Recommendations for putting weight on a thin animal

[sakurasanta86]

I don't know that I've ever seen this issue with Nigerians, and I've definitely not experienced it myself.

We have a very thin animal. We acquired her this past summer along with two other animals. She was bred when we got her so it was not so obvious at the time.

She kidded and has been dried off for two months.

Still very skinny.

Other two are fine. She is by all other accounts perfectly healthy.

She has 0 worm count as confirmed by a recent fecal float at the state lab. We are giving her supplemental feed, in fact we've bought some with higher protein and fat than we have been feeding out others. Coastal bermuda hay like our others along with extra alfalpha pellets.

Now obviously, there could be other health issues that may be contributing to this and I'm not discouting that.

But, does anyone have any suggestions on some way we could possibly supplement to give her more calories and/or fat?

 

[Latestarter]

First, greetings and welcome to BYH from NE TX! So glad you joined us. Sorry you're having an issue with one of your goats brought you here. I have Lamanchas, and they are all skinny as well. I've tried lots of different stuff like you to no avail. Some dairy goats are just real skinny I guess. Have you considered doing a blood draw and having her mineral balances tested? We have a great group of goat folks here and hopefully some of them will chime in with ideas/suggestions. Meanwhile, there's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

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[ragdollcatlady]

Just curious, did the fecal show coccidia? I assume the lab would have mentioned it.... just thought I would ask.

One possibility is also that if she has worms that aren't producing eggs at the moment, there may not be eggs on any given slide/sample.

If it isn't worms or coccidia, it could be she is just taking a little longer to regain condition, my triplet and quad producers take longer to recover than twin producers.

It could also be a deficiency. How is your area for selenium, copper? Did the place you got your goats from do selenium or copper supplementation? I have found that my goats have benefited from both a loose mineral, my favorite is sweetlix meat maker, but some of my animals need additional cobalt, sulfur, or selenium. You can find salt blocks with these (individually added). The selenium blocks are the ones my goats use the most, but my girls use the cobalt during certain spells and a couple goats have decided they want the sulfur. I leave the blocks in buckets, turned on the side to protect from the weather and protect the block, but still allow access.

What is the protein content of the food you are feeding? I find that milking or recovering goats can usually do OK on an 18 percent, but 16 is a pretty standard percentage. I have found that a couple of the local feed stores have as low as 12 percent though, so I would read the label.

Good luck with your goats!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

If she doesn't start picking up weight from the other suggestions here I might consider having her tested for CAE, CL and Johnes if she hasn't been already.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Do you have a picture of her?

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Harvey Considine told me when he was here doing HES years ago to be careful of overall protein as goats are not carnivores. He suggested keeping it 16% average. And, he said to add fat oats to help doe keep condition. At the time I was feeding grass hay and 17% grain mix. He said cut grain with 1/3 oats. I had several high producing does that were hard to keep weight on. Problem solved.

Acidosis from too much grain without enough long stem fiber can cause ulcers and poor body condition. I have had does carrying triplets and quads that were high risk due to fetal crowding. They needed more grain, but risked acidosis, so I had to feed 4 times a day instead of 2 times a day.

Check teeth as like horses goat's teeth can overgrow and need floating. Like horses you see them dropping food.

Do you have enough feeder space so she get fair her share? Bullying can be subtle sometimes.

Adding a bit of fat with vegetable oil can help, too. Just not too much or rumen upset and scours may result.

Some goats have a better flora/fauna in gut. You might try cud transplant from a goat that is fat and happy. This has worked on mine. A bit messy, but once you get the hang of it not a problem. I can walk you through it.


Remember fecal only show eggs of mature worms. L4 stage of barberpole worm notorious for encysting in gut wall. Adult worms secrete chemical that inhibits encysted forms from emerging. You deworm, adults gone, encysted forms emerge and do NOT shed eggs so you think goat is ok, and it is NOT.