# Nubian doe had 7 kids. Not gaining weight!



## Susyr22 (Apr 9, 2013)

My big Nubian doe "Millie" Had 7 kids a few days ago. Only 3 survived and are doing great.We had to pull all of them out. We had Millie on antibiotics because we had to reach in. However Millie looks emaciated!She looks fine from the side, but from the back or top she looks awfull! She was wormed 2 days after kidding.
 I have been giving her free choice hay and graining her twice a day, and also giving her nutri drench 2 times a day. What can I give her to make her gain weight fast? I've fed manna pro and black oil sunflowers seeds to my goats in the past and they never seem to work that great. Is there some sort of high calorie suplement I can get?

Also before Millie kidded she was huge! So big that when she walked she put weight on her heels on her back legs. She is still walking on her heels and looks like it hurts to walk because of it. Will she walk normally if i give her time?

Thanks for the help!


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## Cooperkeeper (Apr 9, 2013)

SEVEN??? Wow! I have never heard of such a thing.  Poor Mama!! 
I am really new, so I am interested to hear from the more experienced here, but could the weak pasterns be a indicator that she is quite low in selenium? Did she get a shot of Bo-Se after kidding?

Do you have pics of surviving babies and Mama? What did babies weigh??


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## Susyr22 (Apr 9, 2013)

No I haven't given her any BoSe. Good idea I will do that today though! The babies varied in size. The 3 surviors are smaller. I surprised any of them survived. There were a couple of undeveloped ones that didn't make it. I called my vet and he said he is surprised she didn't get toxiemia since she was carrying dead babies. I didn't get any pics yet. I will take some today. The babies she has now are doing great and are growing! One of them (the smaller of the 3) I am bottle feeding, as she just doesn't get how to suckle from momma. She was tiny so I wanted to make sure she made it.


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## Susyr22 (Apr 9, 2013)

Just went out to check on her again. She is leaking white mucous.Weird.My other doe's still have a bloody discharge. Millie's is white. Does this mean infection? She had the hardest time expelling her afterbirth after kidding. The vet said give it 24 hours. She finally expelled the next day. Almost like she wasn't strong enough to contract. That's another reason she needed help getting the babies out too.


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## SheepGirl (Apr 9, 2013)

Your doe will not gain weight overnight. It is a process, with animals only gaining 1/2 to 1 BCS every month or so, depending on how you're feeding them. Especially since she is nursing babies, she might not be gaining any weight until after she weans them. At this stage, do NOT worry about making her gain weight. Worry about making sure she is getting enough feed to be able to maintain herself (ie not losing weight) PLUS producing milk to nurse her kids.

This is my ewe right after having triplets (like, within 3-4 hours of lambing):






Her BCS is about a 2 or 2.5 out of 5 when this photo was taken (a body condition score 'measures' the layer of fat around the spine, ribs, and hips), however she looks skinnier because there is nothing in her belly. She has filled out since then (she eats a lot of hay so her rumen has now taken the place of the three babies that were once inside her), but she is maintaining the same BCS on 1.5 lbs of grain. Once the lambs are weaned she won't be getting any grain and she will put weight back on with just grass.


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## sprocket (Apr 9, 2013)

Are you leaving all four kids on her?  Have you considered (and I know it's a pain in the butt) pulling 2 off them off and bottle feeding to reduce the milk production pressure on the doe?


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## PendergrassRanch (Apr 9, 2013)

7 kids! Wow!


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## goatboy1973 (Apr 9, 2013)

I posted a wonderful recipe for putting weight on a skinny goat. I start with a base of 50 lbs of alfalfa pellets, 15 lbs each of powdered corn and dry beet pulp. Mix all dry ingredients together and then add about 20 oz. of liquid molasses based goat vitamin like Nutri- Drench and mix thoroughly. I feed enough for it to be consumed completely in 20- 30 mins and feed it twice daily. I have used this recipe for the 13 yrs I have been in the goat biz and it has worked every time. Wow, 7 kids??? Totally amazing!!!


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## Pearce Pastures (Apr 9, 2013)

That is amazing.

The white discharge--with having to pull all of the kids, I would be concerned about infection especially if you had to go in for any of them.  If all three survivors are nursing, I would consider pulling and bottle feeding one given her condition.  

I would strongly suggest getting a fecal done.  There is now way to know what parasites she may have without it and it is not the best practice to hit her with a dewormer without knowing what if anything needed to be treated.  If she has parasites and didn't get the right treatment, it will make getting her back in shape all the harder going.

It will take time and good feeding practice to get her back in shape.  I like the alfalfa, beet pulp idea posted goatboy but research the use of molasses before using it.  It can cause other issues and you just need to be careful to not overdo it.  I wonder if maybe some black oil sunflower seeds might help too.  We also use Calf Manna in moderation to put weight on a thin buck once.


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## 20kidsonhill (Apr 10, 2013)

Susyr22 said:
			
		

> My big Nubian doe "Millie" Had 7 kids a few days ago. Only 3 survived and are doing great.We had to pull all of them out. We had Millie on antibiotics because we had to reach in. However Millie looks emaciated!She looks fine from the side, but from the back or top she looks awfull! She was wormed 2 days after kidding.
> I have been giving her free choice hay and graining her twice a day, and also giving her nutri drench 2 times a day. What can I give her to make her gain weight fast? I've fed manna pro and black oil sunflowers seeds to my goats in the past and they never seem to work that great. Is there some sort of high calorie suplement I can get?
> 
> Also before Millie kidded she was huge! So big that when she walked she put weight on her heels on her back legs. She is still walking on her heels and looks like it hurts to walk because of it. Will she walk normally if i give her time?
> ...


when i asked our nutritionist at the feed mill how to add calories to gain weight, he simply said, "Corn."   I would add 1 cup of cracked corn and 1 cup of rolled oats to her grain twice a day.  The rolled steamed is a little better than the whole.  

But it does take a while for them to recover from pregnancy.  Clearly she was in a ketosis state from carrying 7 kids and now her system needs to recover and turn around. 
She used up a little of vitamins carrying 7 kids.  
I would hit her heavy with homemade Magic drench mixed with some calcium gluconate and 50% dextrose, b-complex and vitamin AD&E injectable.  

3 or 4 ounces twice a day of the mixture for 5 days to restart her system to help her get out of ketosis and back into gaining weight.


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## 20kidsonhill (Apr 10, 2013)

as far as the discharge, take her temp. every day.


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