Can Goats Eat Cherries?

Can Goats Eat Cherries? (Are They Good For Them?)

by

Cherries are safe for goats in small amounts, but do pose a couple of potential problems. Surprisingly, they’re quite high in cyanide, and too much can be a problem for your goat. Furthermore, the pit poses a potential choking hazard. Cherries should be fed with extreme caution.

 

Goats are hardy, and they certainly have a reputation for being able to eat more or less anything.

Cherries make a great treat, but you can easily overfeed goats cherries.

While the cyanide content is not as scary as it sounds, it is still a cause for concern.

Moderation is always key with any treat.

So, let’s look at the question in more detail.

Can Goats Eat Cherries?

Are cherries bad for goats?

The simple answer is that, in very small amounts, cherries are mostly fine for goats.

They even contain a number of healthy vitamins and minerals which, in the right quantities, can be highly beneficial for a goat.

Moderation is always really important, though.

Even the very fact that cherries are so nutrient-rich is another good reason not to feed too many.

It’s too much of a good thing.

That said, there are a few things about cherries you need to be aware of.

The main thing is the cyanide content.

Sometimes, the issue with goats is that they can eat a great deal of a single food before noticing it’s causing problems.

Cherries contain only a small quantity of cyanide, but if your goat eats too much, cyanide poisoning is not outside the realm of possibility.

Goats are remarkably tough in many ways, but you should still be just as cautious with them as you would any animal.

If your goats eat cherries, it should always be in carefully portioned amounts, and they shouldn’t simply be allowed to eat as much as they want.

With that in mind, what about other types of cherry, and the rest of the plant and bush?

 

Can goats eat choke cherry?

Choke cherries are a smaller variety native to North America.

They are slightly different in a few ways to the kinds of cherry we buy in stores, since these are much more carefully bred.

Choke cherries are typically a wild variety.

The trees of the fruit are poisonous, and the cherries themselves are a potential risk.

Goats, generally, wouldn’t eat choke cherry anyway.

If you have a bush in their pasture, just be careful of it as the leaves in particular can be harmful.

It may be best to remove it entirely.

As I said, you can feed cherries to your goat, but you should always be the one portioning it and not letting them eat straight from a bush.

Can goats eat cherry leaves?

So, in small amounts, cherries are safe for your goat.

The rest of the bush, however, is generally not considered safe.

The leaves, stalks and stems contain higher concentrations of cyanide, and while it still may not be enough to kill your goat, it can still make it very sick.

Again, most goats probably would not eat cherry leaves.

Goats are smart enough to usually avoid foods that are no good for them.

And, one or two stray leaves drifting into their pasture won’t be a problem.

However, if you have a cherry bush where your goats have direct access to it, you may want to consider moving it.

It always poses some degree of risk.

 

Can goats eat cherry pits?

The other potential risk with cherries is the pits.

Obviously, pitted cherries are available, and in some ways are the best option for a goat.

The pit contains the highest concentration of cyanide in any part of the fruit.

Furthermore, many goats will likely chew the pit up as well as the rest of the fruit, which makes it easier for the cyanide to travel through the system.

Furthermore, cherries pose a choking risk, too.

Your goat may chew the cherry up, but it may not.

It may attempt to swallow it whole without realizing the fruit has a pit, and in this case, it could easily choke on the fruit.

So, the pits are both a health risk from the cyanide and pose a choking hazard.

For safest results, either buy cherries pitted or pit them yourself before feeding them to your goats.

 

Cherries are incredibly tasty and your goats are quite likely to love them, then.

But they are also a minefield of potential issues, so they should always be fed in careful moderation and under your supervision.

No part of the plant is really safe for your goat, and, if you have one somewhere on your goats’ pasture, this is where you may encounter potential problems.

Do your best to make sure your goats only eat small amounts of cherries, as a treat.

 

More in Fruit

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Leave a Comment