Can goats eat soy beans?

[Lrm93]

ive tried googling but have found so much conflicting info but nothing that really pertains.

I have a free range goat. My soy bean fields were planted last week and my goat loves the sprouts. He’ll graze in the soy beans for about 20 minutes, then spend a few hours in the pasture and go back to the beans for more. He loves them so much, he gets so excited he starts jumping and bucking around, it’s so funny. Is it safe for him to eat green soybean sprouts?

 

[cassie]

I can't imagine why not except for the fact they may cause bloat the same way alfalfa can. One way to prevent a lot of problems is to fill him up on dry hay before you allow him access to the soybeans or any other green feed. Just so you know, GasX is a good remedy for bloat in goats. I always kept a supply on hand.

 

[res]

I have the same concerns as Cassie. I am not positive, but I think soybeans are considered a legume, like alfalfa and peanuts. I would worry about loose stools, bloat, and even urinary calculi due to the possible Ca/P ratio being off. (I hate that I cannot type Ca<colon>P because the system turns it into an emoji - it goes against everything I learned in college feed calculation classes to not use that colon!)

 

[cassie]

I have the same concerns as Cassie. I am not positive, but I think soybeans are considered a legume, like alfalfa and peanuts. I would worry about loose stools, bloat, and even urinary calculi due to the possible Ca/P ratio being off. (I hate that I cannot type Ca<colon>P because the system turns it into an emoji - it goes against everything I learned in college feed calculation classes to not use that colon!)

Soybeans are a legume. They are also an excellent feed. I'm not experienced with soybeans but I have known people to pasture alfalfa just like they do clover. In fact, a common practice is to "sheep off" alfalfa fields in the fall. That means to turn sheep in the field to graze it down after the growing season.

I don't know about urinary calculi and legumes. There has got to be other factors involved and I don't pretend to know what they are. I can tell you I fed my goats, including bucks and meat wethers, almost exclusively on alfalfa hay for all the years I had goats and other goat owners in my area did the same. I had only one case of bladder stones. That was in a wether that was without water for an extended period of time. The automatic float in his water trough malfunctioned and it was some time before anyone noticed.

If it were me, I would just fill the goat up on dry hay before turning him out on the soybeans and then keep an eye on him. I also would not turn him out if the field was wet with rain or dew. I don't know why but that seems to be factor in bloat. Oh, and he needs to be vaccinated with CD/T to help prevent entero.

 

[got milk]

I can't imagine why not except for the fact they may cause bloat the same way alfalfa can. One way to prevent a lot of problems is to fill him up on dry hay before you allow him access to the soybeans or any other green feed. Just so you know, GasX is a good remedy for bloat in goats. I always kept a supply on hand.

I keep baking soda aka sodium bicarbonate in their feed area at all times.
They will self medicate as needed and I don't worry about bloat nor do I see it in the herd as I did before I in stalled the feeders

I do the same with loose salt.

 

[cassie]

Just a comment. Neither bloat nor entero need a reason to show up. They just do. Sometimes you can go decades without ever seeing a case. However, both bloat and entero are true emergencies and need prompt treatment. I considered GasX and clostridium perfingens antitoxin to be cheap insurance. I always had both on hand. I always hoped I would never need either one but I was always prepared if I did.