[Northlands]

Hi
I have a saanen x nanny who I got last year when she was in milk and have had no problems. She had twins at the end of Feb and never was anywhere near as big as the rest of my girls. I was really suprised she had twins to be honest.  The problem I have now is she has lost a lot of weight since feeding her kids. Is there anything I can do to help her put weight on as the more I feed her the more milk she produces!!!  She is fine in herself just looks really skinny!
Thanks
Michael

[Dogwalker]

I've come to the conclusion with my nannie who had triplets it's just time she needs.
If I try giving more hard feed she just gets clumpy poo and she prefers forage and hay, if she gets any skinnier I'll have to wean the kids early and give them more milk from another nannie, They already get a morning and evening bottle from the other one anyway.

Sorry not much help,perhaps a more experienced goatkeeper can help us both.

[little blue]

some goats are just like that ...
assuming you are providing good feed, hay, minerals etc, then it could just be that she'll stay thin til the kids are off her

(ours is!)

[jaykay]

Good minerals, molassed sheep feed, dairy nuts, flaked maize and mixed chicken corn seem to be helping my  skinny girl. She is still skinny but improving. The mixed chicken corn seems to be her favourite and make the most difference 

[wytsend]

Unfortunately most goats most feed manufacturuers treat goats as sheep  which they are NOT.
Metabolically (?) they are almost the same as cattle.    They require the same minerals as cattle.
I have always fed my girls on cattle dairy nuts as their base feed & give extras as treats.  Best quality hay/haylage and branches if they cant go out to graze.
The new Premium Goat Feed Balancer is the best thing to hit the goat feed market in many years....it provides everything that is missing from most goats diets.  It is only available from Denis Brinicombe Group via mail order but the prioce includes delivery.  There are a lot of people on this forum who use it and I am sure will make their own comments.
Telephone  01363 778792,  speak to Kym and she will arrange the delivery for you.

[colliewoman]

I must say I am impressed with the minerals from Denis Brinicombe!
I am not getting huge amounts of milk from my girls at the moment, BUT they are still feeding their kids 24/7 and giving me some for the house as well, and not a boney rump in sight!
Even Gill the oaf. never seen a billy goat in her life has just decided yesterday to start producing milk! Bonus
Mine get dairy nuts in the morning, and at night whilst being milked, plus a scoop of squashed oats  each evening for being good girls. Plus the minerals
Good hay and forage also, not got much in the way of grazing so add lib hay all year round.

[Anke]

I've come to the conclusion with my nannie who had triplets it's just time she needs.
If I try giving more hard feed she just gets clumpy poo and she prefers forage and hay,

Same here, I milk my goats and feed the kids by bottle. Two of mine (a BT and a GG) had triplets and are quite skinny. Both get enough food and left with them for about 20minutes (or until they walk away), mix of sugarbeet shreds (soaked), oats and dairy nuts/goat mix. Also tons of freshly cut grass and I have just started to "go branching" most days. As for minerals - Caprivite, supplemented with seaweed powder, garlic and linseeds. Mine also get the first refusal on the weed bucket (thistles, docks, dandelions, sticky willy etc).
 
They are healthy - and increasing the protein content (i.e. readigrass, alfa a, flaked maize or more dairy nuts) just produces loose stools, as does wet grass.
 
However if your kids were born February you could wean them off and then milk her (if you want to), if not - letting her dry off will put condition on them in no time.

[plumseverywhere]

Oh our Puffin has lost loads of weight since having Sixpence (single male kid) end of March. She's a right bony thing right now but I can see her starting to  put her weight back on.


She's on a combo of oats/beet/goat mix and we supplement with (lovely) Adam Hensen's minerals and seaweed. They also have sticky willy, willow, docks, dried nettles, carrot tops, dried pasta and bindweed (yum!) They've got extra hay while its tipping it down with rain, otherwise they are grazing loads (so much so that my maiden milker is giving us 9 pints a day now! thanks to the clover methinks lol!)


I think from what Puffin's breeder told me, time is the main key here     ( I wish I'd lost weight like that after i had my 4 girls though....)

[Lesley Silvester]

   ( I wish I'd lost weight like that after i had my 4 girls though....)

Not fair, is it?
 
My feed supplier hadn't heard of dairy nuts.  Can someone tell me the manufacturer's name as he might be able to look them up then,

[jaykay]

Mine had to order them specially too. I have the I'Ansons ones, mainly because that's who my local merchant deals with I think. But skinny Rowan likes them and they seem to be helping.

People did tell me I had to feed a milking goat like a dairy cow not like a sheep - and it seems to be working slowly.

[Northlands]

Thanks for your suggestions. I will investigate the supplements. She gets dairy nuts along with other things, I think she is starting to look a bit better!! Hopefully time will help too. 
 

[goosepimple]

Agree with posts above - molasses, flaked maize, micronised peas etc, lots of branches (even if you have to lop road verges) and I also smash up with a hammer their salt licks and sprinkle a bit on their food every couple of days to make sure their mineral levels are up - don't trust them to lick it.

[princesspiggy]

, dried pasta

really? why and what type? 

[plumseverywhere]

Any type - apparently its like crisps are to humans so just a little.  I couldn't believe it when I was told but yep, they love it (very noisy if they are crunching while you are milking though     )

[goosepimple]

A farm park manager also told me goats love Hobnobs, not the chocolatey ones though, and yes they do love them - they also go MAD for dried apricots.  Dried pasta might be a bit sharp on their gums I should think?  Although they don't mind the thorney bits on hawthorn etc do they.