# Pine Needles?



## Aunt_Maf (Apr 8, 2016)

Hello all!

In a few weeks or so, once they're weaned and eating well, I'll be getting two Cashmere does. I've never had goats before, so I'm excited ... and a little nervous, lol.

But ... I live smack dab in the middle of a pine forest, both Ponderosa and Lodgepole. Pine needles abound, those darn trees just keep endlessly puking them out. 

So, I read somewhere that pine needles are toxic to goats, is this so? How vigilant do I need to be?


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

Mine chow down on pine needles all the time. They go nuts for them haha. Both the fresh green ones on the lower hanging branches, and the dried up ones on the ground. Bucks, dry does, pregnant, lactating, and kids all eat loads of them without a problem. But it may be that a specific species of pine is toxic or something.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Pine needles are fine for goats except for one type. And i can't remember which :think:


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

Time to consult the all-knowing Google


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

All I can find is that Ponderosa pine needles are the ones that have been linked to abortion in cattle, goats, and other ruminants, but only in large amounts. To be safe, I'd probably still keep all my pregnant does from eating more than a tiny amount if possible


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## Aunt_Maf (Apr 8, 2016)

SundewFarms said:


> Time to consult the all-knowing Google


Thank you Sundew!

Just a few days ago I consulted the all-knowing Google after smelling the incredibly overpowering scent of green apples. Google told me I was having olfactory hallucinations and that I have a brain tumour.

Telling one of the old-timers in the area about my brain tumour, he told me what I was actually smelling was the scent of a Western Conifer Beetle, also puked out by pine trees, and which produce the overpowering scent of green apples when it's threatened.

So I've given up on Google and am here consulting with you .... caprineophiles? .... caprinophiles? .... Goat lovers. :wink:

Thanks all!


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## ShireRidgeFarm (Sep 24, 2015)

My goats like pine branches too.  We even feed them the Christmas tree at the end of the season. I'm not sure what kind of pine trees we have, but whenever the wind blows a little branch or two into the goat field someone always goes and eats it up. :lol:


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

aunt_maf said:


> caprineophiles? .... Caprinophiles?


 :slapfloor:


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

I'm pretty sure it's the ponderosa pines that cause abortions


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## FascinatingLady (Mar 6, 2016)

Yew trees are poison, but probably not related to your pines.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Storey's guide to Raising Dairy Goats does not list any kind of pine as toxic. My goats love conifers-junipers, redwoods, cypress & douglas fir are what we have here. Not surprising that yew (Taxus bacata) is toxic, as the berry-like seed covers are known to poison children. They are strictly an ornamental landscape plant (native to Europe I think) & I have never seen one outside of someones' yard.

Storey's also points out that as they are browsers, goats go around eating a little of this & that & will usually not consume enough of a toxic plant to kill them unless there is nothing else available to eat. My whole town is absolutely covered with ivy, which is said to be toxic, but my goats are fine even though they do eat a little of it-which is unavoidable here.

How exciting to be getting your first goats, & such a pretty breed too!!! Are you a spinner? My daughter used to spin yarn with a drop spindle & I would card it for her first. I enjoyed it. She used goat "wool" (the correct term escapes me at the moment!) & made such pretty yarn.

Good luck with your doelings! I'm sure everything will be fine, & if not the Goat Spot is here for you! You can often also get good advice from feed store employees. You can call the stores & ask if they have a "goat expert" & when they will be working.


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## Aunt_Maf (Apr 8, 2016)

Thank you Catharina!

That sounds like a good book you have there, I might have to search that one down. And for sure I will be here doing research and asking questions, this place is a wealth of experience, and I'm as nervous as a new mom. :kidblue:

Spinny, oh yes, that I definitely am, ask anybody - but I'm not a spinner. Not yet anyway, though I would like to give spinnering (not a word apparently) a try someday. Make myself a cashmere scarf, how cool would that be? Until then, I'm content to keep healthy/happy goats!


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