# Squash and Sunflowers for Goats



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I'm getting ready to plant my garden and would like to try, once again, to grow a few things for the goats. My plan is squash, pumpkins and black oil sunflowers. Are there any certain varieties of all of these that goats relish more than others or do they like them all about the same?


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2012)

I don't know about the squash, but sunflowers its all the same.. grow them everyyear and they will eat the entire plant.. seeds, stems, leaves.. flower head...


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## Hearts In Dixie (Oct 29, 2007)

They love sunflowers. We usually chop several stalks a day and throw the whole stalk in the pen. When they finish eating the heads and leaves off of them I clean up the stalks from the pen. Our goats will eat any type of squash but they prefer the butternut or acorn. They don't really like the yellow crook neck or zuchinni. They adore watermelon and cantelopes as well. They will eat the whole thing rind and all. 

Marla


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

I think something is wrong with my goats. They won't eat anything like this. I wish they would. Ya'll are lucky yours will eat things from the garden. If I coax them they might take a tiny tiny princess nibble at something then sling their heads and spit and snort like it was poison.


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

What about southern peas, such as cowpeas, black-eyed peas or field peas? I've always wondered about growing those for the goats. . .


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## Hearts In Dixie (Oct 29, 2007)

We also pull bean filled vines (after I get tired of picking and canning them) and feed the whole thing to the goats.

Marla


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

We plant purple hulls and pull the whole plants with peas on them for the goats.
Long rows and we pull like one plant for each goat till the row is done.
They go gaagaa over them  
L


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

Great! Thanks for the info


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

LOL. I don't know that mine will eat produce either, I'm hoping they will! They do love pine, cedar, branches, stuff like that. It's probably an aquired taste. I'm sure they will love the sunflowers and the purple hull peas. I hadn't thought about those.


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## Hearts In Dixie (Oct 29, 2007)

Honestly I don't know of anything my goats won't eat. I promise they are not underfed either. We throw all fruit and veggie scraps from the house to them. I actually had a doe take a bite of cooked chicken out of my hand and eat it. I know...WEIRD. 

Marla


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## feistymomma (May 20, 2009)

Hearts In Dixie said:


> Honestly I don't know of anything my goats won't eat. I promise they are not underfed either. We throw all fruit and veggie scraps from the house to them. I actually had a doe take a bite of cooked chicken out of my hand and eat it. I know...WEIRD.
> 
> Marla


lol! I just bought a new doe yesterday. We had to to put her in the camper of our pick up truck (driving 300 miles with a truck and trailer with these gas prices was out of the question). So anyways, we had the sliding window in the back opened so we could keep and eye on her and she kept sticking her head through the window trying to eat my sons chicken nuggets! It was too funny. She was begging for them  But I will stick to feeding her the pumpkin and squash ;-)


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## H Diamond Farms (Jun 3, 2011)

I had a buck who loved macaroni and cheese. Went nuts over it. 
My goats loved all the pumpkin varieties I've planted over the years. They've also ate zuchinni (sp) and yellow squash. Of course yes on the sunflowers.


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