Nubian way to small

[MsDeb]

Ignorance strikes again. I never thought to ask how much weight our little Nubian should be gaining. Was messing around on FB the other day and ended up joining a bunch of goat sites (because I love having goat pics and stuff coming through my FB feed) and, from a random comment I made, learned that our Hazel is much too small. She was born in June and weighs less than 40 pounds. Doesn't feel boney but she's gotten so fuzzy this winter along with Tripod and has stayed just about the same size as Tripod, who is runt, and the only other goats we have are our ND boys. I just didn't realize she should be so much bigger. (I knew she would be eventually but just though they grew slow.) I feel horrible. Poop collected, bagged and ready to deliver to vet tomorrow morning.

 

[alsea1]

Is it possible your goat has dwarf breeding?

 

[MsDeb]

We've got her papers. We saw her mother and grandmother and a sibling. (She was one of quads.) I don't personally know the breeder but she is fairly local and it sounded like she only raises Nubians.

 

[Meaghan]

I'm new to goats myself, but from what I understand there tends to be a tiny one when you have quads, and sometimes even with triplets. Perhaps she was just the smallest of the quads?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Not trying to pull the panic alarm, but this is an excerpt from an article on G6S which is a genetic problem in Nubian goats.

"The affected goats lack an enzyme (G-6-S) and this results in a variety of symptoms of varying severity. The main symptom exhibited by affected goats is failure to grow. Sometimes the kid is smaller than normal at birth, and grows slowly. Some breeders have reported kids which grew normally for the first three months and then stopped growing. Other affected goats grow to what appears to be normal size but is in fact small for the particular bloodlines. They lack muscle mass, appear "slab-sided", sometimes with blocky heads. Immune function appears to be compromised, and sometimes they become deaf or blind. The longest-lived goat known to be G-6-S affected died at just under four years of age, and death is usually due to heart failure. Unfortunately affected animals can and do grow up to breed, although they often experience reproductive problems."

I've include the link so you can read the rest of the article. Your goat may not have this problem, but it is something that Nubian owners/breeders should be aware of.

http://kinne.net/g6s.htm

 

[elevan]

@MsDeb - What were the results of the fecal?

 

[Sweetened]

It could also depend on feed? People who raise goays on ration will have a quicker growing animal, genetics be damned. We thought our sven had dwarf in him as he didnt grow AT ALL that fall/winter. Come spring and better weather, he doubled in size in just a couple months and we grass feed exclusively. Our pasture is about 30% alfalfa.

 

[MsDeb]

Messaged with the person we bought her from and talked to our vet. Fecal didnt indicate worm problem but original owner said feces may not contain eggs due to cold temps (???) Vet recommends two rounds of worming which is what former owner said plus alfalfa pellets and some additional feed for growing goats (forgot the name) so I will do that and see how it goes. I weighed her myself today and she is close to 40 pounds. Will weigh weekly for a while. At least until she gets too heavy to lift. THINKING POSITIVE!

 

[MsDeb]

Started Hazel (and pen mate Tripod) on first round of worm med today. Am going to follow advice of the person we got her from ....who is successfully raising others of her bloodline....and add alfalfa pellets and some other feed for young growing goats (I've really got to look up what she said it was called again.) I've got another question about her. The hair is gone from the tips of her ears. Just maybe and inch on each ear. Is this normal? Did she get frostbite? I looked closely at them today and it just looks like the hair is gone. The skin felt ok. Her ears are so sweet and long. I don't want them to be naked!

 

[Southern by choice]

I sent you a pm... did you get it? It was a few days ago.