URGENT!!! Really skinny dairy goat needs to gain weight

[Beekissed]

I'll add that even with natural antihelmintics worming on a schedule and using the same concoction all the time will just breed worms that have become resistant to what you are using...in other words, you are breeding a better worm but not doing so much for the goat.

A lot of folks think that herbal dewormer concoctions will be the final solution but any time one is raising animals, it really needs to be combined with other ways of insuring flock health~ culling for hardiness and parasite resistance, breeding for resistance, rotating pasture or giving enough pasture that they aren't always feeding over their own feces.

Switch things up, especially if you are going the organic route. Put some ground ginger root in her feed for a few days and, if you can find some, use a good kelp meal/salt mineral supplement.

Some of the more common reasons kelp is used for livestock include:

• Enhancing immune function
• Increasing meat quality
• Reversing depressed immune function
• Reducing the stress associated with weaning
• Weight gain

What it contains

• Calcium
• Copper
• Dietary Sodium
• Fiber
• Folate
• Iodine
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Pantothenic Acid
• Riboflavin
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin K
• Zinc

She could need extra selenium...a cheap way to get that into the animal is to feed a little BOSS in her daily ration.

 

[Southern by choice]

First, no worries. There are many young people in the community, some just beginning and some with a great deal of experience and then there is everything in between.
Often, those responding to a post have no idea the level of experience so we share based on the limited info we have.

Although a fecal is still a great idea I do think feed should be increased.
.

I am feeding her 2 pounds (1 in morning 1 at night) of new country organics goat feed (it is 15% protein). She gets free choice mixed hay that I buy directly from the large animal vet in my area plus free choice loose minerals. She has been in milk since May, so about 5 months. She is a registered Saanen, and VERY large.

Off their website- (Country feed organics)
Feed 1 to 2 pounds Organic Goat Feed per head per day along with adequate good quality pasture or hay. For lactating goats feed 1 pound to 3 pounds per head per day along with adequate forage. Feeding rate may be adjusted for animal size, amount of production desired, and amount and quality of forage available.

I would definitely increase her intake to 3lbs per day but slow not all at once. You may want to consider adding some Beet Pulp and possibly for a little while Chaffhaye. The digestability of the Chaff is excellent and it is a non GMO product. Of course all this needs to be gradual. Do you know if your hay is tested and the values?
She also may benefit from some B vitamins (injection) this helps increase appetite and goats that get too thin sometimes do not maintain a healthy appetite. It ends up a vicious cycle.

If your region is deficient in copper and selenium loose minerals may not be enough and this doe play a role in the overall health and condition.

As you know goats need x amount of feed/forage/hay just to maintain themselves, now add in lactation and they need significantly more.

1 lb of our pelleted feed is only about 3 cups . We feed that to our Lamanchas am/pm I would think a Saanen would need a bit more considering they are a much larger goat.

When looking at this from a production standpoint. She was producing only 1 qt am/pm at her optimum... and is now down to a pint. Saanen typically milk a minimum of 1 gallon per day.
This is a bit unusual for her to have low production.

Since you are using an herbal dewormer you really want to check that fecal asap. Like any product there can be resistance. Also even with "natural" herbal dewormers there can be toxicity.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome @Feo Good to have you here with us on BYH. Sorry to hear that you're dealing with a skinny goat. You've already received a bunch of good advice from the experienced goat owners on the forum. Sounds like you're doing just about everything right, really good to hear that you've done the testing! But I don't think you're feeding her enough grain/protein for her to maintain weight and produce milk. A full sized Saanen should be producing a gallon of milk a day or more, especially if she comes from a good, established dairy line.... No need to go on...

Looks like SBC beat me to the punch with what she just posted Thanks for saving me font SBC!

 

[Southern by choice]

@Beekissed I love kelp, we used it a great deal her but our water is so high in iron and so is the kelp we had to discontinue it.
Hoping to get back to it when we move. 90% is utilized over only 45-60 % of the common loose minerals... but you probabaly already knew that.

The feed the poster is using has a range with the Ca to P ratio I would be concerned about the BOSS because it is so high in P and the feed itself isn't very high in Ca.

What do you think?

 

[Feo]

This is weird - but, at least for me, these posts are coming in out of order.... My alert said that Feo replied 19 minutes ago and the time on her second post says 9am. Hmmmm...

Where are you that Ivermectin is not available? You could always try to order it online. Jeffers Livestock Supply has it, and it's not terribly expensive.

Sorry!! My internet is very limited so it take a long time to post I will tell you what i do again because everyone is asking..
I am feeding her 2 pounds (1 in morning 1 at night) of new country organics goat feed (it is 15% protein). She gets free choice mixed hay that I buy directly from the large animal vet in my area plus free choice loose minerals. She has been in milk since May, so about 5 months. She is a registered Saanen, and VERY large. Yes, Green Acers Farm. I tested her for Cl, CAE, and Brucellosis 2 months ago and she came back negative on all of them.

Sorry again if my replys come out of order.

 

[Feo]

This is weird - but, at least for me, these posts are coming in out of order.... My alert said that Feo replied 19 minutes ago and the time on her second post says 9am. Hmmmm...

