Can Goats Eat Rosemary?

Can Goats Eat Rosemary? (Revealed!)

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Yes, rosemary is safe for goats. They shouldn’t eat too much of it, though, as it does contain a lot of oils that could cause digestive trouble—but they will usually know their own limits. Rosemary is completely safe, but shouldn’t replace any part of their ordinary diet.

 

So, rosemary is inherently safe, and goats may even enjoy it in small amounts.

They do have a reputation for being able to eat anything, so it’s not surprising that they enjoy rosemary too.

You do, of course, have a responsibility to monitor their diet, though.

This means not letting them eat too much of any one thing.

Let’s look further into this.

Can Goats Eat Rosemary?

 

Is rosemary good for goats?

In many ways, yes, rosemary is great for goats!

For one thing, in plant form, goats actually seem to just love the taste of a rosemary plant and will often go straight for it in a garden.

They seem, for whatever reason, drawn to it.

It does produce a strong odor.

Other than that, as I said, rosemary does contain many essential oils which, in small amounts, can be beneficial.

They can give your goat healthy fur and skin, and smooth up digestion when given in the right amounts.

Rosemary also contains a lot of antioxidants, which help prevent the build-up of free radicals that damage cells.

It’s best to just get the rosemary into their pasture as a live plant, though.

There’s not much advantage to going out of your way to provide rosemary in their diet.

It’s just a nice thing for them to be able to find in their ordinary roaming.

Let’s look at the caveats to this.

 

Is rosemary bad for goats?

Inherently, no, rosemary is not bad for goats.

However, the important thing to remember is that most of a goat’s diet needs to be hay.

Around 75% is usually a good ball park figure.

The rest of their diet needs to be made up of fruits and vegetables that you provide, as well as a large amount of foraging.

This is the best way to get rosemary into your goat’s diet.

Grow it as a plant they can find.

This way, they will know their own limits and won’t eat too much.

As I said, those essential oils can cause significant digestive trouble if overfed.

They may cause diarrhea or other digestive pain and discomfort.

Your goat, when foraging, will know its own limits.

If you provide them the rosemary directly, you could overfeed them.

Just let the goat get its own rosemary.

 

Can goats eat rosemary plants?

Yes, they can, and this is the best way to get rosemary into your goat’s diet, as I’ve said.

Almost all of what they eat is essentially raw plant fiber, and a rosemary plant likely doesn’t look much different from a lot of other plants from the goat’s point of view.

It’s also not just the plant itself, but the enrichment of being able to forage for a variety of foods.

If you have rosemary growing alongside other things on your homestead or on your goat’s pasture, they will be able to change up their daily foraging for other things.

 

Can goats eat dried rosemary?

Dried rosemary is a little more problematic, and the simple fact is there’s really no benefit to feeding them dried rosemary.

It will not be as easy to digest, as tasty, or have half the nutritional value.

Some studies have shown that adding dried rosemary to a goat’s feed can make yield some benefits, but to the goat’s overall health, there’s really no reason to do so.

Just provide a well-balanced diet, occasionally including some fresh rosemary they’re able to find themselves.

 

So, yes, rosemary is totally safe for your goats and they will come to love it.

It’s best as a kind of forage on their pasture, if you can get the plant to grow.

The effort you would go to for buying fresh rosemary or growing it and then giving them small amounts wouldn’t really be worth it for the nutrition provided, but if they can just find it on their pasture, then great!

Like anything, though, moderation is really important.

 

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