Rosemary is an herb plant with a fascinating fragrance and it’s leaves are used for savory cooking.
If you have a lot of Rosemary bushes within the surrounding area and you are raising goats as pets, you might be wondering if you can serve rosemary for goats.
In this blog post, you are going to discover if it is safe to serve rosemary for the goats. You will also learn the right way to introduce rosemary to the goats.
Can goats eat rosemary? Goats can eat rosemary. Rosemary can be served to the goat as a treat. Rosemary is a good source of antioxidants for the goats.
You should never hesitate to serve rosemary to the goat as a treats if you have them in abundance within the surrounding area. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with it.
Table of Contents
Is Rosemary safe for goats?
First, I would like to tell you that rosemary is safe for the goat as it doesn’t contain any toxic substance that can harm the wellness of the goats.
Common toxic substances that are found in most weeds like solanine, persin, lectin etc cannot be found in Rosemary plants.
Therefore, it is good to serve rosemary bushes to the goat as a treat but it has to be in moderation.
As a goat owner, it is very important to make enquiries about the new treat you want to introduce to the goat.
This is very essential as goats have complex digestive systems and are a bit complicated. So you must avoid serving something that can cause a tummy upset in a goat.
You must know the level of toxicity in the new treat which you want to introduce to your goats.
Beside that you must also know the right proportion of the treat you need to serve to the goat so as to prevent bloating and other similar effects on the goat.
In order to be more certain about this, I asked other goat owners around about feeding Rosemary to the goat.
A member of The Goat Spot Forum said that he has been serving rosemary to his goats for over 3 years. He said none of them has ever shown signs of sickness in one way or the other.
There are a host of other goat owners on the forum who testified that goats love rosemary as a treat.
Just like I said the other time, goats have a complicated stomach because they are ruminant animals.
With this, you can’t just serve anything to the goat so that they can have something to fill their stomach.
Make sure you give the goat something that will enrich their body systems if you really care about their well-being.
How do I introduce rosemary to my goats?
Introducing rosemary to the goats can be done in two different ways. The first way is to give them free access into the garden to feed on the rosemary there.
The goats are going to eat enough of the Rosemary that is good for their body systems and bail.
On the other hand, you can decide to get some rosemary bushes from the garden and put them in the feeders for the goat and watch how they are going to react towards the plant.
If you’re going to use this method, it is very important to go slow when you are introducing Rosemary to the goat for the first time.
You can do this by serving them a little amount of Rosemary to see if they are going to accept it or reject it.
They might ignore the rosemary first and later come back to eat everything once they find rosemary bushes palatable.
However, if it happens that they are turning their heads against the rosemary bushes you serve in the feeders. It means they are not interested in the new treat and you should take it away.
How often do I feed my goats with rosemary?
You need to regard rosemary as a treat. You know what that means? It means rosemary cannot be served to the goats regularly.
I know you might be tempted to serve rosemary to the goats often if it happens that you have the plant in abundance in the surrounding areas.
But you need to exercise caution when it comes to feeding treats to the goats. Rosemary should not be served more than one time at every fortnight.
Can goats survive on rosemary alone?
The short answer to this question is no. There is no way the goats are going to survive by eating only rosemary alone.
The reason is that rosemary lacks essential vitamins and minerals that are essential for the proper growth and well-being of the goats.
Take for instance, rosemary lacks a good amount of protein in their nutritional facts and this is very essential for the proper growth of the goat, especially the kids.
Can rosemary cause bloating in goats?
Rosemary is capable of causing bloat in goats if it happens that they consume the plant in excess.
In fact, any treat is capable of causing bloat in goats if they manage to eat more than their stomach capacity.
The reason is that there are a lot of microbes in the digestive systems of the goat.
The microbes usually work hard to break down the excess feed in the stomachs of the goats, and this usually creates a lot of reactions which leads to bloating in goats.
Can baby goats eat rosemary?
It is not advisable to serve rosemary to the kids due to lack of protein and calcium in their nutritional facts.
Majority of the feed you are going to provide a young goat must contain a high proportion of protein in them. This will enhance their growth faster.
Why are my goats not eating rosemary?
It is obvious that goats are capable of eating a lot of things. But you need to know that they are also selective about what goes into their body systems.
The goats are going to reject the rosemary bushes you serve them if it happens that they don’t find it palatable or its not looking appealing.
Other treats you can serve the goats
These are other healthy treats you can serve to the goats in order to boost their meal plan.
Apples
Apples are one of the healthy treats you can serve the goats. You can slice the apples into smaller pieces before you give them to the goat.
Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the healthy vegetables you can serve the goat as a treat. Lettuce can be served alone or together with other vegetables to create a unique treat for the goats.
Yogurt
Yogurt is also one of the treats you can serve the goats. Yogurt provides the microbes in the stomach of the goat probios which is essential for fast digestion.
Corn
Goats can also eat corn. Goats can eat both fresh and dried corn. Goats can also eat corn on the cob together with the husk.
Conclusion
Rosemary is safe for the Goat and you can serve it to them as a treat. Rosemary provides the goat with antioxidants which helps to improve the immune system of the goats. However, rosemary should be served to the goats in moderation to prevent bloating.
