Can Goats Eat Magnolia Leaves?

Can Goats Eat Magnolia Leaves? (Answered!)

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Yes, goats can eat magnolia leaves. They are perfectly safe and make a great foraging addition to their diet if on their pasture. Cuttings are also good to give to your goats but do so in careful moderation. They should always have good range and variety.

 

There are few greater natural garden ornaments than a mighty tree.

The magnolia produces some of the most beautiful flowers of any such common tree, and so they are quite ubiquitous across the United States.

Whether you’ve got one that you have to frequently cut back or one on their pasture, it’s natural to wonder if their leaves are safe for our goats—so are they?

Goats are well known as being able to eat virtually anything.

While this isn’t completely true, magnolia leaves certainly are on that list.

They make great forage if they can simply find fallen leaves and are good also given as cuttings.

Can Goats Eat Magnolia Leaves?

 

Are magnolia leaves good for goats?

Yes, they are, in a variety of ways.

For one thing, something important to remember about goats is that they are natural foragers.

Unlike grazers, like cows, they prefer to roam a large area and find a variety of things to eat, rather than just eating grass.

So, firstly, if you have a magnolia tree on your property, finding the leaves can be a really good source of forage for them.

Beyond that, though, the leaves are healthy and fibrous.

Your goat can really never get too much fiber, and it is one of the most important parts of their diet.

Magnolia leaves are great nutrition for this reason.

The extra fiber helps promote healthy digestion and smooth movement of foods in the gut.

Ideally, if there’s a magnolia tree on your property, you can just let the goats forage it as and when they will.

Leaves will blow down and they will eat them, or if they can reach, they might eat them straight off the tree.

Otherwise, if you often trim a magnolia tree that they don’t have access to, you can give them some of the trimmings.

Spread the leaves out over a relatively wide area, so that they can find them over time, and not gorge themselves.

So, there’s plenty of good to be said about giving your goats magnolia leaves—now let’s look at the caveats.

Are magnolia leaves bad for goats?

No, they aren’t inherently bad for your goats.

They aren’t toxic or dangerous, and don’t pose any immediate harm.

That said, there are some important things to keep in mind when feeding magnolia leaves to your goats.

The most important thing is moderation and balance.

As I’ve said, goats like to roam around and eat a wide variety of things.

Magnolia leaves on their own will not be sufficient nutrition, and they should have another kind of food—whether that’s a variety of quality forage on the rest of the pasture, or something you’re giving to them, like hay or grain.

Any one kind of forage should only be a small part of your goat’s diet.

So, if you’re giving them magnolia cuttings, be sure to only give them a half-pound or so per goat—and spread it over a wide area, so they don’t immediately eat it all at once.

But magnolia leaves are not bad for goats and won’t do them any harm—they could end up with nutritional deficits elsewhere if they’re eating too much of the same thing and filling up.

 

What is the best time of year to feed goats magnolia leaves?

Magnolia is good for a lot of reasons we’ve touched on, but one we haven’t mentioned is the fact that many species of magnolia trees are evergreen.

This means that they do not shed their leaves annually but grow perennially, year-round.

So, if you have an evergreen magnolia, then it doesn’t matter what time of year—they can have at it!

In the depths of winter, they will probably avoid it, though, as the leaves will toughen up a bit in the cold.

Again, though, your goats will mostly do this of their own accord.

Some are deciduous, though, meaning they shed their leaves once a year.

Generally, you should let your goats eat the leaves during spring and summer and avoid them in late summer and fall.

Again, though, your goats should know to do this on their own—be aware of this with cuttings.

 

Can goats eat magnolia flowers?

Yes, goats can also eat the flowers on the magnolia tree.

They are not toxic or harmful, and in fact, will probably be quite attractive to your goats.

Goats are very sensitive to brightly colored flowers, and as foragers, this is not surprising.

The flowers are quite fibrous, and your goats will enjoy eating them, but again, there are not many benefits in removing them to give to your goat—let them find them on their own.

If the tree isn’t on their pasture, they’d be better looking for forage on their own.

 

Magnolia is perfectly safe and, in the right moderation, can be highly beneficial in your goat’s diet.

As I’ve stressed, one of the best things you can do for your goat’s diet is to let it roam around and find a good variety of food on its own time.

Falling magnolia leaves make a great addition to this menu, but cuttings are also good. Either way, they are totally safe.

 

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