# Can goats eat old corn stalks?



## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

We harvested the corn months ago and I've been remiss in pulling up the old stalks. They are dry, but kind of moldy... I'm assuming it's mold, the leaves are flecked with black stuff. Can the goats eat this or should I burn it?

Also, this might be a dumb question, but my forearms are breaking out in what looks like small hives after pulling up the stalks. Does this mean I'm allergic to corn??


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

They can have corn stalks, BUT I would NOT feed them with the mold.

Maybe someone else knows more about it.

Next year, harvest the stalks as soon as you harvest the corn, let it dry like hay, bundle and store it.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

The black sounds like mold to me. I would guess the "hives" is just abrasions from the rough leaves.

I've been wondering the same thing about feeding dry cornstalks. My geese used to love the semi dry/green stalks from the sweetcorn in the fall. They would just chew and chew until it was all gone.

We've had so many days of rain that ours is probably all moldy plus I'm not sure I want to teach them to eat cornstalks since my fish farm is surrounded by tempting cornfields.


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## HazyDay (Feb 20, 2007)

Ours eat the corn we throw over the fence. Northing is wrong with it , it just diddn't grow anything.

Mold is a reason why alot of breeders won't feed silage to their goats. Cows can handle some mold and not die, but as 1 breeder told me! They will eat it and in a matter of hours they will be dead! Some will go down and yell in pain! There is no way to save them! So I am very careful when feeding it! If any bale has 1 piece of mold the whole bale gets thrown away! you can be to caeful! 

Point being don't feed it if it has mold.


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

Anything with mold on it - keep it away from your goaties. Why take a chance?


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## LMonty (Jul 31, 2006)

What about milled sorgum stalks? My neighbor has a mill he just set up to make syrup. The stalks are a beautiful green color and we havent had frost here. Can I toss them a few now and then as a treat?


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## Sher (May 10, 2002)

I wouldn't feed anything with mold on it to goats. 

There was a report that aflitoxin was reported in some northeast counties. You don't want to feed stuff with high afflitoxin in it to goats either.


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## Jim S. (Apr 22, 2004)

Well, just so someone who runs across this thread and has fed some moldy hay does not hyperventillate too much, I have fed moldy hay to my goats before, for an entire winter. As long as it is not their sole source of roughage (i.e., they can get out onto grass and browse), no big deal. I have never even seen one get sick from it. Of course, it's not preferred, but if you are forced to put your hay up with higher moisture than you wanted, well, you feed what you got.

The black spots on the corn? Corn leaves tend to naturally get spotty as they dry. If you can rub some of it off the leaf, it is probably mold. If it appears to be a part of the leaf itself, it is not.


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