Here's another post from a noobie. I have two doelings, one is half pygmy and one is full Nigerian and I am concerned that they are not growing fast enough. I've read through some older posts about growth rate and saw that some can grow slower based on genetics so I'm just wanting to make sure mine are doing okay or if their small size is abnormal. Both doelings are 8 months old. They are half sisters (same dad, he broke into the pygmy pen and covered Firefly's mom when he wasn't supposed to). I got Belle at 12 weeks and Firefly at 15 weeks old.
This is Firefly, she is the one that is half pygmy. She was given to me because the breeder wanted her to go to a home where she would not be bred. I did the weight calculations today (Heart Girth x Heart Girth x Body Length)/ 300 = weight and my calculations said that she is only 13 pounds, 8 oz. She is 14" at the withers.
This is Belle, she is pure Nigerian. Her mother is actually a little over-sized for a Nigerian (24" at withers), but is a good milker and because milking is my primary purpose in owning goats, I didn't mind that she was a little tall. Belle is only 21.3 pounds (according to the calculations above) and is 17" at her withers.
I'm hoping that I'm just being a worried, rookie goat-mom and that they are still in the range of "normal." I just feel like it's better to make sure. Their fecals came back from the vet perfectly (twice, 2 weeks apart). I feed Dumor sweet goat feed (with some BOSS mixed in) in the morning, they have access to 1/4 acre at all times, free choice orchard hay and a little alfalfa in the evenings.
They always have free-choice baking soda, Manna Pro goat minerals and Selenium/E powder.
I give the Belle 2 grams of COWP and Firefly gets 1 gram every couple of months.
I know many of you don't give grain to dry does, but I have been feeding it to them in the mornings to make sure they are getting enough to eat because they seem so small. I also own Belle's full brother, he is wethered and is a companion for my buckling. He weighs 35 pounds and all he gets is free choice orchard hay and occasionally some grain/BOSS because all the grass is dead. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Could it just be that it's a little cold this time of year so they are growing slower? Are they an okay size or should I be worried?
Replies
Wow, that's really great weight gain in a few months! I think it was wise that the breeder didn't think that Firefly should ever be bred. I have a doe like that. She's seven years old now and has never and will never be bred. I should weigh her sometime. She fits right in with my 6 month old kids, in terms of her size.
Update on the girls:
I've been weighing them about once a month to track their gains. I started them on the medicated feed but I don't think it really made any improvements in their health. I made sure they had free-choice orchard/alfalfa mixed hay (heavy on the alfalfa) and fed them 1 cup of alfalfa pellets twice a day. In the mornings I would mix 2/3 cup of goat chow with the alfalfa pellets and about 1/4 cup of BOSS.
I weighed the girls today and these were my results:
Belle finally hit 40 pounds! She'll be 1 year old on May 20th and still seems too small to me to breed so I'm going to wait a few more months before trying. With how difficult it was to put weight on her I don't want to risk her having difficulties with nutrition while pregnant. She's only 18" tall but her body has gotten longer and her spine isn't nearly as sharp feeling.
Firefly still weighs only 26 pounds. She will be a year old May 27th and I've come to the conclusion that she is just a freak of nature.
Neither one has had any issues with worms or cocci the entire time I've had them (since late August 2014) and they always have nice little berry poops. Even in the 90 degree weather we've been having they bounce around and play. I am still at a loss as to why they are so small, but my best guess is that Belle probably had a cocci problem when she was a baby like Deborah suggested that made her unable to properly absorb nutrients. Firefly is just a tea-cup goat haha.
I've heard of people mixing calf manna with their does grain when milking, should I try this to help Belle continue to gain weight or would that be overkill?
This shows them next to my 18 month old. They still look so tiny!
Yes my goats love roses too. They broke into my back yard in the fall and devoured my two rose bushes (at least it saved me a pruning job right?)
I'll try giving them vitamin C. They act like happy little goats, always active and playing, headbutting and chewing their cud; it's not like they are behaving strangely, they are just super small.
I don't think it would hurt, but I haven't done much research on that. I've suggested rosehips in the past because they are high in vitamin C. If your goats are like mine, however, you'd want to get crushed rosehips. My goats wouldn't eat the whole ones, but they were dried and very hard. I know goats LOVE roses!
Thanks! That really gives me hope! I will definitely try the medicated feed and see how that goes. Thanks so much for your help and support! I'll keep you posted if there is progress. :)
I never say never! :) My best milk goat had a really rough start. I found an old blog post about a year ago where I wrote that I was never sure if she was going to die until she was well over a year old. I'd completely forgotten about it!
I am normally NOT a fan of medicated feed, but in a case like yours, I might consider buying a bag of it and feeding it to these two does. When the bag is empty, weigh them again and see if it made a difference. Coccidia can be very hard to see on a fecal, and at this point, it seems that you've got nothing to lose. Noble Goat (Purina) is one of the more commonly available medicated feeds.
Yes, that's what I thought :(
I was thinking of giving Belle til she was 18 months before deciding for sure not to breed her. If she were registered I would be really upset, but since she isn't I guess it's not as big of a loss. If their intestines aren't absorbing the nutrients properly that would explain why her spine is kind of sharp even though she's eating enough. Kind of bummed but I guess it's a learning experience right?
We've just talked to a local breeder who is about to have several does freshen and are purchasing our first two registered doelings from her once they are born. I'll try to focus on that positive thing and not that my babies have something wrong with them. Is there any hope that Belle might hit a late growth spurt or is it pretty sure at this point that she won't make the cut?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
That is really small for 8 month old does. I would say that the breeder was correct to sell Firefly to a home where she would not be bred, but I'm also wondering about Belle. It's going to take her quite a long time to get big enough to breed -- 40 pounds. Since you have other goats eating the same diet, I don't think it's what you're feeding. It's something about those two does, either something genetic or their intestines aren't absorbing the nutrients, which is usually a result of a severe parasite infestation when they were young.
I weighed them both again now that they've been munching on hay and browse all day and have had their ration of grain. Here is what it looks like at their heaviest:
Firefly: 16.4 pounds
Belle: 24.2 pounds.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next