All homesteaders and goat owners who’ve had their goats get into the garden (it has happened more than once at our hobby farm!) know well that goats love lettuce and leafy greens.
But is lettuce safe for goats? And Are all types of lettuce goat safe?
You can rest easy when it comes to lettuce and goats: Yes, goats can eat lettuce and often enjoy the juicy, crunchy treat. In fact, lettuce is an ideal summer time snack for goats and with more than fifteen varieties, your goats are sure to find their favorite.
In this post, we will go over the most important information regarding lettuce for your goats, starting off with its nutritional value.
Lettuce Nutritional Value
There are slight differences between nutritional contents across lettuce types.
Below, we have outlined the basic nutritional contents of three different varieties, per 100g serving, as examples.
| Leafy Green Lettuce | Iceberg Lettuce | Leafy Red Lettuce | |
| Water | 94% | 95.5% | 95% |
| Protein | 1.09g | 0.74g | 0.88g |
| Carbs | 4.07g | 3.37g | 3.26g |
| Calcium | 40mg | 14mg | 43mg |
| Potassium | 277mg | 139mg | 321mg |
| Magnesium | 12.8mg | 6.3mg | 12.4mg |
You’ll note that all lettuces are high in water and most concentrated in potassium, an essential mineral for goats.
However, lettuce does not provide substantial protein, fat, or fiber content and therefore can never be a main part of your goats’ diets.
Remember, goats require up to 92% of their diet to be coarse, highly fibrous plant material.
Providing this roughage through access to open pasture and unlimited hay is one of the best ways to ensure your goat’s ruminant digestive systems and immune systems are strong and healthy.
Learn more about the nutritional needs of your goats, and how much goats eat per day in our post on the topic!
Why Should You Offer Goats Lettuce?
Lettuces are leafy green vegetables that can act as natural anti-inflammatory agents, as well as provide your goats with a unique set of minerals and vitamins.
Lettuces are especially helpful during springtime, when the dense hay and supplemental grain diet of your goats changes to soft spring greens and field plants.
If offered as snacks in this season, lettuces can help assist your goats’ with the transition to lighter, more fibrous foods by providing lots of water and essential nutrients.
What Kind of Lettuce Can Goats Eat
Goats can eat all types of lettuce, including:
- Iceberg
- Romain
- Leafy Green and Red
- Butter Lettuce
- Arugula
Can Goats Eat Iceberg Lettuce
Many goat owners think iceberg lettuce doesn’t offer much to goats, but iceberg lettuce is an incredible cooling and soothing green, offering lots of water and helpful on very hot summer days, when excess heat can stress your goats.
We have made a habit of offering our nannies and billies a few heads of iceberg lettuce on especially hot summer days.
Lettuce For Goats: How Much Is Too Much
All types of lettuce should be treated as a snack for your goats, never taking the place of unlimited access to high fiber hay and foraging ground in an open pasture or field.
If you were to offer your goats only lettuce, they would sorely suffer as lettuces do not contain enough fibers, fats, proteins, and goat essential vitamins and minerals.
Too much lettuce can also lead to bloating due to excess water and not enough fibers, as well as diarrhea and poor nutrient uptake.
Our general rule is no more than two heads of lettuce, per day, per goat.
What Vegetables Can Goats Eat
There are many delicious and highly nutritious vegetables that goats can eat and we love incorporating veggies into our goats diet.
Some examples of our goats favorite vegetables include:
- Carrots
- Gourds
- Celery
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can Goats Eat Lettuce
How To Prepare Lettuce For Goats?
Before we offer our goats lettuce, we always rinse it well in cold water to clean off any residual dirt or small bugs.
There is no need to cut up the head of lettuce for your goats, or to remove any part of the stalk, they can eat it as is. In fact, our goats love the extra crunchy stalk of the lettuce head.
What Vegetables Can Goats NOT Eat?
There are a number of questionable vegetables that may be better to steer clear from, such as poisonous onions!
Check out these goats excitedly eating lettuce in this quick video!
Final Thoughts On Can Goats Have Lettuce
Lettuce is a very safe and risk-free treat and snack option for your goats.
We highly recommend offering your trip or pair of goats these leafy greens, especially in spring time and during hot, summer days.
Simply remember to always give your goat’s access to hay, as this high fiber foodstuff is essential to their diet and dietary needs!