When it comes to feeding your goat, there are endless garden produce options and we love offering our herd health boosting veggies.
Yes, Goats can eat celery, but it should be an infrequent snack. Too much celery can cause health problems for your goats.
Our nannies and bucks really enjoy this crunchy, green treat. But, there are some characteristics of celery that make it dangerous to goats if consumed in large amounts, so read on to figure out the benefits and risks of offering your goats celery.
Celery For Goats: Nutritional Facts
Celery is well known for being a healthy, low-carb snack that is so satisfying because of its juicy, crunchy texture.
This green veggie is 95.2% water and contains very low protein and fat content, with just 0.49g and 0.16g respectively per 100g serving.
In addition, celery carries a surprising array of minerals, albite in small quantities, that includes:
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Phosphorus
- Manganese
But some of the most interesting constituents of celery are biologically active furanocoumarins.
Furanocoumarins pose a serious health threat to goats if celery is eaten in access because they cause reactions among DNA base pairs and cause toxicity and mutations in cells due to an induced super sensitivity to light exposure.
In fact, celery contains five types of furanocoumarin compounds, so be careful with this veggie!
Is Celery Good For Goats
Goats are naturally curious browsers and are most healthy when they have a range of fibers and roughage like cellulose in their rumen along with plant proteins and fats.
This is why watery, crunchy celery is a great treat for goats, but not an everyday food.
And due to celery’s low quantities of essential minerals and nutrients and dangerous compounds, celery should never be more than an infrequent snack for your herd.
Too much celery in your goats diet can result in painful gas and bloating in addition to light sensitivity reactions!
How Much Celery Can Goats Eat
We limit our goats to just one or two stalks of celery about once every two weeks and have found them to be happy and healthy.
Our goats enjoy the watery crunch of celery but have never lost appetite, experienced gas or bloating, or suffered light sensitivity with this amount of celery.
How To Prepare Celery For Goats
Before offering your goat celery, make sure to wash it well to remove any residual dirt or pesticides.
You can also cut the celery into smaller slices, although your goats can handle the whole stalk without problem.
Can Baby Goats Eat Celery
Due to the dangerous compounds within celery and the low nutritional value, we do not recommend feeding celery to an immature goat.
However, feel free to offer a bit of celery to your goats that have completely and fully weaned, eating a 100% plant diet of foraged nutrients and hay.
Frequently Asked Questions Related To Can Goats Have Celery
Can Goats Eat Celery And Carrots?
Both celery and carrots are part of the Apiaceae family, in which bioactive furanocoumarins are common.
So while goats can eat both these veggies, an excess amount of them in goats’ diet will result in serious health issues; strict regulation is recommended.
If This baby goat video doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will! 🙂
Final Thoughts On Can Goats Eat Celery
Rather than keeping your goats treats to crunchy, but potentially dangerous, celery, try out some other, safer greens and treats for goats such as bananas.
Finally, if you are wondering more about your herd and their behaviors, check out our post on Why Do Goats Headbutt and keep learning about goats!