Picking the right treat foods for your goats can feel daunting, especially knowing that a number of common home garden goods, like onions, are poisonous to goats!
Thankfully, we have always offered our goats a bit of garden produce that is both safe and nutritious for them and will share all about greens for goats, specifically addressing if kale is safe for goats, in this post.
Dark Greens Like Kale Are An Incredibly Rich Dietary Supplement For Goats,
But Quantity And Quality Matter!
Yes, goats can eat kale. Kale (Brassica oleracea) is a dark leafy green plant that is a member of the Brassicaceae plant family. As such, it is related to other common garden veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and mustards.
This particular green has become very popular in the last few years because of the number of vitamins and minerals it provides, and because it is a cool weather green, ideal for fresh salads during colder months.
However, all members of the Brassicaeae family contain a certain suite of plant compounds known as glucosinolates, which are not toxic in and of themselves, but which produce toxic compounds in the rumens of livestock.
Is Kale Toxic To Goats? Understanding Glucosinolates
Glucosinolates are a form of thioglycosides, and are naturally found in kale.
As stated, they are relatively inactive compounds that are not toxic. However, this changes when they are broken down by munching/chewing and come in contact with certain enzymes in a goat’s rumen.
The hydrolyzing enzymes trigger a transformation in the glucosinolates that results is a suite of biologically active compounds, such as
- Isothiocyanates
- Oxazolidine-2- thiones
- Nitriles
- Thiocyanates
These products can all cause poisoning in livestock through serious interference with the thyroid and/or suppression of kidney and liver function.
Without doubt, it is important to be aware of kale’s potential toxicity and regulate this dark green as an infrequent treat or dietary supplement for your goats.
Never allow kale to take the place of high fiber hay or forage plant materials!
Kale For Goats: Nutritional Facts
Alongside glucosinolates kale contains a host of beneficial nutrients, which are outlined in the table below.
| Nutritional Content Per 100g Serving | |
| Nutrient | Quantity |
| Water | 89.6g |
| Protein | 2.92g |
| Fiber | 4.1g |
| Fat | 1.49g |
| Sugar | 0.8g |
| Calcium | 254mg |
| Magnesium | 32.7mg |
| Potassium | 348mg |
| Sodium | 53mg |
| Vitamin C | 93.4mg |
| Beta Carotene | 2870µg |
| Vitamin E | 0.6mg |
One of the most notable features of kale as a leafy green is the high fiber and various vitamins it contains in comparison to other, especially light colored, leafy greens.
As expected, kale is almost 90% water and contains low amounts of dense nutrients, including protein and fats.
However, the beta carotene and vitamin C it contains can boost to your goats’ immune system.
Can Pregnant Goats Eat Kale
Yes, pregnant nannie goats can eat kale, as the higher amounts of vitamin C and calcium within this dark green will benefit not only them but their developing kids.
The same precautions apply though, as too much kale will put not only the mother in risk of thyroid, kidney, and liver damage, but also risk her loss of the kid goat.
Kale For Goats: Can Goats Eat Greens
Greens are an awesome and nutritious option for your goats, but no green should ever take the place of high fiber plant materials in your goats’ diets.
Remember, goats require up to 92% of their diet to be coarse, highly fibrous plant material, and leafy greens (even high in fiber ones such as kale) cannot provide them with this essential roughage.
We often offer our goats any damaged or extra greens from our small family garden but keep it at or below 1 head of greens per week, per goat.
Never give your goats overripe, wilted, soggy, yellowed, or browned kale or leafy greens. Eating these would introduce a host of unwanted and potentially dangerous bacterias or fungus.
What Leafy Greens Can Goats Eat
Kale is not the only leafy green that goats can enjoy, we also feed our goats lettuces and herbs (such as mint), as well as many of the green leaves, stalks, and stems of various garden plants throughout the year.
To learn more about goat-safe veggies and fruits, check out our goat post archive!
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can Goats Eat Kale
Can Goats Eat Swiss Chard?
Yes, swiss chard is a strongly flavored leafy green that can be enjoyed by goats. Swiss chard is not in the same plant family as kale and does not contain potentially dangerous glucosinolates, but it does naturally contain oxalates which can lead to kidney damage.
We will have a post explaining this coming soon, so stay posted!
Can Goats Have Spinach?
Spinach is a great dark leafy green for goats that can boost their overall health with the load of vitamins and minerals it contains.
We love offering our goats spinach and actually prefer this all around safe green to the more risky ones, such as kale.
This woman offers two handfuls of kale to each of her goats in this video, which is a safe amount for them!
Final Thoughts On Can Goats Have Kale
If you have access to kale you can definitely offer it to your adult and weaned goats.
Just be sure you give them free access to hay and other roughage and never let them gorge themselves on this dark green, as they may suffer from serious organ damage!