Citrus for goats? Goats are known for eating just about anything – but this can actually lead to serious health mishaps, especially with plants that contain dangerous or toxic compounds.
Fortunately, oranges are not one such plant. So in short: Yes! Goats can eat oranges. However, with a bit of a refresh on the goats’ bodily systems, you may understand why we don’t offer our nannies or billies many oranges.
Oranges For Goats: Vitamin C Is Key
Oranges, and citrus fruits in general, are best known for the high quantities of vitamin C they provide.
But before we discuss that, we must mention that oranges also contain a number of other nutrients, including:
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Zinc
- Copper
- Vitamin A
- 94.7g of Water
The quantities of these nutrients are pretty low, but oranges sure do shine when it comes to ascorbic acid content: an average navel orange contains 59.1mg of vitamin C per 100g serving.
For perspective, other plant foods high in vitamin C include potatoes and tomatoes with 10.9 mg and 17.8mg of vitamin C respectively.
Yes, without doubt, citrus is a potent source of this vitamin. But why is vitamin C so important for animals anyway?
Vitamin C is an essential component for a number of bodily functions, three very key ones being:
- Tissue growth and maintenance
- Amelioration of oxidative stress
- Immune regulation
But the thing with goats, and many other non-human animals, is that they can actually synthesize their own Vitamin C!
Goats Synthesize Vitamin C
An average adult goat can synthesize over 13,000 mg of Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid) daily!
This occurs in the liver of the goats and involves their rumen as well.
13,000mg is a ton of vitamin C, especially when you understand that the usual recommendation of daily vitamin C intake for an adult human is just 90mg.
Producing such high amounts of ascorbic acid ensures that goats never face a vitamin C deficit; it also means that goats do NOT require dietary Vitamin C to remain healthy and happy.
On the other hand, while us humans do carry the gene that provides the ability to synthesize vitamin C, it is defective, which obligates us to ingest vitamin C through our diet.
This is why we humans can suffer from diseases that result from a lack of ascorbic acid (i.e. scurvy) if we don’t enjoy enough vitamin C rich foods throughout the year.
What Happens If Goats Ingest Too Much Vitamin C
Ascorbic acid is water soluble and is likely to be harmlessly and effectively removed from the body through your goat’s urine.
However, goats can experience nausea and diarrhea if too much vitamin C is ingested.
What Fruits Can Goats Eat
Fruits are a great way to introduce essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to your goats’ diets.
Just be aware that high sugar foods can result in overactive gut and rumen bacterias that can cause your goat a lot of pain, bloating, and potentially dangerous dehydration.
This is why it is essential to only offer fruits as treats and snacks for your goats, in small amounts, keeping them on a high fiber and foraged diet all year long!
We’ve gone over a number of different goat-safe fruits (as well as some toxic ones!) in previous posts, some of which include:
There are many other fruits that your goats can enjoy safely; browse our post archive to learn all about the best fruits for goats.
Can Goats Eat Orange Peels
Orange peels are known for their very bitter taste. This is due to secondary compounds found within the peel and the white membranes around the fruit.
The peels contain a number of oils, including limonene, which result in delicious citrusy smells but which tastes quite bitter!
While limonene can cause skin surface irritation if applied topically, it has not been found to be internally toxic or dangerous.
Citrus peels also contain linalool, which has been found to act as a natural pesticide and again, is quite bitter to the taste.
In fact, because the orange peels contain more fibers and are rich in minerals, we often offer them to our goats instead of the fruit itself! But we have noticed that only a few of our nannies will eat them; the great majority of our goats do not like the bitter taste.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can Goats Have Oranges
Can Goats Eat Grapefruit Peels?
Grapefruit peels contain the same bitter secondary compounds found within orange peels. While they are okay to offer to your goats you may find that they don’t prefer them!
Can Goats Eat Tangerines?
Tangerines are sweeter and smaller than oranges. They can be a nice treat for your goats but, due to their high sugar content, aren’t an ideal daily snack!
Can Goats Eat Mandarins?
Mandarin oranges are a type of orange, known for their distinct flavor. If you’d like, you can offer your goats some mandarins to see if they enjoy them. Again, citrus isn’t the best treat for goats as they don’t require any dietary vitamin C!
Learn more about why we can’t synthesize our own Vitamin C, but animals such as goats can, in this informative video!
Final Thoughts On Can Goats Eat Oranges
While oranges can be offered to your goats, as they are non-toxic fruits, we prefer to boost the health of our goats through snacks and treats that provide vitamins and minerals that they themselves cannot synthesize.
As Vitamin C powerhouses, goats don’t require dietary intake of Vitamin C and while a few oranges won’t harm them, we do not suggest making citrus fruits a regular snack for them.