Can Goats Eat Mulberry Leaves? (Find Out!)

 

So, if you have mulberry bushes on your property, then they represent a great opportunity for your goats to forage.

As with anything this nutritionally complex, though, your goats really only need quite a small amount before they’ve extracted all the benefits.

Mulberry leaves should only be an occasional treat.

Let’s look further into this.

 

Are mulberry leaves good for goats?

Certainly, they are, in some ways.

For one thing, goats seem to love mulberry leaves and bushes.

Forage is a really important part of a goat’s diet, and indeed of their enrichment.

Goats love eating straight from the bush.

Other that, mulberry leaves are a great source of fiber.

Fiber is pretty much the backbone of your goat’s diet, since most of what they eat should be hay or forage.

They can never really have too much fiber—it just helps everything else move through the system.

Mulberry leaves are also a great source of vitamin C, which, among immune-boosting properties and other things, is also a fantastic source of antioxidants.

Over time, free radicals can develop in and damage your goat’s cells—antioxidants prevent this.

But the benefits don’t stop there.

Mulberry leaves are also rich in minerals like calcium.

Calcium is vitally important for the overall strength of the muscles and bones, and it’s not always easy to get good amounts into their diet on hay feed.

Mulberry leaves are great for that.

So, yes, in short, mulberry leaves are great for goats—but this point is not without its caveats.

 

Are mulberry leaves bad for goats?

Firstly, no, mulberry leaves are not inherently bad for goats.

They are nutritionally rich, tasty, and they make great forage.

Especially if your goat is foraging a bush, you really have nothing to worry about—they will stop when they are done.

That said, you do need to keep moderation in mind, especially if you are actively giving them mulberry leaves, and they aren’t getting them from a bush.

Because mulberry leaves are so nutritionally rich, your goat really only needs to eat a few before it has gotten most of the benefit it needs.

If it eats much more, the leaves are likely to cause pain, indigestion, and even diarrhea.

In the case of foraging a living bush, goats, as I say, will typically not eat more than is good for them.

They know their own limits, and won’t gorge themselves.

It’s also worth mentioning that while you do need to keep moderation in mind, it would take a really large amount to do any serious harm to your goat.

If you are giving them mulberry leaves, only do so once or twice a week.

Swap them out with other treats in the rest of the week to keep them from getting bored, and provide the greatest range of benefits.

As long as you maintain moderation, mulberry leaves are great for your goats.

 

Can goats eat fresh mulberry leaves?

Yes, fresh mulberry leaves are the best way to feed them to your goats.

Again, the best and most ideal way would be having a mulberry bush on their pasture that they can get direct access to of their own accord.

Foraging provides both nutrition and enrichment, and the leaves will always be fresh and ready to eat.

Fresh mulberry leaves from a bush is the best way for your goats to eat mulberry leaves.

 

Can goats eat dead mulberry leaves?

They certainly can, and it won’t be a problem for them.

They may enjoy scooping up dead leaves off the ground, and you’ve nothing to worry about if this happens—they’re perfectly safe.

That said, for the most part, your goats will probably leave the dead leaves alone.

Obviously, if you can, get them fresh leaves as much as possible.

They’re going to get greater benefit from fresh leaves.

They most likely wouldn’t be that interested in eating dead leaves if they have an adequate diet.

In some climates, mulberry bushes are evergreen, so it would make a great, year-round bit of forage for your goats.

Growing one is definitely worth considering.

 

As you can see, then, it’s not necessarily a cut and dry issue—you can’t just let them go wild on mulberry leaves.

There’s got to be careful moderation involved, especially if you’re actively giving them mulberry leaves, as opposed to simply having a bush they can forage.

Goats need a pretty simple diet, with some extras on the side. Any more than this in terms of treats and they stand a real chance of becoming sick.

Remember—a balanced, moderated diet.

 

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