Will goats eat cattails?

[giddy]

I need to move my goats to another area and have a large pond with cattails all around it. I just wondered if they would eat them.

[fishhead]

Are they still green? I've seen my goats stand in water up to their bellies to eat cattails. It looks kind of funny to see 4' of leaves disappear into their mouths.

[KSALguy]

yep they will eat them till they are gone then stand and wait for more to grow lol, cattails are great my rabbits love them too

[RosewoodfarmVA]

If they're green/fresh they gobble em up. Wait til winter and they're all brown and dead and they won't touch them. Like with any forage, the younger it is the tastier it is...

[cybercat]

For many areas cat tails are protected. So check your protected plant species for area and state.

[Ernie]

I'd eat those cat tails too.

I'm surprised that the cat will not run away. mine would.

[ranger4327]

does anyone know if goats will eat young softwood treess? more specifically spruce trees?

[fishhead]

What kind of spruce? My goats will eat one kind of pine but not another and it depends on the season too. Also how much other food is available. If possible cut some boughs and try feeding them to the goats.

[Ernie]

For the most part I haven't seen any young trees yet that goats WON'T eat.

[ranger4327]

they are actually norway spruce. i dont have the goats as of yet, but i am looking to aquire some this spring. we want some livestock to help take care of our brush situation, have some fun raising them for the kids (ours), and utilizing our acreage here in northern maine. we also need a hobby and thought raising and using meat and byproducts would be a great source to help the goats pay their way..... i am doing a lot of reading and learning to see what we should do....