Feeding a Previously Starved Pregnant Doe.

[meme]

In the next few weeks, I will be picking up a gorgeous 2 year old dairy doe. She was recently returned to her breeder after one year of being underfed. She is now not too underweight, but could use condition. She was recently bred for the first time, but is very small for her age. Before breeding, she was wormed with ivermectin, given selenium, and given a copper bolus. I am considering using Molly's herbal wormer without wormwood to safely worm her while pregnant. She will be fed Alfalfa free-choice, Manna Pro minerals, probiotics, and grain. I am debating whether or not I should invest in some calf-manna, alfalfa pellets, and BOSS too. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her healthy and help her grow before she kids? Thanks!

 

[Pearce Pastures]

I would keep an simple and not offer too many calories. Condition is important but putting it on while she is pregnant can lead to delivery complications. Give her a good hay free choice, loose minerals, and a daily ration of pelleted feed. She really doesn't need the alfalfa right now so you can hold back for about three months before introducing that and when you do, I would give it to her as a ration too. Don't deworm her, herbally or otherwise, unless you know she needs it. Take in a test and save yourself the money on unwarranted medications and putting stuff into her system that she either doesn't need or is the wrong medication (which would leave the parasites untreated).

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Not saying you should or shouldn't.....but I would be fine using Mollys herbal dewormer. I use it all the time, but I feel that it is more of a preventative than a treatment. Herbs help support the bodies natural elimination and rebuilding processes and it seems (to me) that goats are particularly responsive to the herbs as a diversified food product. I think the benefits of using Mollys isn't as much the "deworming" aspect, but more the supporting the whole system benefit. And I don't have what I consider a lot of diversity in my goats food choices, a few fruit trees, weeds, hay, some grain/chow, so the herbals provide some support they would get for themselves if they had the opportunity to forage wherever they wanted in some nice tropical goat paradise. (As for actual deworming, the advise is always, run a fecal and use your preferred treatment based on what you find.)

Feeding previously starved animals is always a proceed with caution situation. Too much rich food, too fast, will cause metabolism problems and sometimes issues with the organs that eliminate, break down and process everything. The point is to ease up to the rich stuff VERY slowly so the body can adjust, then feed as recommended. The worst thing that could be done is to pump high calorie foods into her right away.

I for one would use the alfalfa, but of course balancing the calcium phosphorus of the whole diet and I would add it in in small amounts. Like half alfalfa and half grass hay. I would work her up to either mostly alfalfa hay (if she has green weeds/grass/pasture to browse, I might even use less for now) or half alfalfa hay and then add some alfalfa pellets. I do like BOSS and calf manna, but I would be extremely cautious about adding those at first.... and I wouldn't want to add them much towards the end of her pregnancy either. I might offer something small, like 1/4 cup combined (actually measured) or even less daily, hand fed, just to add a tiny boost, but you can also wait and add those after she kids when her caloric needs will go up and she can be built up a little quicker. How much and what kind of grain are you planning on offering? Using alfalfa pellets mixed with other goat rations allows them more "grain", with less actual grain.

 

[meme]

Thanks for the quick replies! For the past two months, her breeder has been feeding her free-choice Alfalfa and 1/2-1 pound of grain daily. So, I was under the impression a lot of the transitioning to more food would have already been taken care of. I will be sure to still take it very slowly though.

We were planning for about 1/2 pound of Noble Goat grain daily. I am not sure if I should feed her grower or dairy parlor though? I was worried about large kids as well, but her breeder thinks it is really important that she grows and gains as much as possible during her pregnancy. We plan to decrease the amount of concentrates as she gets farther along. She is very small right now, probably not much bigger than a normal 5-7 month old Nubian. I too was under the impression that herbal wormers are a safe preventative measure. I would use them regulalry on our entire herd, but the cost is too steep for us. We are having fecals done August 27th, but I wouldn't be able to give her a chemical wormer if she is pregnant anyway. I am mostly worried about introducing new parasites to our current goats, and any worms further hindering her growth.

She is a very well-bred Nubian, and I am excited to see her come into her own. It is so sad that she wasn't cared for before, but we want to do our best for her.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

There are several good chemical dewormers you can use during pregnancy without any trouble. Once you know what you need to treat, you can pick on that is safe and will do the job.

 

[meme]

There are several good chemical dewormers you can use during pregnancy without any trouble. Once you know what you need to treat, you can pick on that is safe and will do the job.

Sorry it took me so long to get reply! I have always been told it is best to avoid worming pregnant does, especially during the first few months. What wormers are safe for pregnant does?