Spinach is perfectly safe for goats, so yes, they can eat it as long as it is taken in a balanced ratio. Spinach contains oxalic acid that can cause calcium deficiency if consumed at a high rate, so if you can maintain a healthy and balanced diet for your goat, spinach is not a problem.
If you do not have enough pasture for your goats to graze from, you can always fall back to garden greens, such as spinach, to keep your goats healthy as lack of proper nutrients badly damages the health of goats.
Also see: Can Goats Eat Poison Ivy?
Is Spinach Good for Goats?
Goats being ruminants, can tolerate oxalate in spinach as oxalate gets broken into harmless formic acid and carbon dioxide by rumen bacteria.
Even if consumed in a little bit large quantity, the number of oxalate-degrading bacteria will increase in ruminant defending from oxalate poisoning. Thus, spinach is not harmful to goats if consumed in a balanced quantity.
Moreover, spinach can be a nutritious addition to the diet of your goats. They love to eat greens, so if you are wondering to transition from grains to something else, green vegetables can be a good option.
Can Goats Also Eat Kale?
Although feeding Kale to goats is typically a common practice, it can be dangerous too.
A study revealed that if Kale is consumed in excess amounts by the goats, it can result in damaged red blood cells that eventually rupture.
As a consequence, goats will pass red Urine and will soon suffer from Anemia. So, if you want to feed Kale to your goat, you can, but make sure that you are not providing it in large quantities.
Mix it up with other nutritious snacks, and you will not have to face any grave situation.
What Vegetables Can Goats NOT Eat?
Some garden greens you should avoid to feed your goats are as follow:
Onion
Onion contains an alkaloid, N-propyl disulfide, that can cause Anemia in livestock. Better to avoid that.
Rhubarb Leaves
While Rhubarb stalks are perfectly fine to eat, leaves, on the other hand, are considered toxic and must be avoided in any case. Rhubarb contains a high level of oxalic acid, which can be fatal.
Vegetables from the Nightshade family
Solanine is present in the vegetables from the Nightshade family, which is toxic for goats. Not, in any case, should they be fed to goats.
These vegetables include eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes.
What Should You Be Feeding Your Goats?
While goats can eat almost everything, the primary source of nutrition for goats is hay. Hay can be in the form of grass or alfalfa. And instead of dried hay, you can also feed chaffhaye to your goats for extra vitamins and minerals if you want.
Feeding grains is also an excellent option. Grains can be utilized to add protein, vitamins, and minerals to goats’ diet.
Garden greens, such as cucumbers, melons, spinach are also very beneficial for the goats’ health, but one thing must be kept in mind that:
- Not all garden greens are edible for goats.
- Anything in excess can cause illness.
Summary
Spinach is not harmful to goats if consumed in an appropriate amount, so while keeping track of the amount that already has been fed, you can let your goats graze on spinach.
The same is the case with Kale. However, Kale is considered more toxic and more lethal if consumed in large amounts, so it is better to avoid that.
Let your goats feed on forage and sometimes add edible garden greens and plants to your goat’s diet for extra vitamins and minerals.
Finally, it would be best if you did not ignore the importance of a nutritious diet for your goats, as any ignorance in their diet will result in highly damaging health consequences.
