FF Dora w/2 kids is SO SKINNY but no worms

[DonnaBelle]

Well, a conundrum!! Dora was always such a healthy looking goat, but since she had 2 kids at 1 yr of age, she has really gotten skinny. I took a fecal sample in, but no worms. I had wormed her the day after she kidded.

She has alfalfa hay, and I am feeding her 4 measuring cups of goat developer 2 times a day, plus she has access to brouse and pasture.

I can see her tail bones, and her backbone. She's eating good. I gave her 2 cc. of Bo-Se this am IM.

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions. All my other goats are nice and filled out, not fat, but for sure not skinny like Lenora.

Is it just that she has two little suckers on her??

Donna

 

[ksalvagno]

Kids are pretty big parasites. Maybe add some calf manna and give her 4.5 or 5 cups total feed. Do they get black oil sunflower seeds? Add some of that too. Some girls do get thin from nursing and milking. Has she been copper bolus'd lately? Maybe check her eyelids.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

How old are the kids? Already weaned?

 

[Our7Wonders]

Both my does got very thin looking just after kidding. I was pretty concerned and posted on her about it. Rollfarms said that it's hard to keep a lactating doe from losing condition in the first 4 weeks after kidding.

Sure enough - it was like 4 weeks on then dot that she started to turn around with weight. By 6 weeks she was looking better and now at 8 weeks, while she could still use a little weight, looks pretty good considering she's milking. My other doe is only 5 weeks post kidding. She had triplets and she's just now starting to turn around on the loss.

I'm feeding about a pound each feeding (3 c. am/3 c. pm) and top dressing with BOSS and Calf-Manna.

 

[warthog]

I have had two does kid here. the first one was nursing her kid until he was about 9 months old. Yeah I tried separating them only to have fences demolished etc. ut them back together and figured they would work it out.

Anyhow, back to the point, she lost so much weight it was scary, I upped her grain did whatever I could with what is availabe here, all to little or no avail.

I then decided to cut the grain back, to encourage her to go out and browse more, she wasn't browsing much, just filling up on grain and producing more milk.

It worked, she has started gaining weight and looks a whole lot happier and healthier.

All I can say is that is what worked for me.

 

[DonnaBelle]

Thanks a lot guys!! I appreciate the input, because I was really worried.

I have started the calf manna, BOSS, and will give her a little more feed tonight.

I think I already knew what you have posted in your replies, but it really reassures me to have someone say what I've been thinking.

Also, the kids were born April 9th. So they are about 20 days old. Almost 3 weeks, actually, 3 wks tomorrow. We were having a hunt test event here at the ranch, I was in the shower at 5:30 am and DH jerks the shower door open and shouts: DORA'S HAD 2 KIDS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! That got the day going I'll tell ya!!

DonnaBelle

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Both my does got very thin looking just after kidding. I was pretty concerned and posted on her about it. Rollfarms said that it's hard to keep a lactating doe from losing condition in the first 4 weeks after kidding.

Sure enough - it was like 4 weeks on then dot that she started to turn around with weight. By 6 weeks she was looking better and now at 8 weeks, while she could still use a little weight, looks pretty good considering she's milking. My other doe is only 5 weeks post kidding. She had triplets and she's just now starting to turn around on the loss.

I'm feeding about a pound each feeding (3 c. am/3 c. pm) and top dressing with BOSS and Calf-Manna.

That first month is really tough on the dam... that's why it's so critical to have them in good condition prior to lactation. We talked at length about it in another thread, I'll snag a link. I suspect it's even harder on FFs who freshen while they're still maturing. We had a doe kid out at just over 13 months this year and she stripped pretty quickly. I dried her off after a couple months and am giving her a good long break to recondition before rebreeding.

Edited to add link:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8921

There's lots of good feed supplementation suggestions in this thread. Good luck!