My two Nigerian Dwarf kid does, almost three months old, weigh 19 and 20 pounds. I am in the process of weaning them off whole cows milk. They eat hay and leaves all day and have protruding bellies. They are down to 8 ounces of milk per day. Should I speed up the weaning off milk or not provide free choice hay and minerals with occasional goat grains or black sunflower seeds?
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I have 2-month-old kids that weigh more than that, and they're not fat, so your kids are not overweight. In fact, they're on the light side. If their bellies are sticking out, they could have a parasite problem. Check their eyelids. They should be bright red or at least dark pink. If they're light pink or white, they're anemic. Kids that are anemic are basically starving, so they're stuffing themselves all day long and wind up with a big hay belly. In addition to the areas Julianne suggested you check, you can also look at the base of their tail. The underside of their tail should look like a triangle -- wide at the base and going out to a point. If it's thin from base to tip like a rat tail, they're underweight.
They may not be fat at all. As they slowly wean off of milk their rumens are going to kick into higher gear so that they can process the hay, leaves, etc. This will make their bellies stick out. And a well-operating rumen means a healthy goat.
The way to tell if your goats are fat is to feel right above their tail heads and on their chests. If there is a thick layer of fat there, then they may be overweight. But it's unlikely in kids, who need lots of calories to grow. I think you should stick to the slow weaning plan you've got going.
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I have 2-month-old kids that weigh more than that, and they're not fat, so your kids are not overweight. In fact, they're on the light side. If their bellies are sticking out, they could have a parasite problem. Check their eyelids. They should be bright red or at least dark pink. If they're light pink or white, they're anemic. Kids that are anemic are basically starving, so they're stuffing themselves all day long and wind up with a big hay belly. In addition to the areas Julianne suggested you check, you can also look at the base of their tail. The underside of their tail should look like a triangle -- wide at the base and going out to a point. If it's thin from base to tip like a rat tail, they're underweight.
They may not be fat at all. As they slowly wean off of milk their rumens are going to kick into higher gear so that they can process the hay, leaves, etc. This will make their bellies stick out. And a well-operating rumen means a healthy goat.
The way to tell if your goats are fat is to feel right above their tail heads and on their chests. If there is a thick layer of fat there, then they may be overweight. But it's unlikely in kids, who need lots of calories to grow. I think you should stick to the slow weaning plan you've got going.