Do Goats Eat Thistles? (Are Thistles Safe For Goats?)

So, if your goats can get to thistles, the overwhelming likelihood is they will eat them.

Though you might wince given thistles are so tough and would hurt us a great deal if we ate them, goats are hardy and can manage them perfectly fine.

Let’s look further into this.

Can goats eat thistles?

Yes, they can, in the sense that thistles are perfectly safe for goats.

There is nothing dangerous, toxic, poisonous or otherwise harmful to your goats in thistles.

You don’t need to worry about them getting sick from eating thistles.

So, if your question is do they eat thistles because you have thistles where they can get to them and you are concerned, then don’t fear.

Thistles are perfectly safe.

But are they especially good for your goats?

Are thistles good for goats?

Yes, in lots of ways!

Thistles growing wild on your pasture represents a fantastic forage for them.

They love to roam around and find fresh plant matter for themselves, and they love pretty much any kind of thistle.

Thistle plants are an excellent source of fiber for your goats.

They are essentially all fibrous plant matter, which is essential to your goat’s overall digestion and diet.

Your goat can never have too much fiber.

But the really great thing about thistles is the form of enrichment that foraging for them provides.

If you can, don’t pull the thistles up to give to your goats.

Just let them find them, and they will make short work of these apparently prickly, coarse plants.

But are there any caveats?

Are thistles bad for goats?

No, thistles are not bad for goats in any real way.

The only potential problem you may run into would be by feeding them excessive amounts of thistles.

If you are leaving them to consume the wild thistle as they please, then they will never overgorge themselves—goats are smarter than we think!

So, just don’t give them tons and tons of thistle.

Let them find it on their own.

It would take a huge amount to cause any problems even if you were giving them all the thistle they could eat, but they need a good range and balance in their diet.

Can goats eat creeping thistle?

Creeping thistle is one of the most common, and indeed one of the most common in the British Isles, where many thistles are native.

This thistle is defined by its large, bulbous flowers and long stems.

These are perfectly safe for your goats, and in fact provide the most actual nutrition.

The flower is full of fiber and tasty petals which your goat will love.

Creeping thistles are tall, and also have a lot of leaves on their stems.

Creeping thistle is totally safe.

Can goats eat marsh thistle?

Marsh thistle is often thought of as one of the prettiest varieties of the thistle genus.

With large, bright flowers perched on top much smaller bulbs at the end of a thinner stalk, they are much more like typical flowers.

Marsh thistles, as the name implies, are most often found in marshes.

So, the likelihood that you have any on your pasture your goats will find is less likely unless you have something approaching marshes or a body of water.

In any case, marsh thistle is just as safe as any other variety of thistle and your goat will be very attracted to the bright flowers.

Can goats eat spear thistle?

Finally, we have the third most common variety: spear thistle.

It’s easy to see where it gets this name from.

This variety lacks a bright flower, but instead has a large, white flower with spear-like petals jutting out on each side.

This is another variety that is totally safe for your goat, and indeed provides a substantial snack if they can get the flower.

Even if not, the stems are still a great source of fiber.

Spear thistle is safe and healthy for your goats.

Whatever the kind of thistle, then, your goat will almost certainly at least try it.

Whether it decides it isn’t a fan or it loves it, it will try and your goat will eat it.

You have nothing to fear, though, as thistles are totally safe for your goats and pose no potential threat or harm.

Your goats can chew up even the hardest plant matter, and so you’ve got nothing to fear about it hurting itself in any way.

Just don’t feed it on an entire thistle diet!

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