Shivering Goat

Elyse Nicholson February 10, 2011 at 8:23pm

Deborah,

That only one I worried is being underfed is Beauty -- but that is a fighting issue. The other two girls have pretty much maintained good weight for the past couple of years. It took awhile to get rid of that extra weight that came from "The Spring of No Exercise" -- thanks to Fairy's injury --, but they have been staying pretty good so far. Fairy could stand to loose a bit thought. :) And Hansel.....well, who can really tell how fat or thin that boy is under all that hair!?! Only when he looses the winter hair in the spring do I truly know what he looks like.

My concern with the hay was that they might get too much because they aren't growing like they did when they were yearlings. I imagine it is even harder to keep the weight off mine with all of this rich hay -- good for Beauty, not for the others. :P

Thanks!

- WG4

Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

Well, it depends on how big your flakes are. I know you've had trouble with your girls being overweight in the past, so I trust that you're not underfeeding them. :) I have heard people say that dry does have issues with weight gain, because they're not growing themselves and they're not growing babies or making milk, so it's easy for them to gain weight. Most dairy goats are pregnant and/or milking every month of their lives after the first time they're bred. Gee, that sounds terrible. I feel like I should send my girls on holiday now, although I did spend ten years of my life pregnant and/or nursing, and it wasn't so bad.

WorkingGoats4 said:
Deborah,

I caught the tail-end of this discussion where you mentioned amounts of hay for goats. You mentioned below that two flakes is not enough for four yearlings -- is it alright for four aged goats? I never considered much how much I feed the goats in the winter, opposed to the summer with grazing. Right now they get one small flake in the morning and night, split into four piles, plus about half a flake in the afternoon. Is that alright?

- WG4

Kare February 10, 2011 at 11:00am

Update:

We kept a close eye on Sissy all day yesterday. Fed them extra and monitored the feedings to make sure she got her share. Gave them hot water and grain when they went to bed and more hot water when they woke up this morning and she is not shivering. Yay! So, thank you to everyone for your helpful advice! And next time I will bring her in the house for a bit. =) I really wanted to do that, just needed the reassurance!

Melissa Johnson February 10, 2011 at 10:59am

I am convinced my goats are from another planet. It seems like they never finish hay I put out! And this is orchard grass!! It looks so good, I want to eat it! I think they may well be on a new regiment. Dont eat it in 30 min. - it disappears until noon...........

Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

Well, it depends on how big your flakes are. I know you've had trouble with your girls being overweight in the past, so I trust that you're not underfeeding them. :) I have heard people say that dry does have issues with weight gain, because they're not growing themselves and they're not growing babies or making milk, so it's easy for them to gain weight. Most dairy goats are pregnant and/or milking every month of their lives after the first time they're bred. Gee, that sounds terrible. I feel like I should send my girls on holiday now, although I did spend ten years of my life pregnant and/or nursing, and it wasn't so bad.

WorkingGoats4 said:
Deborah,

I caught the tail-end of this discussion where you mentioned amounts of hay for goats. You mentioned below that two flakes is not enough for four yearlings -- is it alright for four aged goats? I never considered much how much I feed the goats in the winter, opposed to the summer with grazing. Right now they get one small flake in the morning and night, split into four piles, plus about half a flake in the afternoon. Is that alright?

- WG4

Melissa Johnson February 10, 2011 at 10:54am

Kare, hooray! glad you are over that hump - so what you did worked ^^ Dianea Fay, how funny, I can just see your goats pulling at that coat LOL. I have been trying to knit a little sweater for new kids/but my neck and shoulder are unwilling partners - times' a wastin' too!! ^^

Kare at Chaverah Farm said:

Thank you. My son brought them hot water tonite and then I took some grain out so I could check on them. She seems fine.
I don't know what it was this morning, but it seems to be gone. =)

Dianea Fay said:

