Can Goats Eat Daylilies?

Can Goats Eat Daylilies? (Answered!)

by

While daylilies are potentially dangerous in high enough quantities, this is really higher quantities than your goat would ever eat. They are, strictly speaking, toxic to goats, and in large enough amounts could cause a problem. To be completely safe, don’t grow them in large quantities.

 

While the risk is low, the potential benefit is honestly fairly low, too.

Daylilies are not nutritionally void, and indeed goats may find the bright petals very attractive—but ultimately there isn’t much in a daylily that your goat couldn’t get in a safer package.

Let’s look further into this.

Can Goats Eat Daylilies?

 

Are daylilies good for goats?

They are not nutritionally empty, as I said, so let’s consider what they do have going for them—and why it isn’t all that advantageous to let them eat them in the first place, even if they weren’t toxic.

Firstly, often what will attract goats to daylilies is the bright, colorful, attractive flowers.

Though we tend to think of goats as being colorblind, they actually have quite sensitive color vision.

This is often why they are so attracted to flowers—so your goats might seem interested, at first.

Beyond that, they are a reasonably good source of fiber.

Around 75% of your goat’s diet should be fiber in the form of hay or forage, and daylilies naturally represent a kind of forage.

So, in that sense, they do fit quite well into the diet—even as a very small part.

Beyond the fiber, though, there’s really not a great deal to speak of in terms of nutrition.

They’re simple flowers without a lot contained within.

So, while they may be a reasonably good source of fiber and forage, you can literally say this about any plant that isn’t poisonous to your goat.

So, let’s look at why you probably shouldn’t give your goat daylilies.

 

Are daylilies bad for goats?

The first thing to say is that daylilies are not actually lilies.

Lilies are almost universally poisonous, and should be avoided.

Daylilies do not fall into this category.

That said, though, daylilies are actually poisonous to goats—even if in only a small way.

The flowering plant contains a compound called hemerocallin, which is present in a number of daylily relatives and is the poisonous compound.

Even though your goats would have to eat fairly massive quantities to do themselves real harm, and most goats would stop of their own accord before this happened, it’s not impossible.

Ultimately, it’s better to be safe than sorry—and you can get far more fiber out of far safer plants, so there’s really no reason to feed daylilies to your goats.

Fruits, vegetables and even flowers like sunflowers all provide greater quantities of fiber in a tastier, safer package.

It may seem like excessive caution, but there’s simply no reason to feed them daylilies or let them eat them.

 

Can goats eat daylily flowers?

The simple answer is that they certainly shouldn’t.

When the daylily is actually flowering, this is when the plant is at its most toxic—and most attractive.

The plant produces the toxic compound as part of the flowering process, in part of its pollination effort to attract insects.

To goats, that compound is toxic and can cause adverse effects like diarrhea.

If there was any one part of the plant that was unsafe for your goats, it’s the flowers.

If you have them growing near where your goats can get them, you should be extra vigilant when they are flowering.

This is when your goats will be most drawn to them, and when they will be most dangerous.

 

Can goats eat daylily leaves?

Yes, they can eat the leaves safely, although they will likely not even notice that they are eating the leaves.

They are very small, and they are, again, basically nutritionally void.

There’s certainly nothing special contained in them that your goat would get much benefit from eating.

So, don’t worry too much about the leaves.

 

Can goats eat daylily stalks?

The stalks are perhaps the most nutritionally rich part of the plant, as I said.

This is where most of the fiber in the plant is contained, and this is what your goat will benefit most from eating.

Again, though, fiber is plentiful in a virtually infinite amount of much safer foods.

There are countless things you could give them instead that would provide more fiber and other benefits to boot.

Daylilies are not worth it.

 

So, it may seem overly cautious to advise against letting your goats eat daylilies.

They are minorly poisonous, and even then only when they are in bloom.

It may seem like there isn’t a huge amount to worry about, but the thing to remember, as I said, is the fact that there’s very little in there that’s of huge benefit, either.

Goats are typically drawn to colorful flowers, but for the most part, your goats will likely avoid eating daylilies after their first try.

Avoid letting your goats eat daylilies.

 

More in Plants

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Leave a Comment