Does anybody feed goats oats?

[livefree]

I read that oats are toxic to goats. Are they? 'Cause I know someone who feeds her goats oats.
Thanks

[busy homestead]

We feed oats to ours.
The only ones that get a mixed sweet feed are those milking at our house.
And I am sure I will hear it from some for typing that........so please dont
flame me, I am answering a question.
If you have questions about how we do it just give me an pm.
Christina
athome in SD

[natybear]

I'm just curious about where you read that? I've never heard about oats that aren't ok to feed goats. We threw some leftover oats seeds into our pastures last fall and our goats have been munching happily all spring on them. We have also used COB mixed in our feed from time to time. I would really like to know if I'm harming my goats with oats!

[Jen H]

Moldy oats are toxic for goats, same as moldy hay. But it's the mold that's toxic, not the oats.

Grain in general can give wethers and small bucks urinary calculi - stones that form in their bladders and they can't pass out. But giving them ammonium chloride along with that grain takes care of the problem.

Unless you're actively milking, your goats probably don't need oats or other grains. But that's just cause they get fat from all the energy in the grain, not because it's bad for them.

[livefree]

I was doing a search for harmful plants and came across this list. It is kinne.net/poi-list.htm. I was looking to see if forsythia and lilac were okay. I have just plain oats for the winter and I didn't understand why they would be harmful. But I see that it is from mold.

[goatgirl92]

ok maybe im crazy but i thought that oats caused some sort of calcium think in the urinary tract. i dont know maybe i dreamed it.

[Jen H]

You didn't dream it. Grain can cause stones to form in bladders and cause problems for young bucks and wethers. Feeding ammonium chloride prevents the stones (urinary calculi) from forming.

This is not a problem for does.

[okgoatgal2]

mine loved the oat hay i gave them that one year.....and never got sick from it.

[natybear]

Well thank goodness its not actually the oats that are poisoness. I understand the mold part, but I was scared there for a while. I was seaching everywhere to find more info on feeding oats and couldn't find anything about them being poison.

[PLPP]

http://www.goatworld.com/nutrition/oats.shtml


We dont feed oats to our goats, it seems to slow the growth. BUt the site says it is fine.