Reading this makes me want to chime in. If you are feeding garass hay it is a little less protein than Alfalfa is. And that will make bit of difference. too. I know we have heavy does both milking and dry but I will not tolerate underfed goats. WE are striving for a balance. I have a few that are really push and I will take the ones that are getting shoved back and put them in the barn and stand guard while they eat their fill. I get a little weight on them and they feel better too. As for bringing your girl in and out. We do it all the time in fact my goats are brought into a warm garage from very cold and then milked adn then back out. WhatI have seen is that while they are in they will eat their grain and the hay that is in there for them and they will tank up on warm water before it goes out to the rest of the herd. WE have not had issues with sickness in regards to this. WE bring babies in and play with them in the house also, and then take them back out. So if you think she needs to warm up then I would bring her in and warm her up and give her a bit to eat . If she is at the bottom of the pecking order she is not getting enough. Them bigger girls are brutal to the smaller ones. You can put a coat on her too just to help her. Lasy year I had one who wore a coat for a couple of months and she did just fine. The others were very envious of her coat and tried to get it off her many times but she liked it. I guess I am just the opposite of many I am overy protective of my babies. I want them to have free choice on hay especially since it is so cold. WE are going below zero tonight and they got loaded up in the barns andn we have foot of snow on ground. This is what we do hope your girl does ok.

Hope Hall February 10, 2011 at 6:55am

We are in Maine so it has been way below zero some days/nights. It was one of those frigid days that Tiger Lily got shivering. The rest of them have been fine. It makes me cold just to think about being out in those temps, but they seem well adapted and even go out to play. Shorts spells inside are not a problem in my opinion. If you brought her in for a week her system might begin to adapt, but a half hour warm up and cuddle will do her no harm and give you a chance to look at her closely to see what's up. Our friends let their goats and potbelly pigs in by the woodstove for a warm up throughout the winter on especially cold days! I'm inclined to wait until it seems they need a bit of help :). If she can get her system warmed up, I bet she can stay warm on her own. Spring is coming!!!!

Kare at Chaverah Farm said:

Thank you for the encouragement, Hope! I would have loved to bring her in this morning and love on her, but I didn't know if you can do that and then take them back out in the cold. How cold was your coldest day? I know with new kids you can't do that, right? but maybe it's different for the older ones???

Hope Hall said:

Kare,

I have a silly goat who thinks it is clever to stand under the eve of the dripping barn. Then she gets all wet. She is lowest on the goat pecking order and gets bossed out the door of their barn stall, but likes to stay close. On the coldest day a few weeks ago she was shivery too so I brought her in for a few minutes, blow dried her hair, gave her a little Vet RX cold medicine in the nose and a little ProBios as insurance (made me feel better anyway to try to help!) . She was fine when I put her out, just needed a little extra TLC. Hope your goatie is feeling better. It has been a COLD one!

Kare February 10, 2011 at 12:05am

Thank you. My son brought them hot water tonite and then I took some grain out so I could check on them. She seems fine.
I don't know what it was this morning, but it seems to be gone. =)

Dianea Fay said:

Reading this makes me want to chime in. If you are feeding garass hay it is a little less protein than Alfalfa is. And that will make bit of difference. too. I know we have heavy does both milking and dry but I will not tolerate underfed goats. WE are striving for a balance. I have a few that are really push and I will take the ones that are getting shoved back and put them in the barn and stand guard while they eat their fill. I get a little weight on them and they feel better too. As for bringing your girl in and out. We do it all the time in fact my goats are brought into a warm garage from very cold and then milked adn then back out. WhatI have seen is that while they are in they will eat their grain and the hay that is in there for them and they will tank up on warm water before it goes out to the rest of the herd. WE have not had issues with sickness in regards to this. WE bring babies in and play with them in the house also, and then take them back out. So if you think she needs to warm up then I would bring her in and warm her up and give her a bit to eat . If she is at the bottom of the pecking order she is not getting enough. Them bigger girls are brutal to the smaller ones. You can put a coat on her too just to help her. Lasy year I had one who wore a coat for a couple of months and she did just fine. The others were very envious of her coat and tried to get it off her many times but she liked it. I guess I am just the opposite of many I am overy protective of my babies. I want them to have free choice on hay especially since it is so cold. WE are going below zero tonight and they got loaded up in the barns andn we have foot of snow on ground. This is what we do hope your girl does ok.

