Guava is a common tropical fruit grown in many tropical and subtropical regions. Its most common type is the Psidium guajava.
Also, guavas are highly nutritious for the human body. In 2020, over 54 million tons of guavas were harvested globally.
If you own a goat, and with many guavas around, you might have wondered if you could feed your goat with guava.
After all, goats are herbivorous and only eat vegetation. So, it would be logical to expect goats to be able to eat guava. Keep reading to learn more about whether or not goats can eat guava.
Can goats eat guava?
Yes, goats can eat guava. However, if you want to feed your goats with guava fruits, refrain from serving them with the seed.
Guavas are notorious for having hard seeds that are hard to digest. Apart from feeding your goats with the skin and flesh of guava fruit, you can also feed them with the leaves.
Guava contains a lot of phytonutrients that are beneficial to the well-being of goats.
Goats can eat several types of guava, including white guava, apple guava, pineapple guava, and so on. But as you feed these fruit to your goats, ensure you don’t do it in excess.
Guava contains a high amount of sugar which can lead to weight gain. Also, don’t feed your goat processed guava paste, as it is unhealthy for goats due to its high sugar content.
What are the health benefits of guava to goats?
Apart from the abundance of guava, another reason to consider giving it to your goats is for its health benefits.
Guavas are rich in vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to goats. As such, these nutritional elements in guava have several health benefits. Below are some of the health benefits of feeding guava to goats.
Great Source of Fiber
Fiber is nutritionally beneficial to goats as it aids digestion and prevents constipation. Fiber is particularly helpful if your goat has urinary stones.
Guava contains a decent amount of fiber. Whether you feed your goat with guava leaves or fruit, it is a great source of fiber.
Also, guava leaves contain phytonutrients that aid digestion and act as an antimicrobial. Hence, feeding your goats with guava leaves helps them neutralize harmful microbes in the gut that can lead to diarrhea.
And if your goat is already suffering from constipation, feeding it with guava will often help alleviate the symptoms after a few days.
Rich in Antioxidants
Like humans, goats suffer from the adverse effects of oxidation or free radicals. Free radicals can lead to heart conditions, cell damage, and other chronic diseases.
But guava, an excellent source of antioxidants, can help it better combat several ailments affiliated with free radicals.
But guava contains a decent amount of antioxidants. The antioxidant in guavas is powerful enough to neutralize free radicals.
As such, feeding your goats guava will improve their immunity. Also, when you feed your goat guava, the vitamin C in it contributes to helping strengthen its immune system.
Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation is an ailment common amongst goats. For example, Johne’s disease is a chronic inflammation of the intestine caused by bacteria.
But when you feed your goat with guava, it promotes a healthy inflammatory response. Hence, your goat will be less prone to ailment caused by inflammation.
Thanks to the flavonoid in the leaves and fruit, guava acts as an antioxidant that scavenges free radicals in your goat’s body.
And as far as we know, inflammation is at the core of most ailments. So, incorporating guava into your goats’ diet will help relieve inflammation and promote better health.
Contains Antimicrobial Properties
Several microbes like the Mycoplasma conjunctivae or the chlamydia species are detrimental to your goats’ health.
These microbes mentioned above are the primary cause of pinkeyes or keratoconjunctivitis, a microbial infection in goats characterized by cloudiness in the eyes.
However, goats possess antimicrobial properties. As such, feeding your goat with guava protects it from microbial ailments.
Not only is guava rich in antimicrobial properties, but it also contains a decent amount of antifungal properties. Hence, feeding guava to your goats can act as an antibiotic.
Consideration When Preparing Guava for Goats
If you are going to feed your goat with guava, be it the leaves or the fruit, below are a few things you need to consider.
High Sugar Content
Sugar isn’t entirely bad for goats. But it’s important to limit its sugar intake in your goat as sugar supports microbial growth, particularly digesting bacteria.
Also, sugar speeds up fiber degradation and allows for greater DMI and rumination.
Guava contains a lot of sugar. The sugar content in guava averages 9g per 100g of guava.
Sugar isn’t all bad for goats because when there is an energy deficiency, a solution is to increase the proportion of grain in the goat’s diet.
Nutritional Health Problem
Before feeding your goat with guava, it’s important to consider any nutritional health problem it might pose.
For example, urinary calculi is a condition where the urinary tract is clogged with calcium phosphate calculi due to excessive feeding of the goat with grain.
Enterotoxemia is another condition that arises due to high levels of starch in the diet, which speeds up bacterial growth in the intestine.
Excessively feeding your goat with grain from guava can lead to acidosis, where the lactic acid in the rumen increases its toxic levels due to excessive starch levels.
How to safely feed guava to goats?
If you feed your goat with guava, there are a few ways you can do it safely.
Wash the Fruits or Leaves
When you get your hands on the guava fruit or leaves you want to feed your goat, ensure you wash it. Wash the fruits or leaves under running water and not water in a bowl.
Washing the guava before feeding it to your goats helps eliminate contaminants and microbes that could be dangerous to your goat’s health.
Allow the Guava to Be Ripe
Also, if you want to feed your goat with guava, feed them with ripe guava. Unripe guava tends to have a more rigid texture and toxins that can irritate the stomach.
Remove the Seeds
You should remove the seed if you feed your goat with guava fruit. While your goat can eat a small amount of guava seed and be fine, when it’s in excess, it becomes a problem.
Chop the Guava Into Smaller Pieces
To prevent a choking hazard, chop the guava fruit or leave it in smaller chunks before feeding it to your goat. Or, better still, add it to the food your goat loves or offer it as a treat.
Monitor Your Goat
Finally and most importantly, always monitor your goat when introducing it to a new diet.
If you haven’t been feeding it anything guava, when you eventually do, keep a close eye on it to see if it experiences any reaction, such as stomach upset or allergy.
Conclusion
Guava is a good fruit worth incorporating into your goat’s diet. It is rich in many macronutrients and micronutrients, such as dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and so on.
The numerous phytochemicals, such as polyphenols and carotenoids, also have several health benefits for goats.
So, if you were contemplating whether or not to give your goat guava, hopefully, this article clarifies that you can.
