Doe not eating

[Tapsmom]

Hi all, My ND doe is not eating that much at the moment. She gets a cup of Caprin Challenger night and day and she is barely finishing half of it. I know it's tough at the moment since all they have is hay, minerals and water. There isn't any browse yet..it's all gone Is there anything else I should do to get her to eat, should I be giving here anything additional, or am I worrying unnecessarily? She will eat better if we stand right next to her but sometimes doesn't even finish then. Her brother is seperated at feeding tims since he only gets 1/4 cup of Noble Goat. These are my first goats. They were born last July so she isn't even old enough to breed yet.

 

[elevan]

Throw out the fact that she is not eating her concentrate...What is her overall health, look and demeanor? Is she acting depressed? Is she skinny?

 

[SDBoerGoats]

If any of mine aren't eating, I always take their temp. I also watch to see if they have their tail down and act depressed.

 

[Tapsmom]

She's been vocal..but she is usually vocal. Her tail is usually up..and wagging. I do know that she is no longer in raging heat. She was very easy to tell when she was! She is not acting depressed in that she wants us to be with her and frequently tries to sneak out of the gate, but she is not lethargic at all. as far as if she is skinny..I am new to goats and don't know how to tell She has a fairly thick coat and I have to push fairly hard to find her ribs. If I look at her from the top she looks like an oval. She had an ultrasound with the 4-h a few weeks ago and they said both my goats looked good as far as weight. I've had dogs, horses, guineapigs and cats, but goats and chickens I have had for less than a year ad I tend to get nervous when I'm not sure about their behavior. I have tried a few treats with her but she is rather picky. She likes graham crackers, bread and I found out tonight that she loves cracked corn. However, I am not familiar with how much to feed goats and I know it can be a problem with horses so I am hesitant to give too much without knowing the risks. We have tried various fruits and she doesn't have much interest. 'Dumb questio. What is a normal goat temperature and do I just use a rectla thermometer with vaseline?

 

[elevan]

Check out the feeding discussion thread for information on the multitude of ways to feed a goat. The link is in my signature of this post.

Basic needs are minerals, water and roughage (hay or browse). Beyond that is supplements...and yes grain / concentrates / pellets are considered supplements.

'Dumb questio. What is a normal goat temperature and do I just use a rectla thermometer with vaseline?

No such thing as a dumb question.

Normal temp is 101-103. Rectal temp...and yes some sort of lubricant makes the job easier

 

[Tapsmom]

Thanks,
She definately has her basic needs. She gets fresh hay in a small hole hay bag every morning and it's left out for them all day. They usually eat most of it. Could she just be eating less because she has slowed down her growth? She was born the end of July and I think she is pretty close to full size. That is, based on what we saw at the 4-h meeting a few weeks ago. The other NDs that came in were around the same size as she was and some of them were a few years old. The grass -or in our case-weeds- are starting to pop up so she may be having something to nibble on now, too.
Is corn ok to give her or do I need to be wary? I gave her a little last night but I know it can generate heat in some species and be dangerous. I didn't know if this held true for goats.

 

[elevan]

I don't like to feed straight corn. Not because it generates "heat" but because I think it generates too much sugar. I find that goats who are fed only corn tend to have horrible teeth and more problems with parasites. That's not to say that corn can't be part of the diet but I just don't think it's good fed on it's own. Each farm needs to come to their own conclusions on what is right for them.

 

[Tapsmom]

Thanks, I meant as a treat not as her whole grain rtion. So that would probably be OK. I am actually not a big "treat" giver. I found out they like graham crackers and bread. Since July they have probably had about 5 graham crackers and 2 slices of bread lol

 

[elevan]

OH, a couple of kernels of whole corn would make a good treat as goats think that corn is candy and dried tree leaves are potato chips!