Author Topic: Weight loss in nursing doe (Read 1957 times)

Pookie · « **on:** April 15, 2018, 10:23:20 am »

We have an 8 year old Saanan with 2 week twins. She seemingly is all skin and bone and we cannot get her to gain weight. Stools normal ( and her sisiter is good weight so worms not suspected) appetite good, she has access to pasture, eats her concentrate but not keen on her hay. We are supplementing lotsof her favourite browse ( ivy,some bramble)..How much concentrate can we give. ? Any other ideas?
Any helpmuch appreciated

Anke · « **Reply #1 on:** April 17, 2018, 10:54:48 am »

Readigrass and Alfa A are usually liked, you may want to add soaked (or dry if she prefers it that way) sugar beet shreds to her concentrate ration, I also feed rolled oats. If she milks well it can take her all summer to get some condition back. So slowly and steady with loads of branches as they become available will get her there in the end.

Warm water, maybe with added molasses will also induce her to drink more, and then she may also be keener on her dry food.

Pookie · « **Reply #2 on:** April 17, 2018, 05:06:52 pm »

Thanks...sterted her on carrots a few days ago and she is eating these. Also got some high energy horse haylage yesterday . She is eating it and may prefer to end of last season' hay previously given. Sun coming so hopefully brambles will come back soon along with all the other browse.

Seems like the Readigrass is top quality hay? Will try alfalfa tomorrow if local supplier has it. will also try molasses.
She is thankfully no worse and without objective measure..she may be putting on a bit of weight.
The 2 greedy guts kids are taking plenty of milk

It is reassuring to think we can expect a very slow recovery and still get her back to normal when the kids are away...we can try and control her milk production to suit her better later on.

Thanks for your help..we have never had goat kids before!
Pookie

bj_cardiff · « **Reply #3 on:** April 19, 2018, 06:42:44 am »

You say that you've never had goat kids before, do you know if the goat has had kids before and how she was with them?

I brought a goat a few years ago and the people said that she kidded fine but put everything into her milk and was a bity porly after, but she should be fine now she's older. She kidded and had 2 lovely kids but lost so much weight I weaned the kids at 4 weeks and milked her once a day for another month and bottle fed the kids. You just couldn't get the food into her fast enough. I haven't bred from her since

Pookie · « **Reply #4 on:** April 19, 2018, 05:16:06 pm »

she was a 5 year old milk goat in a commercial dairy herd before we had her..They made cheese commercially and said she had kidded previously.We milked her a little for a year then dried her off for one year then got a billy.

She is still feeding the kids at 3 weeks old so today we have started what you have done..giving the kids 200mls lamlac x2 per day but leaving them with her and maybe weaning asap to reduce the burden on her body...
She has taken molasses today and lots of carrots but still very boney.

We are somewhat reassurred that you had a similar problem and will keep at it.
Thanks for your helpful comments

Buttermilk · « **Reply #5 on:** April 19, 2018, 07:04:38 pm »

If she has come from a commercial herd there could be a possibility that she has Johnes disease. My ex boss used to say that anyone with a commercial herd who said that they did not have it were lying.