Feeding Nuts to Goats? All Are Fine Except for One

Most animal owners know that nuts are one food that you need to be really careful with when it comes to feeding it to their furry friends. Some are safe to eat, while others can cause serious health problems. Most people, luckily can eat nuts but even then nut allergies are among the most common food sensitivities in the world.

How about goats? Goats are renowned for their big appetites and can seemingly eat almost anything. So, can they eat nuts?

Yes, goats can eat most common nuts (cashews, almonds, peanuts) safely with the (possible) exception of black walnuts which may be toxic to them (in the long run at least). Given in strictly limited quantities, they will benefit particularly from extra the phosphorus.

Nuts definitely have a place in the diet of your goats, but you’ll need to be cautious as they can easily cause goats to fill up and miss out on the food they need, or even gain weight. You don’t want to deal with fat goats, do you? I didn’t think so. Keep reading to learn what you need to know about feeding nuts to your goats.

Health Benefits of Nuts

Pretty much all common nuts make for a good, healthy supplement or snack for goats – occasionally. Most have B vitamins, usually B1, B2, B3, B5, and a lot of B6. They also contain a good amount of folate which is necessary for the production of healthy DNA.

We should note, though, that adult goats can synthesize the aforementioned B-vitamins, so they don’t really need to get them from anywhere else. The exception to this would be B1 / thiamine in baby goats, which do need preformed thiamine in their diets due because they can’t make it yet – but I digress. Think of the ones inside nuts as a welcome addition…

The mineral content of nuts is strong, with calcium, iron, and magnesium present, manganese, phosphorus and zinc, and potassium to round things out. The amounts depend on the nut, with almonds, for example, having much more calcium than cashews.

But for our goats, the most important mineral is phosphorus. Luckily for them, nuts have enough of it to matter but not too much to cause an imbalance – if you fed them nuts in moderation and if you maintain a healthy (for them) calclum-to-phosphorus ratio of 2:1. So if there”s one reason to give goats nuts, this would be it…

Also noteworthy is the protein and fat content of nuts which can provide long-lasting energy to goats and also give them the materials they need to heal and grow. They do have some carbohydrates, too, for a little bit of extra energy – but don’t count on them to replace the regular feed that they should be getting daily.

The only two downsides of nuts is that they are, one, calorie dense, and two, they are a bit high in fat if you don’t watch the quantity. Goats love nuts so it’s easy for them to overeat and gain weight or get an upset stomach, not to mention too much fat can “depress fiber digestion”. Other than that, these great for rounding out their diets.

I think I owe you more than just the health benefits, so here’s a more in-depth look at the pros and cons side by side:

Pros	Cons
✅ Nutritional Benefits: Rich in protein, healthy fats, vitamins (B, E), and minerals (magnesium, phosphorus, manganese).	❌ High Fat Content: Can lead to obesity, digestive upset if overfed.
✅ Energy Boost: They offer concentrated calories for quick energy, useful for active or lactating goats.	❌ Choking Hazard: Hard shells or large pieces can cause choking or damage the digestive tract, so be extra careful if feeding them to baby goats.
✅ Variety in Diet: Can be a tasty, enriching treat that adds diversity to their diet.	❌ Tannins (especially in black walnuts): May reduce protein digestibility and irritate the digestive system (but goats are less likely to be badly effected).
✅ Convenience: Easy to store and feed as an occasional treat.	❌ Reduced Forage Intake: Goats may fill up on nuts and miss out on essential roughage (hay, browse).
✅ Natural Foraging: Your goats can get them on their own while grazing.	❌ Toxicity Risks: Certain nuts (e.g., black walnuts, moldy nuts) can be toxic or cause tremorgenic mycotoxins poisoning.
	❌ Cost: Organic store-bought nuts can be expensive.

Raw v.s Cooked

Goats can and will eat raw nuts, although because of the tough shells, you will need to shell them. Otherwise, not only they might give them a pass, younger goats could choke on them.

Can Goats Eat Nuts Cooked?

Yes, goats may eat boiled, roasted, or otherwise cooked nuts.

Other Types of Nuts

✅ Can Goats Eat Hazelnuts?

They sure can. Hazelnuts are among the most delicious nuts and also have an excellent nutritional profile… for humans! For goats, they don’t make that much of a difference, and given the fact that they can be pricey, you probably won’t spoil them with hazelnuts in practice. Moldy nuts are bad for them, though, so if you happen to have any, don’t even think about it!

✅ Peanuts

Yes, goats can eat peanuts. Peanuts are not a true nut, but rather a legume, but never mind that. Peanuts are among the favorites of goats, and many will eat them whole in the shell. Since the shell is not as hard as some of the others (walnuts, hazelnuts), this makes perfect sense.

