So, Can Goats Eat Celery?

Goats enjoy eating all sorts of plant matter, including some fruits and vegetables. Although goats should be eating primarily a diet composed of hay, grass, silage, and bark, some whole produce is a good inclusion for variety and overall nutrition. How about celery? Can goats eat celery?

Yes, goats may eat celery and they typically enjoy it, but should be fed in moderation. Celery contains a decent amount of vitamins and minerals that can help goats stay healthy, including vitamin B2, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, and potassium.

Celery is crunchy, hydrating, and all around a solid choice for supplementing the diet of your goats.

That being said, there is more you should know, and you don’t want to allow your goats to overindulge. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know.

Health Benefits of Celery for Goats

There are plenty of myths concerning how healthy celery really is. Oftentimes described as nothing more than a hydrating vegetable, or even one with negative calories considering it takes more energy to digest it than it provides. It is no wonder why people might hesitate to feed it to their goats.

Happily, these rumors are just that, rumors, and celery will provide a few calories, quite a bit of water and fair nutrition for goats.

Concerning vitamins, celery contains vitamin A, a little bit of vitamin B1, vitamin B2, some B3, B5, a good amount of B6, and a surprising amount of folate. It also contains a little bit of vitamin C and E and a lot of vitamin K.

When you look at the mineral content there is more to celebrate, too. It contains a good shot of calcium, a little bit of copper and iron, some magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium along with a fair bit of potassium which complements the water content of celery quite well.

For sure, it is a healthy addition to the diet of your goats, one that will give them vitamins and minerals that they always need along with a crunchy, juicy taste that can help them stay hydrated during hot weather. No matter how you square it, celery is a winner for goats.

Can Goats Eat Celery Raw?

Yes, goats can eat celery raw and this is the preferred way to give it to them. Celery, though it has a wide-ranging profile of vitamins and minerals does not contain very much of any of them except for vitamin K.

Cooking will deplete what nutrition celery has, at least somewhat, so you are advised to give it to your goats raw for best results.

Can Goats Eat Celery Leaves?

Yes, goats can and will gladly eat celery leaves. The tender, crisp leaves are a favorite of goats and also have good nutritional content.

Can Goats Eat Celery Cooked?

Yes. Goats may eat cooked celery as mentioned above, but there is no good reason to cook it before giving it to them.

Never Feed Celery to Goats that Has Been Prepared with Harmful Ingredients

Since we are talking about cooking celery, now is a good time to point out that you should never, ever feed your goats celery that has been prepared with or used as an ingredient in harmful food that they cannot or should not eat.

Things like extra salt, butter, seasonings, spices, and so forth are generally not good for goats. At best, extra calories can result in weight gain which has its own problems.

At worst, your goats could be facing more serious problems like hypertension and a variety of stomach or intestinal problems like bloat or an outbreak of harmful bacteria that can feed on surplus sugar in their digestive tract.

I get it. You might think celery is the blandest thing on earth and don’t want to inflict it on your goats without spicing it up a bit in one recipe or another.

Don’t give in to this foolish sentiment, as it will be both harmful for your goats and as you’ll find out they like celery just fine when it is plain and raw.

Beware of Pesticide on Grocery-bought Celery

If you are purchasing celery from the grocery store with the intention of giving it to your goats you must be aware of the probable presence of pesticides on any non-organic varieties you purchase.

in fact, pretty much all commercial produce is treated from inception to harvesting with all sorts of chemicals that are intended to keep pests from damaging or destroying it prior to it making it to market.

Although some government agencies give us their assurances at these pesticides are not harmful for people or animals, an ever-growing mountain of evidence suggests otherwise.

Many of these pesticides have a tendency to build up and bodily tissues over time with repeated ingestion and that can spell big trouble and long-term health problems for your goats.

Make it a point to purchase organic celery from the grocery store or grow your own if you’re going to give it to your goats, but if that is impossible, thoroughly wash any of it that you bring home prior to feeding.

How Often Can Goats Have Celery?

Compared to other products, celery can make for a surprisingly good mainstay as part of a goat’s diet.

To be perfectly clear up front, it isn’t the only thing that they can or should have but it is a nice supplement and the perfect treat during hot weather.

Generally, you could give your goats celery everyday if you wanted to so long as it didn’t make up any more than about 10% of their total food intake, assuming they are getting enough calories and other nutrition.

Preparing Celery for Your Herd

Giving celery to your goats is pretty easy. Although it is tempting to give them a whole stalk, remember that goats do not chew food that well and have a tendency to swallow larger chunks than they should. This could potentially lead to choking or other issues, so you want to cut down on that.

To do so, all you need to do is chop up celery in bite-sized chunks according to the size of the goats you are feeding it to. Sections that are about the length of your thumb or smaller are generally perfect.

Can Baby Goats Have Celery, Too?

Yes, baby goats or kids may have celery the same as adults, but you’ll want to wait for them to grow up a little bit before giving it to them for the first time.

Usually, when a kid is old enough where it is regularly and reliably eating solid foods you can try giving them just a little bit of celery.

They don’t need much and shouldn’t have much, as I can fill them up while keeping them from getting the nutrition they badly need from other, more complete sources

Clean Up Leftover Celery after Feeding Your Goats

One more thing you should do when feeding celery to your goats is made it a point to clean up after them when they are all done with it.

It doesn’t seem like there is much to celery at all, but left out in warm weather it will quickly rot and that can spell trouble.

First, if your goats come back around and nibble on the spoiled celery it could make them sick. Also, any rotting food has a tendency to attract pests, both rodents among other mammals and insects as well.

You want none of them hanging around your goats or elsewhere on your property, so if you’ll make it a point to clean up that leftover celery instead of leaving it laying on the ground you can head off this problem before it occurs.