What can goats eat?

[Church Girl]

Hello BYH! My 2 pregnant Nigerian dwarf goats like to eat Sweet Gum leafs, daisies, and lots of other things, can I allow them to eat this stuff? Or is it not good for them? We have lots of different kinds of plants on our property. I am going to attach pictures, can someone identify these plants, or tell me what they can and can't eat?

 

[Church Girl]

We also have some Elderberry on our property. Is that poisonous to goats?

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

Those little 5 leaf plants are Virginia creeper, which some say are poisonous, but we've never had issues with it. They probably won't ever eat enough to make a difference anyway. Our goats love sweetgum and eat it all the time. Not sure about the elderberry.
You have a beautiful property and lovely goats!

 

[SageHill]

Great post. Love learning about what is good and not good. Pretty place for happy goats!

 

[Alaskan]

I know elderberry bushes are fine... or at least my goats ate bunches of them without any harm.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yeah, only death threat for my goats eating the elderberry was from me!

Nightshade is poisonous and can absolutely kill them...slowly.. Especially if it has berries on it.

 

[Leo Vance]

Sweet gum leaves in small amounts are usually fine, but I would be careful with daisies and other weeds since some can be toxic. Goats will try almost anything, so it is good you are checking.
If you are not sure about a plant, it is safer to fence it off or have it identified before letting your does eat much of it, especially while they are pregnant.