# A goats favorite treat?



## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

We would like to get to know our goats better right now we have 4 wethers, 3 pregnant does, and 1 doe with 2 two week old kids.

We would like to be able to go to the goat yard in the evening, park on a bale of straw and entice the goats with something special they will really like...what would that be?

We know during the summer, apple leaves are greatly favored but when about when there are no leaves?


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Popcorn and beer.
Not kidding, I've never had a goat turn down popcorn and most would drink beer. My goats got to where they knew it was Saturday afternoon and would wait for us on the deck.

I've also had good luck with bits of apple or pear and the Nickermakers horse treat. Corn husks, lettuce and celery stumps, too.


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

Bread.... but that's not something you should do everyday I don't think. When we have older bread or the ends that get left then we'll go out and share it with the chickens, ducks, geese, cow, goats, cats and dogs. But you may be mobbed.

Never moldy bread though!

I have also seen where people give popsicles to their goats in warmer weather. I've never tried that, but just be careful they don't grab the stick.


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## Farmer Jayne (Oct 21, 2013)

Anything another goat is eating.
Any kind of corn chips.
Apples, carrots, bananas, oranges (I once had a bunch of truly sour oranges, too sour to even cook with, and mine went nuts over them. But, they were on a dry lot, and looking for anything different).
Crackers or bread with peanut butter.
Alfalfa cubes, broken into bite-sized pieces.

I've found, though, that it often depends on what the goat is familiar with. Some goats are slow to try something different, while others try anything


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## punchiepal (Oct 11, 2008)

Fir a treat around here we use gingersnaps from dollar general


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Soup cans, inner tubes, laundry, twine strings, cardboard, feedbags, just most anything you don't want them to eat. Especially right after you tell someone that doesn't have goats that goats only eat those things in cartoons.


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## TriHonu (Jun 8, 2011)

Ours loved watermelon and cantelope rind cut in strips. We always kept a scrap bucket in the kitchen for all the vegetable and fruit waste. The goats would be at the fence waiting when they saw us leave the house with it.

Dad used to put a little molasses on the grain for the milking stock, they loved that. 

They would also suck down a cup of lukewarm coffee if you didn't set it out of reach.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

bread, crackers...even bagels! Mine get an evening treat just before the night hay and if for some reason I don't have it that night they yell when I leave the shed and I can hear them all the way back to the house..spoiled rotten! BTW,,rye or pumpernickel is their favorite and I try to find that anywhere "day old bread" is sold.


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## farmsteader6 (Dec 19, 2014)

Pretzel sticks. Its like feeding a pencil into an electric pencil sharpener!!! Also sit down with a bucket of cracked corn snd let them eat from your hand.


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## SouthGAMan (May 5, 2014)

I agree with the pretzel sticks, corn chips, and stale (not moldy bread). They seem to really enjoy those. I just wouldn't over indulge them. Many goats have the tendency to want to overeat on treats if they are offered.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

Thanks you all! Tried the animal crackers (we use those as a treat for the dogs) and my oldest goat loves them but no one else could figure out how to eat them. Going to try some corn chips if this dreadful wind ever stops.


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## boerboy (Oct 7, 2012)

Mine love orange peel. Any veg scrap from Kitchen.
Rose plants tender branches (pruned)

I had never tried human processed food yet...


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## debd0712 (Aug 23, 2005)

Mine enjoy just about any type of cracker, cereal, or chip. If I have somewhat stale items they go to the critters. The goats also love raisins, and they are a good copper source.


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## luckyinkentucky (Feb 15, 2013)

Mine like any type of cracker, Nilla wafers, corn husks (any part of a corn plant actually). Some like apples, marshmallows, RC cola, Long Island Iced tea (not a recommendation, they steal them!!) Each one is different, some will eat anything, some need to nibble and decide.... But part of the fun is trying different treats and figuring out who has what tastes.


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## Remiebda (Apr 30, 2014)

Animal crackers .


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## Karenrbw (Aug 17, 2004)

Overripe bananas. $.19/lb at the grocery store and the go crazy.


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## OwlHillFarm (Feb 11, 2016)

I no longer have roses, blackberries, or blueberries if that tells you what their real favorites are... but they also like kitchen scraps of most kinds. If there are banana peels or potato peels they eat those first. They go nuts over bread and crackers but, as others have said, don't give them too much of those. Mine will also mob me for a handful of Manna Pro Goat Treats. They are licorice flavored and the goats adore them. Just be careful with those- they spoil if they are out too long and cause some digestive upset.


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

Raisins, Fig Newtons, apple slices, and roasted peanuts in the shell are all big favorites around here. :grin:


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

Raisins work for us.


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