Can Goats Eat Strawberries? Any Risks and Benefits?

Most people know that goats have a strong stomach and can eat almost everything they come in contact with, with almost no consequences. But, as my articles will slowly show you, it usually isn’t the case at all. Goats have a multitude of foods that they are not allowed to eat.

So, if you have some leftover strawberries, will they be OK for your goat? A short answer is yes, goats can eat strawberries. These fruits can really help your goat’s digestive system and improve its health, being very rich in nutrients. But let’s get into more detail.

Most of the time, goats will be able to eat the same foods that people do, and they will love them.

Most families that have raised goats at one point or another have surely noticed that it is pretty easy to find out what goats like. All you have to do is give them whatever you eat, and most of the time you will know pretty quickly what these animals like and what they don’t get close to.

You might also like my article on whether goats can eat peaches, and whether dogs can eat bacon bits or cherry pie.

Most of the time all it takes is that the food isn’t rotten and doesn’t smell bad and your goat will at least try to have a bite.

When it comes to strawberries, although your goat can eat them, you should try to chop them in smaller pieces before giving them to the animal, so that it doesn’t gobble them up or even worse, chokes on them. They eat very fast when they enjoy something, so they can choke on most foods if they aren’t portioned properly.

You can see in the video below the joy with which a goat will eat strawberries.

There is also a longer answer to this question and I’ll go into further detail below.

Strawberries are considered a great medicine for people’s hearts and that should also mean that they are good for the hearts of goats. Even so, you shouldn’t feed the animal with an excessive amount of strawberries, the same as you wouldn’t eat an insane amount yourself.

But why is that exactly?

Because like most fruits, strawberries also contain sugar and too much sugar is bad for people and animals as well (yes, I know, you’ve probably heard this a million times).

Most of the time, if too much of something isn’t good for people, it can’t be good for animals either.

As MedicalNewsToday perfectly puts it, fruits will typically be high in sugar, even though they come packed with a lot of nutrients and benefits. Strawberries contain no less than 8.12 mg of sugars per cup. People would eat them in moderation just like they’d do with any other fruits.

What Shouldn’t Goats Eat?

Goats will basically try to and even enjoy eating most of the foods that we like.

Most of the time, they will also get sick from the same causes that get people sick as well. This means that a great tip is not to feed a goat something that you don’t like or makes you sick.

But there are some ingredients that don’t work with goats even if they are parts of a lot of recipes for human food.

As with most livestock and some other animals, you should refrain from giving your goat chemically-made substances, especially those harmful to humans, caffeine, garlic, chocolate, or onion.

What Fruits Can Goats Eat?

Goats will love most of the fruits, especially if they are fresh.

Here is a list of fruits you can’t go wrong with if you want to feed your goat:

• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Plums
• Pineapples
• Peaches
• Oranges
• Mangoes
• Kiwifruit
• Honeydew Melon
• Grapes
• Grapefruits
• Carrots
• Blueberries
• Bananas
• Apricots
• Apples

Final Words

Goats really like strawberries. The first thing you have to be careful about is that there are no twigs between the fruits so that your animal doesn’t choke on them. You should also try not to give them strawberries all they long and alternate them with some other foods instead. Mixing up their diets with foods they like is a great way of keeping them healthy.