Kare February 9, 2011 at 10:13pm

Me too, 10 years of pregnancy, and nursing...and I would do it again in a heartbeat... but my body says I'm done...

I was thinking this week... in the wild, goats and deer and etc have babies every year, so it really isn't unnatural. That made me feel a lot better! =)

Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

Well, it depends on how big your flakes are. I know you've had trouble with your girls being overweight in the past, so I trust that you're not underfeeding them. :) I have heard people say that dry does have issues with weight gain, because they're not growing themselves and they're not growing babies or making milk, so it's easy for them to gain weight. Most dairy goats are pregnant and/or milking every month of their lives after the first time they're bred. Gee, that sounds terrible. I feel like I should send my girls on holiday now, although I did spend ten years of my life pregnant and/or nursing, and it wasn't so bad.

WorkingGoats4 said:

Deborah,

I caught the tail-end of this discussion where you mentioned amounts of hay for goats. You mentioned below that two flakes is not enough for four yearlings -- is it alright for four aged goats? I never considered much how much I feed the goats in the winter, opposed to the summer with grazing. Right now they get one small flake in the morning and night, split into four piles, plus about half a flake in the afternoon. Is that alright?

- WG4

Deborah Niemann-Boehle February 9, 2011 at 10:10pm

Well, it depends on how big your flakes are. I know you've had trouble with your girls being overweight in the past, so I trust that you're not underfeeding them. :) I have heard people say that dry does have issues with weight gain, because they're not growing themselves and they're not growing babies or making milk, so it's easy for them to gain weight. Most dairy goats are pregnant and/or milking every month of their lives after the first time they're bred. Gee, that sounds terrible. I feel like I should send my girls on holiday now, although I did spend ten years of my life pregnant and/or nursing, and it wasn't so bad.

WorkingGoats4 said:

Deborah,

I caught the tail-end of this discussion where you mentioned amounts of hay for goats. You mentioned below that two flakes is not enough for four yearlings -- is it alright for four aged goats? I never considered much how much I feed the goats in the winter, opposed to the summer with grazing. Right now they get one small flake in the morning and night, split into four piles, plus about half a flake in the afternoon. Is that alright?

- WG4

Kare February 9, 2011 at 10:03pm

Thank you for the encouragement, Hope! I would have loved to bring her in this morning and love on her, but I didn't know if you can do that and then take them back out in the cold. How cold was your coldest day? I know with new kids you can't do that, right? but maybe it's different for the older ones???

Hope Hall said:

Kare,

I have a silly goat who thinks it is clever to stand under the eve of the dripping barn. Then she gets all wet. She is lowest on the goat pecking order and gets bossed out the door of their barn stall, but likes to stay close. On the coldest day a few weeks ago she was shivery too so I brought her in for a few minutes, blow dried her hair, gave her a little Vet RX cold medicine in the nose and a little ProBios as insurance (made me feel better anyway to try to help!) . She was fine when I put her out, just needed a little extra TLC. Hope your goatie is feeling better. It has been a COLD one!

Hope Hall February 9, 2011 at 9:59pm

Kare,

I have a silly goat who thinks it is clever to stand under the eve of the dripping barn. Then she gets all wet. She is lowest on the goat pecking order and gets bossed out the door of their barn stall, but likes to stay close. On the coldest day a few weeks ago she was shivery too so I brought her in for a few minutes, blow dried her hair, gave her a little Vet RX cold medicine in the nose and a little ProBios as insurance (made me feel better anyway to try to help!) . She was fine when I put her out, just needed a little extra TLC. Hope your goatie is feeling better. It has been a COLD one!

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