The English dictionary defines mint as a plant with dark green leaves that comes with a fresh smell. Mints are quite important in our daily activities as they could be added to food and drinks as well as provide flavor to certain dishes.
While they can serve such purposes, they could equally serve as herbs to cure certain specific illnesses. Over the years and in recent times, several people have considered feeding mints to goats as food or diet but are worried if goat can feed on mints.
We are going to open you to certain facts about mints, their toxicity and how they can be suitable for goats.
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Is Mints Good For Goats?
Yes, mints are suitable for goats to eat. They equally contain adequate nutrients such as iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium etc that enrich the system of goats as well as improve the digestive activity in their system.
If you eventually stumble on your goat consuming mint, there should be no need to panic on your side as it is not harmful to them. Looking at it in an open view, mints are actually good for consumption by goats.
How Do I Introduce Mint to my Goats?
Introducing mint to your goats might be a gradual process. Since we have agreed that mint are good for goats, introducing it to them won’t be a bad idea actually. Your goats might not be attracted to mint at first due to its scent however,
there are steps you can follow when seeking to introduce mint to goats.
Below are certain steps you could follow.
- Try pepper mint at first, pepper mint is known to be included in meal recipe for goats; starting out with pepper mint would be a nice idea.
- Mix them with suitable food. You should by mixing the mints with other foods such as plantain or banana peel, hay or oak leaves. This is another great way to introduce mints to goats.
- Serve them mints in their stall especially when they are hungry.
- Keep mints within their reach. Keeping mint leaves within their reach could be a good way to introduce them to mint.
- Always watch out for side effects after feeding them with mints.
How Often Do I Feed My Goats With Mints?
Since you just got a brief tutorial on how you can introduce mints to goats, you might as well want to know how often you can feed them with mints. Feeding mints to goats can be very healthy however, it would be advisable to offer mint to your goats at least 3 days in a whole week.
Feeding them mints for 3 days in a week which sums it up as 12 days in a month is enough for them. If you wish to mix them with other suitable food, 4 times a week would be a perfect option.
How To Serve Mints To Goats?
Serving mints is actually the same as feeding them with other suitable food as there is no form of hectic activity involved. We highlighted few guidelines on how you can serve mints to goats.
- Harvest fresh mints and wash them with water as they might be covered in dust.
- Do not include fumigated leaves to avoid food poisoning.
- Make sure the mints are cut and always arranged in an organized way as food.
- Avoid dried and sticky branches so as to make swallowing and digestion easier.
- Make sure mints are served to goats with moderation.
Can Mints Cause Stomach Upset To Goats?
No they can’t, except they are consumed in a large quantity. Mints don’t cause stomach upset to goats if they are being fed to them in moderation however, it could actually pose a threat to their body system if they are being fed to them excessively.
Therefore, to avoid any form of illness or stomach upset, moderation should be considered when feeding mints to your goats.
Can Goats Eat Mint Branches?
Yes they do. Goats enjoy branches of mint only if they are soft and fresh. You wouldn’t want to feed dried branches of mint to your goats, they could cause great inconvenience to then during digestion therefore, they shouldn’t be fed dried branches.
Can Baby Goats Eat Mint?
Individuals who believe that baby goats could enjoy mints just as adult goats do absolutely wrong. Baby goats are not meant to eat mint due to the fact that they may experience digestion problems after consumption.
Adult goats are capable of consuming mints as well as digest them effortlessly however, baby goats can’t do this as they are yet to develop fully. A baby goat above 7 months of age can be fed with mints gradually.
Why Are My Goats Not Eating Mints?
You might be concerned by the fact that your goat don’t consume mint even if offered to them frequently and you might be quite worried about that. You can’t actually force them to have mint as food as your goat might not enjoy consuming mints.
Furthermore, the scent of mint could be a great turnoff to them as it can push them away from consuming mints. If notice that your goat don’t eat mint upon serving it to them, you can try other suitable goat foods for them.
Health Benefits Of Mints To Goats
Mints contain lots of health benefits as well as nutrients which you might find interesting. Below are certain health benefits your goats could enjoy from eating mints.
- Fiber
- Protein
- Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6
- Thiamine. Niacin
- Zinc
- Riboflavin
- Foliate
- Iron
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Copper and manganese.
Can You serve Mints With Lettuce To Goats?
Yes, you can actually mix lettuce and mint leaves and serve them to your goats. However, you should also understand that lots of nutrients could be harmful to them too so, both foods should be moderated.
Can You Serve Mints With Banana Peel To Goats?
Of course you can! Just make sure that the quantity of mints are lesser.
Final Words
Mints can serve as good food to goats as they are enriched with lots of nutrients. While they can be highly recommend as food to goats, they should be fed to them with carefulness and moderation.