Please Help!! Weanlings not eating feed

[aggieterpkatie]

It's interesting to hear some of the differences in raising dairy and meat breeds!

I'd change that to "the differences in raising show goats and non-show" goats. IMO, not feeding any hay is a disaster waiting to happen, and certainly not what goats are meant to eat. :/

Although, it's possible that the show wether feeds are "complete" feeds, meaning they have forage in them. I'm not familiar enough with them. Even still, goats need long fiber forage for optimum gut health. When I showed market lambs we'd just reduce the amount of hay a day or two before the show, and not feed hay the day of the show (until after the show). You'll notice many show animals are muzzled in their pens at shows because they try to eat the bedding (straw or shavings) to get some roughage.

 

[()relics]

When you feed a show wether you DO NOT want him to EVER develop a rumen....Feeding ANY roughage encourages rumen activity, or rumen growth. Any wether shown with ANY belly or "rumeny" look is automatically knocked down in the class. Obviously show animals are raised on a diet Completely different than any other animal. Anything else would be encouraged to develop their rumens early so they "work" properly....Just not Show Wethers. The normal ratio would be 4 to 1 roughage to feed ration, show wethers would be 0 to 1... roughage to ration....but to each his own...Feed Hay and see what you get come show time.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

When you feed a show wether you DO NOT want him to EVER develop a rumen....Feeding ANY roughage encourages rumen activity, or rumen growth. Any wether shown with ANY belly or "rumeny" look is automatically knocked down in the class. Obviously show animals are raised on a diet Completely different than any other animal. Anything else would be encouraged to develop their rumens early so they "work" properly....Just not Show Wethers. The normal ratio would be 4 to 1 roughage to feed ration, show wethers would be 0 to 1... roughage to ration....but to each his own...Feed Hay and see what you get come show time.

Is this because they're basically terminal anyway? I suppose long-term isn't as much of a concern for something that will be on the dinner table soon. Or are bucks/does fed the same way?

 

[()relics]

the judge wants to feel a long lean solid animal...not a fat big bellied animal...muscle means a lean carcass with a high lean to fat ration....fat belly means extra weight with no extra meat...no meat in the belly...making the carcass a lower lean to fat ration...Right or Wrong...and yes a wether is fed as a terminal animal, the show date being the end date, with the animal being 4-8 months old...No need for a rumen because you won't be bringing them home to feed the rest of its life....Every show/judge is different, to get the trends look at show results on line for Jackpot shows or sanctioned show...Bet you don't see any wethers with a belly

 

[jodief100]

So in these shows the Ideal goat is one who is in the unnatural state of having no rumen. I understand why they want a high lean to fat ration but I am troubled by this concept. Not criticizing, mind you but it does bother me. I know it is a terminal animal but still. I find it a little disturbing.

Oh well, there are more important things to worry about and to each his own I guess.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I'm curious though, does a normal rumen just give the appearance of a less desirable lean to fat ration because they can't see/feel the muscling underneath and can't tell if it's fat or is the carcass actually affected at slaughter? It seems like (and I could be totally wrong about this because I have NO experience with meat goats ) once the animal was slaughtered and the big healthy rumen was removed the carcass would be the same between a wether fed roughage and concentrate and one just fed concentrate in terms of the ratio? Maybe just a lower weight to meat ratio and slower growth?

I'm not suggesting at all that anyone does it differently than they do, just curious about the mechanics of it.

 

[()relics]

I don't make the show rules because if I did we would win all the shows...The only reason is based purely on appearance. A wether with a fat belly "looks" fat. A well muscled tight wether "looks" leaner...The key word is Looks. Wethers are sold based on live weight. A giant rumen or fat belly adds to the live weight of the animal which then after killing is immediately lost. Meat goats are "supposed" to be bred and raised to have a very High carcass yield...Besides wethers are shown slick shaved. Have you ever seen a slick shaved wether with a really fat belly? they look horrible...Basically, as with any show animal, you have to "produce" what the buyers/judges are looking for the day of the show. Fads or trends change...And if you want to compete you have to follow the current "accepted standard"...whatever that may be and whether or not you agree with it....

 

[()relics]

...adding this...To honestly feed a wether for a show is VERY COSTLY. If you win or place well you may recoup some/most of your expenses. I always find it slightly funny when someone attaches the "show prospect" label to one of their wethers, either for sale or that they are keeping. A show prospect needs to be carefully selected because they eat just as much as a "not a show prospect" wether. No matter how much feed some wethers eat and no matter how expensively they are maintained, some never turn into anything but Fat fixed Boy Market Goats...I have lots of boy kids on the ground every year...Few are actually "show prospects"...So explaining to anyone how exactly to feed a wether that they have bought as a show prospect is a touchy deal...Sometimes they are best left with their mothers on the pasture until market....jmo

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I don't make the show rules because if I did we would win all the shows...The only reason is based purely on appearance. A wether with a fat belly "looks" fat.

Ok, that's what I was thinking. Thanks for the info!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

This is one of the reasons I don't show club lambs any longer. I grew up in 4-H and had GC market animals most years I showed, BUT I fed how I wanted to feed and still did well. This was years ago before the trend in the showring went to tubey-giraffe necked ballerina* lambs with "inny" docks. I'm sorry, but any judge that can't properly judge a lamb with a 2" tail needs to stop judging. Any practice that is so totally unnatural that they have to do things like drench the animal with crazy concoctions to keep it hydrated and give it "bloom" before the show is ridiculous. Club lambs would waste away and die if you put them on a pasture, and sheep are meant to eat pasture. It's so totally ridiculous. The point of market shows is to show the meatiest animal, but it's gotten to the point that any real-world sheep farmer selling lamb and making a living would not dare touch any sheep with club genetics.

Most of my experience is obviously with sheep, but it's the same concept with goats. I'm sorry, but goats have rumens! They're meant to use them! It's really sad when the show world and the "real" production world are so far removed from each other we have to manage the two groups totally seperately.

This is not meant to bash anyone at all, it's just my own opinion about the show world in general, not any individual person.

*ballerina lamb- my term for those lambs with loooooong legs and tiny bodies.