# Goats and Acorns



## packhillboers

I have read on many different sites - including some Goat sites that Acorns are toxic and that goats can get oak poisoning. 
Well I certainly hope not. We are leaving this week for a job training. These goats have nothing go wrong until two days before we leave.(horns have to have the PVC pipe taped to them for fence issues.) None are showing any signs of having any oak poisoning yet. 

If Goats can not eat acorns.. then good grief.. we just can not have goats. There is no way to keep them from eating them. Plus... something has made them fat.. It has to be the acorns.


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## ThreeHavens

Our goats eat acorns like candy. We swept as many as we can out of their area, but so far they've not have a problem.


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## liz

Merry...I've seen that some goats are just more sensitive than others, if yours have been eating them with no ill effects I'd just put out extra hay to fill their bellies on so they limit themselves to how many they eat.


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## packhillboers

I hate leaving the goats for so long. My mother is here and will be caring for them but she is 71 years old and I sure don't want anything to go wrong.  We have all our sons and my brother and several neighbors on call to come help but... this week.. everything just seems to be happening with various goat issues. Last eve.. goat stuck head in fence.. I expected it with her.. so the horns are all taped up.. It must have gotten her nervous .. she popped out a blob of poop. (resently de-wormed all goats and I think I gave too much pro-bios to her (powder over the food) I am a nervous wreck trying to get everything set up before we leave.


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## packhillboers

I have all the younger ones seperated from the older ones at this time as there have been status issues in the herd lately and the feeding frenzy was crazy. So for my mother's sake.. she will be able to easily feed them over the fence into the feeders without going into the pens at all. At least the younger ones, do not have any acorns available to eat.


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## liz

I know how you feel leaving them under someone elses care.... You can only do so much "extra" to help keep them happy in your absence. They'll be fine and you'll have some very "pleased to see you" goats when you get home :hug: 

Making things easy for your mom will help.... having the hay where she can easily get to it, set amounts for grain feeding and times as well as having the water buckets set close to the fenceline...and a list for head counts, this way if one doesn't come to be fed she'll know how many should be there and to go look for the absent one should she need to.


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## packhillboers

Yes.. I more worry about the people here who have to care for them if something goes wrong. We have a neighbor whom she can call who knows what to do with any issues. I just don't like problems arising for other people to worry about.
My mother lives right next door.. actually she just has to walk out the door a little ways.. dump feed over fence from. I have the goats all set up right below her house with the feed easy to get to so she won't have to head on over to the far barn area at all.


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## Jessica84

I think they get the 'acorns' are bad for goats because too many will cause serious ulcers in cattle. The first year when they started eating them like that was the best thing in the world I was freaking out, but I think they can handle it, in a way its got to be better then some of the brush I see them eat lol. The good thing about acorns is they start to fall slowly so its like they are slowly being introduced to them. I bought one doe in the middle of fall, she had the runs for a week from eating to many, but take a deep breath I think yours will be ok


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## packhillboers

Thanks Jessica.. they do love them so much.. and it is why one got her head stuck in the fence and so.. now we have the Pipe head thing going on here. Their heads eventually get too large for this stunt ( I hope) Someone is always here to check them.


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## Shellshocker66

I've been worried about this very same thing as the acorns are just starting to fall and I have a ton of oak trees. My gals have always been very good about not eating what they are not suppose to. But they love oak leaves, and recently I've finding them munching on the acorns. 

I've been raking their normal hang out areas. But I see other folks around me with goats who are doing the same thing, and the sheep next door to me. So is it something that if it's new to them they can get sick from it or do they build up a resistance to the tannin? Or are there just some varieties of oaks that don't produce as much?

And I've had new gals recently come here and they are like "Oh yummy dried oak leaves"... No problems what so ever and they rather have an oak leaf then a raisin! I do leave plenty of hay out.


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## packhillboers

Well for my situation.. not a whole lot I can do to keep the acorns from falling. I just have always been home to watch them.. now leaving them for a week and I think of all sort of things to go wrong. If you have a small area to keep goats in.. making sure they get fed well and not over eat on the acorns I think is very important. So .. ours will just have to learn somehow that the acorns are to be eaten in moderation and the goats that don't learn this? Well.... hope they figure it out.


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## Goober

Every year, my guys scour the ground for every last acorn (they eat pecans, too). Haven't had any problems. They even suddenly took to eating crotalaria, seeds and all last fall. So far, I haven't had any problems.


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## StaceyRosado

I use to feed acorns by the bucket full to my goats :shrug: never killed a goat or caused any ill effects (except for maybe more clumpy poo due to the diet change).


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## packhillboers

That is very encouraging to know that Stacey. Thanks.


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## LJH

Our acorns aren't ripe yet and apparently not all that appealing. But the oak leaves, green or brown are a big favorite. 

There are so many different species of oak, I'm sure some are toxic to one critter or another. Ours are white oaks with pretty low tannin. I've peeled & eaten the acorns straight off the tree, no leaching or anything, and they're not all that bad.

It's fascinating to see what goaties find tasty at different stages of growth. In June they wouldn't touch the oaks; went straight for the serviceberries, deerbrush and mountain mahogany. Wanted nothing to do with the wild roses either. Suddenly the oak leaves are delicious and the roses are taking a major hit. Oh yeah, they ignored my tomatillos completely until they were just ready to pick & bottle up. :roll: 

What's freaking me out is the chokecherry bushes. From what I'm reading, the greens aren't too bad but once they start to turn in the fall, or wilted on a cut or broken branch, they're super bad news. We've been whacking down every one we find but the stinkin' things are everywhere.


