have some evergreens here that are not supposed to be good for goats so I'm not sure about our area (SW Washington).
There are plenty of Christmas tree farms around though, that is a great lead!

I look for balsam....learn how to identify it. The underside of the needles has stripes of light green and dark green. There are some trees that have sharper needles...these are not poisonous, but my goats don't like them as much as the balsam.

You may be thinking of yew, which is a common foundation planting and is quite poisonous. Also, many evergreens with LEAVES instead of needles are quite poisonous. I can't think of any xmas tree varieties that I worry about. None from the farm next door, but who knows what is near you.

I prefer not to use recycled trees, since a hook or something could be inadvertantly left behind and cause troubles.

Just picked up two more today.....happy goaties!

 

[savingdogs]

I think we have western hemlock that they are not supposed to have but I'm not 100 percent sure.

 

[chandasue]

The only thing I've found so far that my girls go crazy for is a handful of unsalted sunflower seeds and their grain.

I've read that christmas trees aren't good unless you know they haven't been sprayed with who knows what from the tree farms.

 

[freemotion]

They are not sprayed with much here. They get a handful of fertilizer and they use herbicides to keep the weeds down once a year, many months before harvest, so the rain has time to wash them well. Locally grown trees don't need much to keep them fresh once natural refrigeration starts! Brrrr!

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Mine expect a horse cookie for dessert each night. They also love apples, but only if I hold it for them. If it's on the ground or in the dish...forget it. Same with carrots and carrot tops.

My husband throws logs and small limbs in for them. They stay busy eating the bark.

 

[Slightly Cracked]

Mine LOVE black oil sunflower seeds!

 

[dkluzier]

Probably too late now...maybe not, but for next year....ask the people who sell xmas trees if you can pick up the unsold ones on the 25th for your goats. Then get as many as you want/can handle and bring them home.

OH my YES!! We did this and the goats totally loved it. Thanks for reminding me. And I read that it helps with worming.

 

[Ariel301]

I have not found much that my goats DON'T like. Except maybe lemons. I made some fresh lemonade the other day and threw the juiced out lemons into the goat pens. They rushed over and grabbed them all, and after a couple of chews spit them back out.

They love pretty much any other fruit or vegetable though. I give them oranges a lot, or apples. They like chips, crackers, cookies, bread...pretty much any food trash from our kitchen that is not meat goes to the goats. I keep buckets lined up by the kitchen trash, labeled "Goats" and "Chickens". We don't throw any food out that way.

Unsold christmas trees....that's a good idea! I'll have to look around next year.