Where are you that Ivermectin is not available? You could always try to order it online. Jeffers Livestock Supply has it, and it's not terribly expensive.

I will try to get Ivermectin from there. Thx

 

[Feo]

First, no worries. There are many young people in the community, some just beginning and some with a great deal of experience and then there is everything in between.
Often, those responding to a post have no idea the level of experience so we share based on the limited info we have.

Although a fecal is still a great idea I do think feed should be increased.
.



Off their website- (Country feed organics)
Feed 1 to 2 pounds Organic Goat Feed per head per day along with adequate good quality pasture or hay. For lactating goats feed 1 pound to 3 pounds per head per day along with adequate forage. Feeding rate may be adjusted for animal size, amount of production desired, and amount and quality of forage available.

I would definitely increase her intake to 3lbs per day but slow not all at once. You may want to consider adding some Beet Pulp and possibly for a little while Chaffhaye. The digestability of the Chaff is excellent and it is a non GMO product. Of course all this needs to be gradual. Do you know if your hay is tested and the values?
She also may benefit from some B vitamins (injection) this helps increase appetite and goats that get too thin sometimes do not maintain a healthy appetite. It ends up a vicious cycle.

If your region is deficient in copper and selenium loose minerals may not be enough and this doe play a role in the overall health and condition.

As you know goats need x amount of feed/forage/hay just to maintain themselves, now add in lactation and they need significantly more.

1 lb of our pelleted feed is only about 3 cups . We feed that to our Lamanchas am/pm I would think a Saanen would need a bit more considering they are a much larger goat.

When looking at this from a production standpoint. She was producing only 1 qt am/pm at her optimum... and is now down to a pint. Saanen typically milk a minimum of 1 gallon per day.
This is a bit unusual for her to have low production.

Since you are using an herbal dewormer you really want to check that fecal asap. Like any product there can be resistance. Also even with "natural" herbal dewormers there can be toxicity.

Thank you!! And I will expliane more in detail her feeding routine. It is pretty complicated.
MORNING:
1 lb goat feed
2.5 g probiotic powder
1-2 teaspoons Molly's herbals dietary supplement
1 tbs. Molly's herbals wormer (only on Mondays because it is a preventive)
sometimes a vitamin A tablet for her coat to keep in good condition
ALL DAY:
Hay
Grass and forage (1/2 acre)
Water
Loose minerals
NIGHT:
1 lb goat feed
Safe kitchen scraps

She also gets a copper bolus about every 8 months.

 

[Feo]

First, no worries. There are many young people in the community, some just beginning and some with a great deal of experience and then there is everything in between.
Often, those responding to a post have no idea the level of experience so we share based on the limited info we have.

Although a fecal is still a great idea I do think feed should be increased.
.



Off their website- (Country feed organics)
Feed 1 to 2 pounds Organic Goat Feed per head per day along with adequate good quality pasture or hay. For lactating goats feed 1 pound to 3 pounds per head per day along with adequate forage. Feeding rate may be adjusted for animal size, amount of production desired, and amount and quality of forage available.

I would definitely increase her intake to 3lbs per day but slow not all at once. You may want to consider adding some Beet Pulp and possibly for a little while Chaffhaye. The digestability of the Chaff is excellent and it is a non GMO product. Of course all this needs to be gradual. Do you know if your hay is tested and the values?
She also may benefit from some B vitamins (injection) this helps increase appetite and goats that get too thin sometimes do not maintain a healthy appetite. It ends up a vicious cycle.

If your region is deficient in copper and selenium loose minerals may not be enough and this doe play a role in the overall health and condition.

As you know goats need x amount of feed/forage/hay just to maintain themselves, now add in lactation and they need significantly more.

1 lb of our pelleted feed is only about 3 cups . We feed that to our Lamanchas am/pm I would think a Saanen would need a bit more considering they are a much larger goat.

When looking at this from a production standpoint. She was producing only 1 qt am/pm at her optimum... and is now down to a pint. Saanen typically milk a minimum of 1 gallon per day.
This is a bit unusual for her to have low production.

Since you are using an herbal dewormer you really want to check that fecal asap. Like any product there can be resistance. Also even with "natural" herbal dewormers there can be toxicity.

She is nearly 8 years old but when she was younger she did give 1.25+ gallons a day. And I do know a lot about herbs and there toxicity. I have researched and own many books on it. Thank you again!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I agree with the others!
Have you checked to see how much the vet charges for a fecal? The natural wormers are better as a preventive. Once the goat has a high worm load most of these "herbal wormers" don't do the job.
I you cannot have your vet run a fecal, you can mail a sample to the link below. I believe it is only $5 a sample and can possible save your goats life.
http://www.midamericaagresearch.net/instructions.php

As the others said, increase her grain! Look and see if you can get a few bales of Alfalfa or Chaffhaye. You need to be careful with the Chaffhaye though, as it tends to mold and needs to be used up quickly.

If you order the Ivemectin from jeffers, you can get the Normectin. The Normectin is less $ than the "name brand" Ivomec. They are both 1% ivermectin.
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/noromectin-injection

 

[NH homesteader]

FYI I just checked and it is $10/sample. Still cheaper than the vet though!