When should you start feed grain to pregnant does? And how much?
Because now I've heard a couple of different things.
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When should you start feed grain to pregnant does? And how much?
Because now I've heard a couple of different things.
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
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We weighed how much food we're giving her and it's about 4 ounces.
That's a good idea. I'll ask.
You could ask her breeder how she fed this doe during past pregnancies and how many kids this doe usually has and how big they were.
You can't feel the bones in her tail at the base.
I don't know exactly what I'm feeling when I feel the sides...You can feel the vertebrae from the top and from the sides it's like a broad plank holding her up, past the ribs it's just that then nothing but squishy goat belly, but I think it's wider than the spine would be. Would the meat there be rather hard?
They all have free access to pasture and hay all day. I think we have Brome hay. And of course the grain we've been giving her. I started giving her just a little less. In order to change her diet slowly I feel like at this point if we started to take her off grain, we'd just have to get her right back on. Got an email from the breeder saying she should be due last week of February-mid March.
I'm not sure about the grain...
She looks about average to me. The base of her tail looks meaty. Does it feel meaty? I can't imagine that you could actually feel the bones in her tail at the base? Did you look at the picture of the goat skeleton that I linked in an earlier post? You should be able to feel the ribs and the top of the spine. But you can see their spine is really "tall" and there is a lot of meat between the ribs and the spine, so you shouldn't be able to feel the sides of her spine from the middle towards the back end of her spine. If you can feel the sides of her spine above her shoulders (her withers) that's not a big deal because she's a dairy goat and they have "sharp withers."
I was talking to another breeder about this topic yesterday, and it is also important to take into account what else you have available. If you have no pasture or browse and poor quality hay, you might need to supplement with grain and/or alfalfa or timothy pellets (or hay stretcher) to get enough nutrients into your goats. It is just important to look at their body condition and respond accordingly. If you can't keep enough weight on a goat with hay only, then you have to add something else to their diet. We have one member on here who doesn't even give her goats grain when she's milking them, but she has great browse available. It might also depend on what kind of grain you're feeding. I'm feeding a 16% protein dairy ration. If you're just feeding your own personal mix of grains, it could be anywhere from 6% to 12%, and you won't get the kind of growth that you would get with a higher protein -- and I know some people feed 18% dairy rations. This is why you see different recommendations. Last year, my daughter misunderstood my feeding directions, and we wound up with a lot of 3 to 5+ pound kids, which was not fun for the does or the humans who were with those does. I would be a happy woman if I never saw another 5-pound Nigerian kid. You also need to know how much you're feeding. We use old tomato sauce cans or plastic jars, so you don't need to buy a scoop. Just fill it up with water, then pour it into a measuring cup so you know how much it holds when it's full. Then you can get an accurate idea of how much you're feeding.
Ok I took a bunch of pictures.
Here's her tail: http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww322/qwigoqwaga/IMG_4263.jpg
Here's her: http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww322/qwigoqwaga/IMG_4253.jpg
And an above picture: http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww322/qwigoqwaga/IMG_4252.jpg
I can't tell if she really looks it because she's got a big belly and thick fur, but it's really easy to feel her individual ribs and vertebrae, even though you can't see them.
That's it exactly! Checking the tail is something I learned from the first person who ever sold me a sheep. Since sheep are covered with wool, you don't usually know they have a problem until they are really emaciated, so you check the tail. You should have some meat and fat around the base of the tail. I came up with term "rat's tail" the first time I felt the tail of a doe that was underweight because it was just bony and immediately made me think of a rat's tail.
Rachel Whetzel said:
I've only seen fat tails and normal tails, but I assume something similar to an actual rat tail is what she means... no extra meat, just the tail bones themselves... just a guess on that one though. :)
It looks like a triangle to me, but would you have an example of a "rat's tail" tail. I can only picture an actual rat's tail.
I didn't even realize their tail changed with their weight.
Raising Goats for Dummies addresses feeding for body condition. You can read a bit online at: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/using-bodycondition-scoring-t...
IMO the same "rule" for dogs is a good way to get a feel for how good your goat's condition is... that and Deb's tail check.
For dogs: Feel their rib cage. You should be able to tell they are there, but not feel them sharply through the skin.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-evaluate-your-dogs-wei... I've found that when I use this method on my goats, their tail check usually matches .
Deb's tail check: Look at the "under" side of your goat's tail. Does her tail look like a triangle when viewed from behind her -- or is it more like a rat's tail -- or is it more like a bratwurst? Triangle=healthy weight. Rat=underweight. Bratwurst=FAT.
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