Can Goats Eat Plastic?

Goats are carefree and they are capable of doing so many things.

It is obvious that goats are voracious eaters. The question is can goats eat plastic or similar material?

In this blog post, you are going to discover if goats can actually eat plastic. You will learn what you need to do if you discover that your goat has eaten a plastic material.

Can goats eat plastic? Goats are capable of eating plastic bags but it poses a great danger for their body systems. Goats can eat plastic bags out of curiosity when they are hungry.

This is the reason why you need to get rid of any junk materials within the surrounding area of the pen.

Is it OK for goats to eat plastic?

It is not good for goats to eat plastic. Depending on the amount of plastic material the goat eats, it can cause a blockage in the rumen of the goat.

Goats are fond of trying out anything that looks edible to them. This is the reason why it is very important to watch them while they are browsing around for a pasture.

The goat likes to search around for something they can snack on or nibble. It is not good to keep a waste bin or garbage closer to the pen where you have your goats.

If the goats have access to the waste bin, they are going to ransack everything just to find something to eat especially when they are hungry.

There was a time our goats had access to the kitchen and ate up all the edible food materials that are found there including the seasonings.

This behavior is common to most goats, especially the ones that go around on a free range to look for pasture. 

Will goats digest plastic?

Goats cannot digest plastic if they eat it in large quantities. Plastic bags usually get stuck in the rumen of the goats. It can even cause a blockage in the intestine of the goat. 

There are many signs which the goats will exhibit when they eat plastic materials in large quantities. 

The goat may experience a bowel movement. The goat may lose its appetite and will not be able to eat anything. 

The goats may develop bloating when the plastic material has caused a serious blockage in their digestive systems.

The goat may not experience any form of distress if it happens that they eat the plastic in small quantities. 

But it is very important to keep an eye on them just to make sure that they do not do something silly that will affect their overall health.

What do you do if your goat eats plastic?

You can get destabilized if you discover that your goat has eaten a plastic bag especially if you are a new owner.

No one will envisage that goats are capable of eating a plastic material. A situation like this usually throws the goat owner off balance.

The first thing you need to do is to administer vegetable oil for the goats. There is no need to run after the goat so that the situation will not get complicated.

You are allowed the goats to come into the pen where you can easily grab it and administer the vegetable oils

The vegetable will enhance easy movement of the plastic bag into the rectum of the goats and pass it out.

After that, you need to watch the goats for a while to see if there are any improvements after you have administered the vegetable oil.

Do not allow the goats to go out of the pen. This will enable you to check their feces if there are any traces of plastic materials in them.

If it happens that there are no improvements after watching the goat for a while, you can then take the pet to the to the vet doctor for another check on them.

Why do goats eat plastic?

It is very obvious that goats are voracious eaters, they like to eat anything which looks edible. 

Goats can eat plastic bags out of curiosity. They may want to know what the plastic bag tastes like. 

Another thing is that if an edible food is wrapped around the plastic bag. Your goats will want to eat the food stuff on the bag, and if they can not get out, they are going to eat both the food and the plastic bag.

Goats are also going to eat the plastic bag if they are hungry and do have anything else to eat.

Can goats eat paper?

Goats can eat paper. I got to know about this when I was on my way somewhere and I saw a goat and her kids eating shredded paper from the waste bin. 

I think it happened because they have nothing else to eat and they are hungry. 

I tried to prevent them from eating the shredded paper but they took some in their mouth and ran far away to a place where they could eat the paper without any interference. 

Can goats eat nylon?

Goats can eat nylon but it is good to prevent them from doing so. If the nylon has a taste or fascinating aroma, the goats will eat the nylon without any remorse. 

Healthy treats you can serve the goats

Instead of allowing your goats to eat plastic bags or any other materials, it will be very good to serve them some of these health treats. 

Bananas

Bananas are one of the healthy treats you can serve the goats. Bananas are a good source of fiber for the goats. Goats can eat both the fruits inside and the peels of bananas. 

Pumpkin

Pumpkin is one of the healthy treats you can serve goats. Pumpkins are a good source of antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals for the goats. Do not serve the pumpkin seeds to the goats.

Cabbage

Cabbage is one of the healthy vegetables you can serve your goats as treats. Cabbage provides the goats with antioxidants as well. Simply put it in the feeders for them and they finish it in no time. 

Watermelon

You can also serve watermelon to the goats as a treat. Watermelon provides the goats with vitamins and minerals. Goats can also eat the rind on watermelon. 

Conclusion

Goats can eat plastic bags but it can cause serious problems for the goats. Loss of appetite, bowel movement are one of the common symptoms the goats are going to exhibit if they eat plastic. You can take the goats to the vet for proper checking and treatments. 

Reference

https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/goat-ate-some-plastic.174068/