Domestic goats are unpretentious animals. They thrive on a variety of foods, both dry and succulent. However, many experienced owners of these animals have a negative attitude towards feeding their pets raw potato tubers and prefer dry and green food. Beginning goat breeders cannot always decide whether raw potatoes can be given to domestic goats, in what quantity and what are the benefits of the tubers.
Product benefits
Potato tubers are useful for goats, first of all, for their nutritional value. 100 g contains:
- proteins – 2.2 g;
- fat – 0.1 g;
- carbohydrates – 15 g;
- dietary fiber – 2 g;
- water – 79 g;
- calorie content – 77 kcal.
Raw potatoes contain a lot of dietary fiber, fiber, and starch. These substances are needed for the development of beneficial microflora in the section of the stomach, which is called the rumen. It is in it that the fermentation of eaten food occurs.
This product is a source of important vitamins for goats:
- A;
- group B;
- WITH;
- E.
The listed vitamins regulate metabolism and digestion, and have a positive effect on the functioning of internal organs. They are needed for the reproductive function of goats.
Potato tubers contain salts of the following elements necessary for proper metabolism:
- potassium;
- calcium;
- sulfur;
- phosphorus;
- manganese;
- zinc
100 g of raw potatoes contains up to 10-18 g of starch. It breaks down very quickly into simple sugars, which has a positive effect on the quantity and quality of milk. The content of water, vitamins, mineral salts, and carbohydrates in raw potato tubers makes them a healthy food for dairy goats. In its raw form, the vegetable is an excellent dairy feed.
It is especially useful to feed the tubers raw in the autumn-winter period after the end of the grazing season. Still, despite the benefits, you should not overfeed a domestic goat with raw and boiled potatoes. This can cause her obesity and lead to hormonal imbalances. There is an opinion among goat farmers that starch from potatoes can clog the milk ducts. This is nothing more than a myth. In this regard, the product is absolutely harmless.
Important! In order not to feed the offspring, raw potatoes should be removed from the diet of uterine queens, especially during the launch period.
Rules for choosing raw potatoes for goats
To feed goats, you need to choose healthy tubers. They should not show signs of rot or mechanical damage.If, during harvesting, violation of storage rules, or in the second half of winter, the skin of the potatoes turns green, then in this case you need to remember that this is a sure sign of the accumulation of a toxic compound, solanine.
Potatoes, like all plants of the Solanaceae family, produce the poisonous alkaloid solanine to protect against pests. When this substance enters the body in large quantities, it leads to disruption of vital processes and even the death of the pet. There is especially a lot of solanine in the green ground parts of the plant, tops and fruits - berries that appear in place of flowers. However, tubers contain solanine in minimal and non-hazardous quantities for animals and humans. If you follow a few simple rules when feeding fresh tubers to goats, this product will not harm them.
How to give potatoes correctly
To feed domestic goats potatoes, you need to properly prepare the tubers. In the first 4-5 months after harvesting, if stored properly, potatoes do not turn green and do not sprout. Before feeding the goats, the tubers must be thoroughly washed. If there are damaged areas or signs of rot, then they are carefully cut off with a knife to healthy areas.
By the end of winter or spring, the tubers begin to sprout. Before feeding them to animals, all sprouts are carefully broken off, as they contain a high amount of solanine. If the potatoes have turned green, then the peel must be removed, cutting it off in a thick layer to light pulp for the same reason (large amount of solanine).
If you lay out raw tubers whole to a goat, then most likely it will be unlikely to be interested in them, or the animal may choke on them. They must be cut immediately before feeding. Usually it is enough to cut small potatoes into two halves, and large ones into 4-6 parts.If the farm has 1-2 heads, then the potatoes can be cut into large cubes 10-15 mm thick or into cubes. Some animals happily eat potatoes sprinkled with salt and animal feed.
This process will not take much time, because 3-4 medium-sized tubers per day are enough for one head. You cannot chop potatoes for future use for more than one feeding. It darkens, loses juiciness and nutritional value. Despite, that raw potatoes are healthy, yet it does not belong to the main food of domestic goats. Even if tubers are present in the animals’ daily menu, they should always have free access to hay and twigs from trees in their feeder.