❓ Can Goats Eat Walnuts? The Most controversial Nut…

Notably, goats should avoid walnuts and most goats will instinctively avoid them for their rock-hard shell. Walnuts, and black walnut trees in particular have a propensity to host mycotoxic fungi which can be dangerous. besides this, they have various toxic compounds which could be very harmful if eaten in quantity.

Now, there are two compounds in walnuts that are known to affect various livestock, so let’s see if this is the case with goats.

The first one is juglone. While you can find this substance in most parts of the tree, it’s more concentrated in the hull of the nut. Juglone’s toxicity can even affect the growth of nearby plants!

The little research we have about goats eating walnuts doesn’t say anything about any intoxications in the animals they tested. Here they fed them walnut cake and they were all fine, but as the study notes, it may cause hepatotoxic effects. In this other study, they found a liver/tissue enzyme in them, but nothing serious. But these two studies fed them pressed walnut cake, which is the solid residue that remained after they extracted the oil.

English walnuts is what they used in the studies just above, possibly because they have lower concentrations of juglone (compared to other nuts). Also note that there is no established threshold for juglone toxicity in goats. I would worry about it only if you feed them more than an occasional nut or two.

But what about the second substance, tannins? These can cause some trouble too, because they affect the amount of protein is being digested, and possibly irritate the digestive system. But compared to other livestock like sheep, goats can take care of most tannins just fine…

One or two walnuts are probably not harmful for your goats (be sure to unshell them first), but don’t take the chance with black walnuts. If you have a few black walnut trees on your homestead where your animals can reach them, wait and see if they show any interest in them, and if they do, you should limit their access to the trees… Even this extension source advises against feeding them this nut.

Interestingly enough, there is a study where they fed the goats walnut leaves, with no adverse effects. So the leaves are likely fine for them to have…

✅ Can They Eat Almonds?

Yes, goats can eat almonds safely in strict moderation, and these are among the best nuts to give them. Crunchy but still easy to chew and highly nutritious, this combined with their low cost makes almonds a great option.

Keep in mind almonds have a higher than needed calcium to phosphorus ratio, so limiting the quantity is a must. You really need to make sure the ratio is kept at a 2:1 overall in their diet, every day. Almonds can mess with that ratio, so you need to be careful…

✅ What About Pistachios?

Yes, goats may eat pistachios and will often eat these tasty green nuts – though shelling is advised. Another highly nutritious nut, though the benefits are offset somewhat by their high cost. Keep in mind these are more susceptible to mycotoxins contamination than other nuts…

✅ Cashews?

Yes, goats can eat cashews, too. These are one of the more popular nuts sold for snacking around North America, and your goats will love them.

Never Feed Any that Were Prepared with Harmful Ingredients

Since we are talking about cooking nuts, now’s a good time to bring up the point that you should never give your goats nuts that have been prepared with any harmful ingredients they cannot have, or used as an ingredient in a food that they shouldn’t eat.

The chief perpetrators when considering nuts are sugar and seasonings. While this will make nuts absolutely delicious for you and me, goats don’t need any of these in their diet.

Rapidly fermentable carbohydrates can lead to weight gain or bacterial outbreaks in the intestines. Then you have the various seasoning mixtures that are commonly found on snacking nuts.

Also, just because nuts are healthy for them to snack on, that doesn’t mean they can snack on something unhealthy with nuts in it. Cakes, pies, candies, and so forth are never okay. Any nuts you’re going to give to your goats, cooked or not, should be plain and preferably unsalted.

How Often Can Goats Have Them?

Nuts should definitely NOT make up any part of their primary diet.

Goats should be living mostly on hay, shrubs, and other fresh greenery for most of their calorie intake. But, other than that, you can mix it up a little bit with healthy foods like fruits and vegetables and, yes, nuts.

Keep in mind though that compared to produce nuts have a lot of calories, so you want to strictly limit the quantity that you give them at any one time, and only give them nuts once or perhaps twice a week.

Preparing Nuts for Your Herd

Preparing nuts for giving to goats is mostly a matter of getting a given nut ready to eat. Nuts with thinner, softer shells like pistachios and peanuts can be fed whole, whereas nuts with hard, dense shells are likely to deter goats or even pose a choking hazard.

In any case, once the nut is ready for serving, you can either scatter them around or place a few in a bowl, tray, or other feeder and allow them to munch on them.

Can Baby Goats Have Them?

Yes, baby goats may safely have (shelled) nuts once they grow up a little bit, but you’ll need to be careful. First things first, the “kids” should only be offered nuts when they are old enough to be eating solid food all the time – as an occasional treat only! If they still periodically reject solid food or they are still living on mom’s milk, you shouldn’t offer them any nuts. Second, keep in mind that kids are growing quickly and have pretty stringent nutritional requirements.

Keep in mind that nuts are not nutritionally complete, and if you let a kid fill up on nuts they’re going to miss out on other foods they do need and will probably get an upset stomach to boot.