Can Goats Eat Lavender?

Can Goats Eat Lavender? (Is It Safe?)

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No, goats should not eat lavender. It is mildly toxic to them, and usually turns them off with its scent anyway. While goats have a reputation for eating anything, they’re actually put off by a bad smell quite easily. So, you really don’t need to worry too much about it.

 

Lavender is dangerous to goats, and you should always take precautionary measures to prevent them eating it if you find any growing on your pasture.

Even though they usually know to avoid it, this isn’t always the case, and it’s better safe than sorry.

Let’s look further into this.

Can Goats Eat Lavender?

 

Should goats eat lavender?

No, they shouldn’t.

There are really no nutritional benefits to speak of that you couldn’t get from more appropriate, nutrient rich plants and foods.

Lavender is a flower, and while many flowers are actually quite palatable to goats, few of them are very nutrient-rich.

Lavender has this problem, in that there’s not much at all to speak of nutrition-wise.

It’s a bit of fiber, but apart from that, there’s very little nutrition in there.

But lavender also has the problem of being actively toxic.

Like with most plants that are toxic to goats, it takes a very large amount to do any serious harm, let alone cause fatal injury.

I think it would be safe to say that pretty much no goat would ever eat that much lavender of its own accord.

That said, I still believe caution is always the best policy.

Your goats might not do themselves any serious harm with lavender, but you should never give it to them, and if you find any growing where they can get it, remove it if you can.

 

Will goats eat lavender?

For the most part, no. goats have a good sense of smell, and though the smell of lavender is very pleasant to our noses, it is the complete opposite for goats.

They are deeply put off by the smell, and for good reason, too.

But I will get into that later.

As I said, goats, by and large, will ignore any kind of lavender they’re presented with.

However, goats do have very individual personalities.

Some may be much more eager to try things they haven’t scent tested.

Especially if they are used to being offered things by you.

They would be much more likely to eat it out of your hand than to eat it off the ground.

If it is growing in their pasture, though, you need to be more careful simply because you can’t monitor them at all times.

For the safest result, I would suggest uprooting the lavender where you find it and moving it. keep the goats away from it.

So, again, even though lavender is basically harmless except in very large quantities, and will also be routinely ignored by most goats, you can never be too careful.

So, why, then, is lavender dangerous?

 

Why is lavender poisonous?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t much more complicated than that there is a toxic compound in lavender that is harmful to goats.

The compound that produces the strong smell of lavender is called S-linalool.

This is what is toxic to goats, and indeed to many other animals.

Part of the purpose of a flower’s scent is to discourage grazers from eating it.

This doesn’t always work, of course, and the main purpose is to attract insects.

Nonetheless, it gives you a good idea of why the plant is poisonous.

A chemical that produces an odor that strong is bound to be harmful somehow.

Is it any safer dried or fresh?

 

Can goats eat dried lavender?

No, they can’t.

Even ignoring the toxic properties, dried plant matter of this kind usually isn’t really beneficial to goats anyway.

Of course, hay is the backbone of their diet.

But dried lavender is dried to preserve the smell alone, really, and not much else.

So, no, goats cannot eat dried lavender.  

 

Can goats eat fresh lavender?

No, fresh lavender is just as dangerous.

Fresh lavender is the only kind that you would need to worry about your goat trying.

They are fond of almost any plant, so they may vacuum it up without even realizing it.

Again, though, for the most part, they will know to ignore it without any help. If you do think your goat has eaten some lavender, try and get it to swallow a small amount of baking soda and keep an eye on it.

If you notice any strange behavior, call your vet.

 

Whatever kind of lavender it is, then, it’s no good for your goats.

It is potentially quite harmful, and though it would, in almost all cases, take more lavender than the goat would eat to do it any serious harm, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

If you find lavender growing on their pasture, do your best to eradicate it.

You could even move it elsewhere, if you wanted to keep it growing.

All this said, though, goats usually know to avoid lavender on their own terms.

 

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