feeding questions.

I'm wondering what others are using as a daily feeding program?

I just got my first doe, from reading the forum I think she needs some copper suppliments... Her coat is coarse. She is a cream and white but mostly she just looks like a dirty white goat and her tail hair is very thin with almost none on the top portion of it . I ordered her some copasure.  what is the best way to administer them and what is the correct amount for a Nigerian dwarf?

How much grain and what type do other suggest? I have her on a sweet feed goat ration and also top dressed with powdered minerals made for goats. She also has baking soda in her stall. 

Is there anything else I am missing?

Thanks!

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Replies

  • Here's one of the images I linked to:

    2771467127?profile=RESIZE_480x480

  • That doesn't really look like a fishtail. Check out the link that Rachel posted a couple of comments ago. Those are great photos of fishtails. From your photos, it looks like this goat has a really thick coat and is in excellent body condition, perhaps even over-conditioned.

  • It looks just like all my girls... I don't think it looks like fishtail. We'll see what some of the pros say.

  • Here is a close up of her tail, I wish she was flagging it, but this is all I could get... it's really much thinner than I was seeing on everyone else's photo, so I am not sure what to think.

    2771468375?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

  • You might still post photos of the tail, but this photo clearly casts a shadow on her hind end, and it is not fishtailed that I can tell. The fur on the end of their tails isn't SUPER thick...  Here is a link to a comment in a dif. thread with good photos of what fish tail looks like. http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/forum/topics/copper-1?commentId=...

  • Yes, she used to be gold according to her last owner. Her kid was a bright gold and I was told she was actually that color too.  It's not really fish tailed, just really thin on the topside. She's lost a  little weight when she arrived, as it took her a few days to settle in. She's back to eating really well, spends time grazing the the yard and has nice hay at night.  I'll get some photos today.

  • That's what I was thinking!! She looks really nice!! Could her tail issues be grooming or something else? It doesn't look sparse to me in this photo. I know it's not a close up shot, but it looks normal to me. The shadow on her back doesn't look fish tailed at all.

  • That is one well-conditioned goat! She doesn't look like she has any nutritional deficiencies.  As for her color -- that is a perfectly normal color for goats. The only way I would say that it's an indication of copper deficiency is if you know that she used to be gold.

  • I have had her a week today. This isn't a good photo but it's the only one I have right now, I will take more tomorrow so you can see her tail. 2771467408?profile=original

  • You can just sprinkle the COWP into their feed. They eat it just fine that way. I tried putting it in marshmallow before Deborah mentioned that she just sprinkles. It's MUCH easier.

    How long have you had your girl now?

    Do you have photos you can share? (helps sometimes to see what people are describing.)

    Your sweet feed might be part of the problem. Most Molasses (which sweet feed is made with) contains sulfur as a preservative, and sulfur binds to copper, and keeps your goat from absorbing it.

    If you've been reading the boards, you know that minerals should be feed free choice. That way, the goats can moderate their own doses, and eat the amounts they each need individually. Sweetlix meat maker loose mineral is what I use. 

    All the information you're looking for is probably here on the boards! In way better detail that I could share here. I'd start with a search on feeding and see what comes up.

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