I'm at a loss as to how much to feed a new mother. I'd been feeding just a tad of grain but now she has her twins. What is the standard amount to start with. She looks perfect in weight right now but of course some is left-over from pregnancy and she has hardly started to feed babies.
I don't want to over do. Last week of pregnancy I built up so she was getting almost 1 cup of grain type items (I'm including BOSS and pumpkin seeds in grains).
She is looking for food - so far I've been feeding a little often.
Judy
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Chaffhaye works also to slow mine down. I have some for on the milking stand. For the really fast eaters I mix their grain with the chaffhaye.
It's a good idea to give them 50/50 alfalfa/grass during pregnancy. If you have no grass available, alfalfa is fine during pregnant because they can generally use the extra calcium.
Most grain recommendations say 1 pound of grain for every 3 pounds of milk, so for most NDs, that means you'll be giving them about 1 pound of grain. It is challenging, however, to milk them that fast -- at least it is for me -- so I mix in alfalfa pellets to slow them down. Otherwise, I wind up with fat goats after the first couple of months. If they are underweight, you can, of course, feed them a little more.
Melissa Johnson said:
Melissa Johnson said:
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I used to start a couple of weeks before a goat was due, and over the years I've started later and later until now I don't give them any grain until a day or two before they're due. This is assuming the goats are in good body condition. If they're underweight and boney, I'd be giving a little grain earlier.
I usually start at 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup twice a day. When I started two weeks before kidding, I'd increase it every few days, but now that I don't usually give them grain until a day or two before I expect them to kid, I increase a little bit every day.
And at what intervals with increase?
You can provide them with 1/2 and 1/2... the general measurement for amounts is 1lb. of grain for every 1lb of milk you are getting. (about cup for cup) I use grain to keep my girls happy on the stanchion, so I think I end up giving more than this compared to what I get in one milking, but they are giving their kids milk that I'm not measuring, so I figure it evens out. As long as they aren't losing a TON of condition (some condition loss after delivery is normal) and as long as they aren't getting fat, I figure they are good.
Calf Manna is a feed that some people give their milking does. I don't, but some do. http://amzn.com/B0009YFPSO Most Tractor supplies carry it. There is a listing on WalMart's website for it, so you might be able to even get it there. And of course, there's Amazon. (my link)
I give BOSS with the grain I feed my milking does, and as a night time treat. All my goats love it. It's a good natural source of selenium, so I would keep offering it.
This time of year, my goats are ALL itchy. They are losing their Winter cashmere, so they rub a lot. Does that have just kidded have the added *benefit* of hormones, so I wouldn't worry too much about rubbing. A dose of selenium might be helpful if you're worried about any mineral needs she might have. Maybe see if she'd be interested in some of those BOSS! :)
We have been using alfalfa as our grain -- and then bought DuMor sweet feed 16% protein for the lactation -- do we give the sweet feed instead of the alfalfa at this time? or do we give 50% of each? and I am embarrassed to admit: what is Calf Manna? can I find it at Tractor Supply? or Southern States? or online? we offered BOSS to the herd when they were still young, and the sort of rejected it, but I am ready to try and offer it again!
Another question:
The FF is rubbing her body against the wall a lot? Should I be worried about this? We don't see any fleas or parasites on them and have never in the past...but the whole herd gets itchy from time to time, and the kids (now 10days old) also are scratching a bit....
I work my way up to 3+ cups of grain a day min. until I start milking. For does with more than two kids, I add a cup of grain for each extra kid until I milk and know better how much she's producing. I really just guess, but I use their condition to help me too. (if it's poor I feed more) I figure it's better to over do it than under do it as long as their rumen can handle the new load. If one of them started to gain a lot of weight, I'd back off, but so far, no one has done that on me. :)
Rachel, how do you know how much milk she's producing when you haven't started milking her? My doe with triplets is 2 weeks fresh. For my doe, I was giving her 1/2 a cup of grain twice a day before she freshened but even going to one cup upset her rumen for a day. Now she's getting 2 cups twice a day but is that enough? How do I determine how much she needs?
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