What Vegetables Can Goats Eat?

What Vegetables Can Goats Eat? (Answered!)

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Goats can eat virtually any vegetable you can think of. With the exception of garlic and onions, they can eat virtually any vegetable as long as it is done so in good moderation. Carrots, swede, potatoes, lettuce, peppers, turnips—anything you can think of!

 

Depending on how you look at it, a goat can have a simple or quite a complex diet.

The majority of it will be taken up by one or two things, but you might be wondering what you can give them on the side as treats, such as vegetables.

When it comes to feeding goats vegetables, then, the world really is your oyster.

It is very little they can’t have, and very little they won’t have an appetite for.

That said, all goats are different, so it may take some time to find your goat’s favorite.

Let’s look further into this.

What Vegetables Can Goats Eat?

What are goat’s favorite vegetables?

Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to this question.

Goats have a lot more personality than we might often give them credit for, and this means they will very often like different things.

That said, fresh vegetables in general are certainly one of your best options for treats as they are lower in sugar than fruits.

It’s important to mention, though, that vegetables should only make up a relatively small part of your goat’s diet.

They should be eating mostly hay, forage, or grain.

Fresh veg should make up around a quarter of their diet.

They enjoy things like carrots, lettuce, broccoli, pumpkin, celery, cabbage, and turnips—you’ll just have to experiment, let them try a few things, and see what they like.

You’ll eventually find a favorite.

Again, though, even when you do, you should still provide them balance in the vegetables they eat.

They shouldn’t just exclusively eat their favorite, nor will they really have a single favorite vegetable.

They will have a few that they like.

So, just take the time to give them a lot of different things and see what they like.

Let’s quickly look at what not to give them, though.

 

What should not be fed to goats?

There are a couple of vegetables that you should not give to your goats, as they can cause problems.

Onions have been shown to contain more than one toxin which can be fatal to many household animals, like cats, dogs and goats.

Do not feed your goats onions.

The other thing is garlic.

Though this isn’t strictly a vegetable in the culinary sense, but a flowering plant used as a flavor enhancer, it’s still worth mentioning that you shouldn’t feed this to your goat.

Again, it has been shown to contain a number of harmful toxins which are not good for goats.

Other than that, though, there really isn’t anything that is off the menu.

Let’s take some vegetable categories as a whole.

 

Can goats eat leafy greens?

Yes, they can eat leafy greens, and they will love them.

Things like kale, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, rocket—just about anything!

They are natural foragers, and so they are naturally inclined to things like this that grow visible above the ground.

Again, any one of these vegetables that you feed them should only be done in moderation.

Be sure to swap them out for a variety of other things to get the best balance in their diet and ensure full nutrition.

Now let’s look at root veg.

 

Can goats eat root vegetables?

Yes, they certainly can.

Things like potatoes, turnip, swede, carrots—all of these are perfectly safe and healthy for your goats.

They are quite tough in most cases, especially things like potato and turnip, so you may want to consider cutting them up a bit.

They may also prefer leafy greens and other, more manageable veg, but there are plenty of health benefits for your goat to root vegetables.

Turnips in particular are very often used in widespread livestock feeding, and so they make a great choice for your goats a treat.

They are nutritionally quite dense, so the point about moderation applies even more greatly, here.

Don’t give them too much as it can be quite difficult for them to digest if they overeat.

It’s often a good idea to spread such foods over a wide area.

This stops them eating too much all at once, and is often how turnips are fed to sheep and cows and goats.

 

Can goats eat cooked vegetables?

This is a broad question, but the simple answer is probably not.

If it’s something you’ve cooked for your own consumption and had leftovers, the problem is you may have cooked it in oil or spices that are less than healthy for your goat.

Even if not, there’s really no benefit to giving them cooked vegetables over raw vegetables.

They will almost certainly prefer raw veg, and won’t get any special benefit from cooked vegetables.

Raw veg will give the taste and texture that they would expect from foraged foods.

 

So, as long as you avoid the one or two things we’ve mentioned as being unhealthy for goats, you can really feed them any vegetables you like.

As I said, the trick is going to be trying a lot of different things and seeing what your goat prefers.

They will likely have a favorite.

Also, be sure to continue to exercise caution regarding moderation—vegetables are good for them, but not if you overfeed them.

 

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