Chocolate & Goats-Lambs

[ffamom]

I was at the FFA meeting tonight that the Ag teacher kept stating that you couldn't feed chocolate to your goat or lamb. Why would you want to?

 

[FlaAngus]

helps to tame them, i used to use oreos for steers and hogs

 

[Moocow11]

maybe that why mine are retared. i feed my lamb
oreos to calm her down

 

[WarriorPatriot]

I guess because some people consider it junk. Shoot I also ways gave my old steer Hershey Kisses, and the one before him liked the Salsa Verde Doritos or potato chips with lemon, the one now will KILL for Cheetos! Feeding it to them is fine that I see, as long as it's not their main diet or anything. My lamb always wanted what I had, and I shared. I think there may eventually be a limit on how much chocolate sheep and goats can handle.


Was she talking about that the students couldn't feed it to them, or that you can't give it to them in general?

 

[Colorado2008]

I think the main reason for this is the ingredients. Like dogs can't (shouldn't) have chocolate. If you feed something that is too high in copper to a lamb it will kill them, so I would be cautious of what you feed them.

 

[rancherswife]

I don't think I would ever use chocolate but we have used fig newtons a few times!!

 

[clifflem]

One reason not to feed chocolate to animals is if your show is terminal and they drug test, the chocolate will show up as a stimulant on a drug screen.

 

[Moocow11]

you can give dogs milk chocolate just not dark chocolate

 

[Tabor]

you can give dogs milk chocolate just not dark chocolate

Something I found on dogs. http://www.sojos.com/chocolate.html

Also found this on cattle
http://www.eatwild.com/health.html

 

[SHOWMOM]

Chocolate shows up as a stimulant, because it has caffeine in it. If you are at a show that drug tests, you will test positive for a stimulant, thus getting in lots of hot water. In Arkansas you get banned for two years. (1st offense) That's not even worth it.... If you have a lamb or goat and drench them with ensure, be sure to use vanilla or strawberry, they do not have any caffeine in them.

 

[L Weir]

What does drenching sheep and goats with Ensure do?

 

[SHOWMOM]

People use ensure to give them "fill",to give them some nutrients, and such before the show, but to keep them from being swelled out from a bunch of feed. We only showed a lamb 1 year, so I am no expert,but that's why we did it..She loved the strawberry

 

[Colorado2008]

Hmmmmmmm drenching animals. Sounds like cheating to me. I never drenched my show animals and was still able to win against cheaters that did.

"Drenching" is more common amongst sheep. When I was showing sheep we would drench (usually we just let them drink it from a pan) them with Gatorade, made them fresher feeling becuase of the electrolytes in it.

 

[4-H_Kid07]

Mine love marshmellows...

 

[SHOWMOM]

Ok, for cowboyup216 we did not actually "drench" her she drank it out of her pan and if you didn't pour fast enough she would try to drink it out of the can. So, HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. But I do believe they do drench sheep and most don't have a problem with it, we only showed one year so we were no experts.