First Time Goat Owner + Pregnant Doe. What to Feed?

[sadieml]

Well, hello @thailand! I hope your 2016 is starting off well. As far as I can tell bouganvillea is fine for goats. Not good for children or dogs, but fine for our goatie babies. Did you tell us her name, yet? I know you must be getting excited, kids soon! Yippee!!! Please keep us posted.

BTW, house is your daughter doing? And your other 9? and your DH? and YOU? Let us hear from you soon. (And don't forget pics. Lots and lots of pics.)

 

[babsbag]

Thanks for the update; I was wondering how things were going for you and your goatie. What is her name?

Bouganvilleas don't grow well where I live; too cold. I have to protect them from frost in the winter. However I see many references to them being a goat's favorite food when I Google it. But I can't be sure that your plants and the plants that grow here are them same species so I don't want to say without a doubt that they are ok.

 

[thailand]

Hi there. Her name is Khaleesi. Can you guys please give me a google link showing Bougainvillea is ok for goats to eat? I can't find any reference anywhere....must be my searching skills (or lack of them LOL). Thanks.

Our daughter returns to NZ tomorrow afternoon. We may not see her for another year...so spending lots of time with her (= shopping ).

Everybody else is doing great. The 9 other kids are back in school now (YES!!!). So the days are finally a little quieter. DH is currently building a kidding pen and it's looking fantastic. Must get some photos taken and post them here. Oh, and for Christmas guess what we got?!! 2 x Pomeranian puppies!!! Totally gorgeous babies. Their names are Kiwi and Snowy. Will post pics of them soon too.

And this Wednesday I have Black Australorp eggs arriving (hmmmm...note to self, must get my incubator set up).

Another busy day today, but will get photos posted before the end of the week.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

http://poisonousplants.ansci.cornell.edu/index.html

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

Two decent resources

 

[babsbag]

When I Googled it I just searched for "goats and bougainvilleas" and came up with some articles where people's goats had eaten them with no problems. Not exactly scientific so perhaps the links that @Pearce Pastures posted would be a better resource.

 

[sadieml]

I just Googled "can goats eat bougainvillea" and found several posts where they had. I checked the same lists Pearce posted plus Fiasco Farm. Anecdotal evidence is all I found, and is NOT always valid, I know, but it is better than nothing. I do realize that some things have a cumulative effect, and some things are bad for them (like they can cause photosensitivity or harm the liver or kidneys) but are not fatal. I am like @thailand in that I would like to see something that says it's safe or unsafe and not just rely on the fact that someone else's goats ate it and didn't die. Mine grab yellow jessamine leaves from time to time, and I know that's poisonous and endeavor to rid our yard of it, but it's our state flower for a reason. It's attractive in more than one way and aggressively prolific. SOOO MUCH JESSAMINE growing here! Unfortunately I can't always find an absolute answer, and it seems this is one of those cases. Sorry, Khaleesi, I do hope it's alright for you, sweetie.

btw - Does Khaleesi have an inherent meaning? I find that we Americans are far more likely to make up names than others in the world, and most non-American names actually mean something.

 

[thailand]

Thanks Sadieml...yes like minds. I like to "know" that something is safe or not. Oh well....she's been ravenous for them and has eaten quite a lot, green and dry forms, leaves and flowers. It would appear that she is fine. I am being particular though to not let her eat too much of any one thing and am trying to vary her diet as much as possible.

She's had more opaque goo today. Been pretty much every day for the last week and half. Guessing it must be soon now.

Nope, Khaleesi doesn't mean anything that I know of for sure, but I "think" it means Queen. So that suits me as she is my first goat and will be the mother of any that follow... LOL.

Photos are still coming....had a busy day today grocery shopping for 12 of us! (It literally takes hours and 3 shopping trolleys full and we are 40 mins drive away from the grocery store).

Hopefully tomorrow is a quieter day and I can post photos

 

[thailand]

An update via photos of where she is 'at' right now. Also - do you guys think she might be looking a little thin? I worry she might not be getting enough to eat, especially as she is probably going to kid in about 2 weeks??

 

[sadieml]

Thanks for the pics! I don't think you need to worry about her appearing to slim down. Don't forget, they "drop" in late-stage pregnancy just like we do. That can lead to looking slimmer, since suddenly baby is no longer under the edge of the ribcage. I remember when mine suddenly moved down and my ribs seemed to move back and overnight I had dozens of little stretchmarks along the bottom of my belly, right where I got an emergency C-section scar afterward. Makes for a yucky scar, let me tell ya'.

Looks like she's bagging-up, too. Yay! Won't be long, now. Yippee! Babies!