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## Jessica84

Yep thats how my goats are love somethings some times then off to something new. I just figure the know best. I also have every kind of salt lick and they will go crazy for one then change to a new one and sometimes not touch any of them for weeks.....odd ball animals lol


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## fd123

My goats are eating tons of fallen acorns..and have been for a couple of weeks..i did notice a little clumpy poo in the pen...BUT...with my horrible luck..if acorns killed goats ....mine wouldve been dead 2 plus weeks ago!! maybe this just pertains to certain breeds, or maybe an old wives tell...??...
Theres NO WAY that i can keep my goats from eating them...There are more acorns than grass on my land at the moment!! Your goats will be fine!!


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## Goober

LJH - yes try to get rid of the chokecherries, but I wouldn't freak out TOO much if they end up with the odd leaf. I think they are mostly gone from my property, but I can't touch the ones just off my property and the wind blows them in in the fall. One of my does kept snarfing them up last fall (they were yellow at that point) whenever she could. But I still have her. My guys eat all sorts of "bad" things and so far are fine. I do attempt to limit the bad stuff, though, I really do.


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## LJH

Goober, that is reassuring, thank you. We'll keep cutting them down for sure, but not worry _quite_ so much.

Chokecherries are common here but mostly in the bottom lands and on the wetter hillsides which is also pretty much where everybody pastures their goats too and I haven't heard about any poisonings. Couple of years ago our neighbor lost a cow to grass tetany but otherwise, nada. Anywho, fingers crossed and death to all chokecherries. :greengrin:


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## mcharvick

*acorns*

whew. I was so afraid I may have poisoned my goats. But after reading on this site, I feel much better now. Thanks


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## mcharvick

I have a goat named goober. teehee


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## Texas.girl

All of my goats gobble up the acorns whenever they come across them and no problems at all.

This morning I found my 5 month old wether wearing a watering can as if it was a necklace. He manages to get himself into some strange situations.


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## Arkie

I know there are differences, but as close as a goat and a deer's physiology are I can't imagine there being a deer left in Arkansas if acorns were the least bit toxic to them. The acorn crop is how deer fatten to help them make it through winter.

Bob


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## J.O.Y. Farm

Whew! Reading this puts my mind at ease! We just put up a pen for a hopeful buck kid come spring and there is an oak tree dropping acorns right above it. Makes me feel better now!


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## mcharvick

getting the hang of , thanks for asking.


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## KarmakeeFarm

PackHill I know how you feel-we are leaving for Nationals in July-just for a couple days-I am so stressed about having someone else care for the critters that my my stomach is upset-7 months early!!!! egaads-i hope all goes well!


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## KarmakeeFarm

and I had an Angora buck that constantly devoured my huge rubarb plants-leaves and stacks-never was ill!


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## Texas.girl

mnblonde said:


> and I had an Angora buck that constantly devoured my huge rubarb plants-leaves and stacks-never was ill!


My goats gobble down every acorn they come across--no problem.

Last Jan. I put my poinsettia outside as the heat in the house was making it droop. Poinsettia was doing well and looking good until my Boer doe found it one day. RIP poinsettia--goat fine.

My baby wether ate a large aloe vera plant. I mean the entire plant. He had the runs for a few days but no other ill affects. I gave him some probios just in case. Bought a new aloe vera which is now behind fencing to keep it safe.

I HAD 2 baby rubarb plants and 2 decent size rosemary plants growing in the ground until goats came to live here. RIP to all the plants. Goats fine.

Goats also enjoyed, not one, not 2, not 3, but over 10 young (bought 3 different times) jalapeno plants. One of the jalapeno plants even had jalopeno's growing on it when the goats got to it. I guess I own Mexican goats:laugh:

Every plant I am told goats will not eat or is poisonous, turns out not to be true, at least for my goats.


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## mistyblue

The goats here are scarfing down acorns like crazy, as they have done for the last couple of years and I have noticed that they do gain weight on them. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I was told that acorns are a natural dewormer for goats?

I found the article - http://ezinearticles.com/?Feeding-Acorns-to-Meat-Goats&id=6744758


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## cathell

*acorn gallore*

white tail deer eat acorns, horses eat acorns, and we have several large oak trees I rake many acorns up and store in a barrel just to feed to the goats and some to the horses throughout the winter. I give about 1 maxwell house coffee can to two goats a day. they love it, they are healthy and I trust my animals to a certain extent on nutrition. fat/protein is high, possibly the "toxic" side to it is if consumed in very large amounts, and those small amounts of toxins might help deworm them.


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## marth54

lots of different types of oaks out there those of the white oak family are much milder than the red oak family, even people use the white oak acorns when foraging, so I have no problems with my goats other than they do put on extra weight so I try to manage with good hay don't want them to heavy before kidding.


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## Nicholas

StaceyRosado said:


> I use to feed acorns by the bucket full to my goats :shrug: never killed a goat or caused any ill effects (except for maybe more clumpy poo due to the diet change).


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## Nicholas

I am in the CALI foothills, Blue oaks and Black oaks. We Re having a mast harvest of acorns this year. 
We are starting November and dry as a bone. Could some problems be with fungi in moist mid west or east coast oak forests? 
Also, i feed 3 way hay and dry cob every morning. This slows my does consumptipn on


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## Nicholas

Of acorns.


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## MellonFriend

I don't know if you realize this, but this is a very old thread.


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