Why do goats eat anything

Why do goats eat anything

It's actually a myth that goats eat everything. If you do some research you will find that goats are rather fastidious eaters. They do however like to taste things. They don't have hands after all. The only time a goat will eat things it shouldn't is when it does not have enough of the right things to eat, or it has some nutritional deficiency. You can typically prevent these issues with a good feed, loose mineral, quality hey and good brows ( leaves and such). It doesn't guarantee that the goats wont become deficient from time to time but it's a great start. You can supplement with specific vitamins or minerals as needed when they start to develop symptoms. Your vet can give you a good list of items to keep on hand and what to look for. I keep copper boluses, vit B, Calcium, Selenium, vit E, Pro Bios, Nutri-drench, Red Cell, Electrolytes, an antibiotic and, tetanus antitoxin...just in case. If I need something I don't have I can usually pick it up from the vet or the feed store. In all my 20 years with goats I have never seen a goat actually ingest any unusual items.

It's a myth that goats eat everything. If you do some research you will find that goats are rather fastidious eaters. They do however like to taste things. They don't have hands after all. The only time a goat will eat things it shouldn't is when it does not have enough of the right things to eat, or it has some nutritional deficiency. You can typically prevent these issues with a good feed, loose mineral, quality hey and good brows ( leaves and such). It doesn't guarantee that the goats wont become deficient from time to time but it's a great start. You can supplement with specific vitamins or minerals as needed when they start to develop symptoms. Your vet can give you a good list of items to keep on hand and what to look for. I keep copper boluses, vit B, Calcium, Selenium, vit E, Pro Bios, Nutri-drench, Red Cell, Electrolytes, an antibiotic and, tetanus antitoxin...just in case. If I need something I don't have I can usually pick it up from the vet or the feed store. In all my 20 years with goats I have never seen a goat actually ingest any unusual items.

They don't. They don't eat feces, they don't eat any poisonous plants (unless they eat it out of trust because their owner gave it to them), etc. Goats are like human babies; they learn about an object by tasting/nibbling on it. They don't actually eat it though.

They do gnaw on wood and may try eating paper. Also, my goats' favorite treats are licorice-flavored goat treats and tortilla chips!

Definitely not everything.

Why not? They want to know why we're so finicky.