poisonous plant question

[Debara]

I am sorry for asking so many questions about plants... But I am new to having goats and I just want to make sure that my two little guys do not eat anything they should not. I know that they are getting well fed and that they usually know enough to stay away from the poisonous plants.. or at least that is what we have heard. But I am just scared that they will still eat something that they should not have eaten that I have no clue about.
My questions are: Can they eat pine needles? I took the boys for a walk and they grabbed some and boy did they like it. Very hard to pull them away from it. Also, They seem to like the leaves from our Live Oak tree. I thought oak trees were poisonous. Thank you for answering my questions. DEB

[topside1]

My 12 goats eat pine needles every chance they get, read somewhere that the needles and branch stems are loaded with vitamins mainly C. My gang also eat oak leaves, white oak, chestnut oak and pin oak leaves to be exact. They shy away from red oak for whatever the reason. I can't comment on Live Oak Trees because I have none growing in my area....Keep reading, there are poison lists for goats available in books and on the net. Personnally, if they have a variety of plant life available daily I wouldn't worry so much, goats are smarter then you may think providing they have loads of briers/grasses and leaves available in their grazing areas...Tennessee John

[rranch]

Trust me those goats are pretty smart. I have acres of dense forested land that I want the goats to clear and they won't touch the nettles. They will eat every morsal of everything else, but won't touch those darn nettles.lol

[ozark_jewels]

My goats love both pine and oak.....and their still kickin'!!