[Hatty]

mine like sweetcorn too I buy reduced ones from the supermarket and chop them into slices with the meat cleaver they eat the whole thing even the hard bit in the middle

 lol I clear the local asda (only a little one) out of reduced bread, fruit and veg most mornings, only a little bit spoilt my girls hahaha

[jaykay]

Ok, everyone else except Rowan likes chopped carrots and diced apples 
She nibbled a tiny bit at a bowl of raisins and porridge oats but is hardly eating anything. The odd mouthful of hay.
At the moment, in her pen she has:
Fresh water, molassed good hay, normal good hay, alfalfa pellets and flaked maize, chopped carrots, a bowl of sulatanas and oats.
She is eating none of it.

But apart from this, she seems bright, interested in what's going on etc.

How can i stimulate her appetite? She's had a drench of B vitawith cobalt and selenium recently. And if she won't eat I can't see how I can get powdered minerals into her.

I am getting really worried 

[cuckoo]

Maybe it is her rumen - could try some pro rumen- get it from the vets - drench 1/3 of a sachet for several days

[jaykay]

I wondered that - so will try that, thanks Cuckoo. Can't get any til Mon now.

The other thing I wondered is she feeling queasy cos she's pregnant - and can she be given anything for that?

[Anke]

I think one of the problems is that goats seem to be reluctant to try foods that they don't know and haven't been given when young. So you may have to struggle for quite a while if she has been on mainly a hay based diet (and that is not wrong - her rumen should be functioning well).

Also the ones that come from large herds and are fed in a group rather than individually seem to just "tuck in" as they know that if they don't it will be gone soon...

PS.: I have a goat that leaves her apples!

[Penninehillbilly]

When is Rowan due Jaykay?

I too follow the guidelines of maintenence only until the last 8 weeks,
but up till then mine get
soaked sugar beet + a few whole oats - recommended by breeder
goat mix (molasses in- smells lovely)
mixed flaked
chopped carrots
diced bread (2-3 slices at the most- been told it can cause liver damage.

looks a lot but most is bulk/fibre

One girl esp doesn't like it all mixed, so they get their bowls with it in seperate piles, OH commented how pretty I made their plates look 
same girl last year got very fussy in the last few weeks, and kept leaving some of her feed, will try feeding more often, less at a time this year.

DO you sprinkle minerals on? mine seemed to take a dislike to that at one point, wouldn't eat sugar beet with caprivite sprinkled in.
hope everything goes well

[jaykay]

Found some tree twigs today that were sprouting and gave Rowan those, which she ate. Then she ate a handful of straw and of hay, one blade at a time! Then she nibbled a bit of grass and seaves (rushes) and a few chicken pellets. She's still eating like a supermodel but at least she did eat a bit.

[Penninehillbilly]

Hi JayKay
I'd check the label on the chicken pellets, some say not for other livestock

Have you tried 'readygrass' or similar, smells fresher and more tempting than hay.

[Anke]

MIne get a handful of "Just grass" every so often, but again I have found that the GG's start to have clumpy droppings straight afterwards... it is a bit too rich for them.... but they do love it. The bigger goats are fine with it.

[jaykay]

I asked the vets about chicken pellets and they said the issue was 1. They may have blood or bone meal in so the 'food chain' folk don't like ruminants to get to them and 2. They tend to overeat them and bloat,  rather than there's anything intrinsically bad about chicken pellets.

What is 'ready grass' or 'just grass' - a type of hay? Where do you buy it? That sounds like something she might like, thank you 

This morning she was eating concentrate  I mixed some Caprivite into the IAnsons sheep flakey and she ate a good handful and was still nibbling when I came out  I am running late now cos I just sat and watched her eat 

I shall still ask the vet today if there's anything i can give her to stimulate her appetite.

[wytsend]

Jaykay... give me a call one evening  to discuss your goat  before she goes too far the wrong way... can happen when there are huge demands on her... pregnancy.

Layer pellets do cause bloat & KILL.    Yes normally they have have to eat a large amount... 1kg will do it... to have an effect but your girl has a relatively empty gut so the pellets might act quicker.

My no is  01647 231456

[Anke]

What is 'ready grass' or 'just grass' - a type of hay? Where do you buy it? That sounds like something she might like, thank you 

Readi grass or just grass is freeze dried grass, so looks green, is usually chopped quite fine and smells definitely on the grassy side of hay... It is meant for horses and priced accordingly... "Just grass" is cheaper than "Readi grass" but exactly the same thing. If you know someone who doesn't mind pampering their equine, and has some, I would ask if you can try her on a little bit before you go and buy a large bag (it doesn't come in small ones).

Hope your girls picks up soon. If she is within 4 weeks I would drench her. Also I weigh the feed bowls in the last few weeks if I have a picky/slow eater, just so I know hjow much she has actually eaten.... it is all over the top I know, but I had two with PT last spring and it wasn't pretty... I was getting very desperate too, so I know how it feels.

[jaykay]

Turned the corner with Rowan I think 

She's still eating concentrates (the IAnson's flakey + caprivite)  a handful even at a time. And munching proper big mouthfuls of hay, one after the other (instead of one blade at a time and stop after three). And of course, looking at me watching her like 'what's the issue, why are you standing there and telling me I'm a good girl for eating'  I think she looks less hollow by her spine.

The vet has given me a probiotic drench x2 a day for three days  (oh don't we love drenching goats) and a vitamin injection - done and dusted. Apparently the steroid injection Daisy had to stimulate her appetite would make her abort, so that's a last resort, ditch the kids and save mum. We're not there yet.

Ellie on the other hand,  whilst having a proper waist still, has the most humungous bump and is having quads I'm sure 

[SallyintNorth]

Oh, that is good news.  I hope the returning appetite continues to improve.

I actually had a tear in my eye reading

munching proper big mouthfuls of hay, one after the other (instead of one blade at a time and stop after three). And of course, looking at me watching her like 'what's the issue, why are you standing there and telling me I'm a good girl for eating' 

because I know exactly how you felt.  (I maybe should explain that in my family, we cry when we are happy.  )

[Penninehillbilly]

What is 'ready grass' or 'just grass' - a type of hay? Where do you buy it? That sounds like something she might like, thank you 

OH is a heating engineer, sometimes works on grain dryers, the 'Ready Grass' he brought as a 'sample' (3 big bags  ) from a dryer he worked on, so grass is cut short regularly and fast dried. I still have some from a few years ago, still smells good and I feed it to the geese when the weather is bad (deep snow). I gave goats some last winter ad they loved it, bit expensive for regular feeding but I would think it's worth it for Rowan, don't give too much at first, I would think it's like turning out on spring grass!
Glad to read she's eating a bit, hope she carries on OK