Goats and peaches

GoatsRus · #1 07/08/08, 01:56 PM

As posted in an earlier thread on countryside, I had a lot of peaches that are ripening, but the japanese beetles are making a mess of most of them. Is it OK to give the goats the "bad" peaches that we won't use? what about pits? do I have to pull out the pits on all the peaches I feed or will they be able to digest them or spit them out??

GoatsRus · #2 07/09/08, 09:29 AM

Bump...anyone know????

Goat Servant · #3 07/09/08, 07:21 PM

Good question...I know all fruit pits are bad for goats. They would probably not eat the pits but someone can answer your question better than I!

Backfourty,MI. · #4 07/09/08, 08:31 PM

I was told once that goats shouldn't have any fruit with a pit. Or that's how I understood them so I never let them have anything with a pit, wether I take the pit out or not. Maybe someone else that know's for sure will jump in here soon.

manygoatsnmore · #5 07/09/08, 08:51 PM

Hmm, I think the issue with stone fruits is the kernel inside the pit. Most of them contain trace amounts of cyanide. The fruit itself isn't the problem. Remove the pit and the goats will probably clean them up. I did have goats in a pasture with Stanley prune trees and they ate the drops, both unripe and ripe - never hurt them, but it was a very small part of their total diet. Also, goats are pretty good at eating what they want and spitting out the rest, such as the pits. I'm not really sure mine even ate the pits, to tell you the truth.

Nancy_in_GA · #6 07/09/08, 09:14 PM

We've been feeding our goats our unused peaches for the last week or two as treats. We cut out the pits. Only a couple of peaches at a time for each goat. We have one picky eater who will rarely try anything new, but even she ate them the first time.

GoatsRus · #7 07/10/08, 11:19 AM

Thanks for responding. I did cut out the pits and gave them a few peaches each. My wether is a pig about getting his share ! I know one goat did eat a pit that fell to the ground, but that was a few days ago and she seems OK.

Goat Servant · #8 07/10/08, 04:48 PM

GoatsRus;

I know one goat did eat a pit that fell to the ground, but that was a few days ago and she seems OK.

No huge doe berry??

manygoatsnmore · #9 07/10/08, 08:25 PM

Yeah, I've often wondered how long it takes to totally break down twigs, sticks and now pits? Obviously, they must be able to, since they don't come out the other end the way they went in, lol!