New Additions

[noskiveez]

I got two new goat additions yesterday. Looks like I'm turning into a goat junkie. I picked up a Nigerian and her doeling yesterday. The baby is approximately a week old and appears to be nursing well. Mama appears to be in good health. They came from the same place the two baby bottle fed week old bucklings came from. Since they came from the same place, I put the two boys in the same pen with her *hoping* she would allow one or both to nurse. Well, that's not a reality apparently. We are still bottle feeding them. I'm still quite new to goats. I hoped to milk her and give the bottle babies milk if she didn't allow them to nurse but she seems pretty concerned about her environment change. She came to me and ate some hay this morning from my hand but keeps herself positioned right between me and her baby. I've pretty much just left her alone.

I have a few questions some pertain to her/baby care and others might seem random.

Do I need to provide her with food all the time. My other young doe will eat until she exploded, so I feed her small amounts twice a day. Does mama need food available freely?

Is there a recommendations for the amount of grain I give her?

Her poop is also different than my other goat. It more of a bigger clump. It still has segments but isn't like rabbit poop. Does this indicate something abnormal dietary?

Is there a goat poop guide somewhere so I know whats normal and what to watch for?

Will mama goat come into heat after the baby is done nursing?

Also, is there a way to tell the age of the mother goat. The people I got them from, got them from an older couple and the husband was the one who took care of them and he became wheel chair bound and the wife had no idea on age.

Are there any good links for Newbies?

 

[ksalvagno]

You would want to have free choice hay available at all times. I would feed her twice a day with grain. Depending on her condition would depend on how much grain. I would probably give her at least one measuring cup in the morning and evening. Others may have an opinion on if she should get more.

Did mom and baby get their CDT shots? If not, I would vaccinate both with CDT. 2cc for each.

Since they are new, mom probably would have clumpy stool. She is in a new environment and needs time to get used to it. Had she been wormed at all? Worming her with Ivomec probably wouldn't be a bad thing to do. 1cc per 25 lbs.

Mama can come back into heat very quickly so you will want to keep the little buck boys away from her. They can get a female pregnant at 8 weeks old and you do not want her pregnant so soon after giving birth.

I would suggest getting a book like Storey's Guide to Dairy Goats. Also, if you do a search on Ruminations, that is a publication for Nigerian Dwarfs and the person who runs that also wrote a book specifically about Nigerian Dwarfs so that would be another good book.

 

[Ariel301]

I feed hay to all of my goats free-choice, year round. I've never had one make itself sick eating hay. Since she is nursing, her nutritional needs are higher than normal, so she should have as much hay as she wants if she does not have access to a pasture adequate enough to feed her all she needs. Grain....depends on her body condition. My Nigerian is chubby with only hay (but she has not begun producing milk yet either) so I don't grain her, I only grain does that are milking heavily or under-conditioned. You don't want her skinny, but you don't want her overly fatty either, so you will just have to keep an eye on her weight and adjust her feed accordingly. One cup twice a day, as already suggested, would probably be a good starting point for a goat of that size.

The slightly abnormal droppings can certainly be caused by stress from being moved. Mine typically do that after a stressful situation. As long as it clears up within a few days and does not become diarrhea, I wouldn't worry. A good deworming won't hurt either, just to be sure, and you could give her some probiotics also.

It is not typical for a nursing goat to accept a baby that is not its own, especially if she is nursing one of her own, she will be super protective of that one and possibly get pretty mean towards any other kid trying to get a free snack from her, so be sure she doesn't try to hurt them. And if the bucklings have been bottle fed exclusively, they would not necessarily realize on their own that they could get milk from her.

 

[tiffanyh]

I think I speak for everyone when I say.....pictures?

 

[noskiveez]

Here is my baby buck that we originally went just to get him

Here is the baby they gave to us (buck)

Mama and her baby

 

[noskiveez]

They haven't gotten any shots yet, but I'm putting together an order with a friend for vaccines. What wormer is okay to give mama and babies? We plan to order from Jeffers.

It sounds like I'm under feeding her. I gave 1/4 cup grain 2x and a hand full of hay 3x. I just took more grain out to her and put more hay for her.

 

[helmstead]

ooooh, buckskins...I WUB buckskins!

Congrats on your new additions!

Dog log poos are normal after kidding and moving stress. I'd give her some probios, and don't make any swift changes to her diet.

FWIW, my lactating does get a least 2 cups of feed twice a day, some more. I mix goat pellets, alfalfa pellets and Calf Manna as my lactating feed. They also get alfalfa mix hay. When any animal is producing milk, they need a lot of nutrition.

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

Beautiful!! Congrats!! I love Mama's colors and markings !!

 

[noskiveez]

Thank you very much.

 

[tiffanyh]

Very cute.