My doe, Spot, gave birth 1/17 to triplets.
This is a digestive smelliness, not the uterine infection discussed before, which cleared up nicely.
During her pregnancy, I had been feeding alfalfa hay free choice, baking soda and Manna Pro minerals free choice, and Noble Goat pelleted feed at 1/2 c. per day, top dressed with kelp and probiotic powder, and supplemental alfalfa pellets. She got wildly stinky and I contacted the breeder, who said she was on the brink of enterotoxemia and to cut out everything but the alfalfa immediately. I did so and the smell cleared up rapidly.
The day after giving birth, I started her on the Noble Goat again and the smelliness was back in no time. Cut out the Noble Goat and switched to about 1/4 c. per day of an organic dairy grain mix. Better, but still bad. Cut the grain down to about 2 tablespoons per day (remember, she's nursing triplets) and we're still having the problem. Interestingly, when we were unable to refresh our hay supply for a few days and had to rely on the alfalfa pellets alone she was somewhat less stinky, although her belly was big. At first I panicked and gave her a bloat drench treatment, which she seemed to find delicious, if annoying, but her sides remained soft and she was not in any discomfort, just puffed up. She looked very pregnant again, but she's really really wide to begin with.
Yesterday we got a new supply of alfalfa hay and today the smell is powerful. Coincidence? Too high a protein content in the alfalfa versus the pellets? I hesitate to cut out her grain completely while the kids are still so young, but I don't want to endanger her by keeping her on the brink of overfed. What to do?
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I'd sprinkle a tablespoon of baking soda on her grain and mix it in and see if it makes a difference. If you do it once, you should see an immediate response. My mother used to take baking soda for indigestion, and it was a teaspoon in a glass of water. Keep in mind it is high in sodium though, so it's not a permanent fix. You'd still need to figure out what is causing the imbalance. I wish there was a study that figured out how much baking soda some goats eat free choice. I'm sure it varies, but what's the max amount that they do okay with?
You are TOO amazing to still be here answering our questions right in the middle of kidding season!
She does have free choice baking soda, but she mostly ignores it. I tried mixing some kelp into it, which she loves, and most days I try to coax her to eat a little baking soda from my hand. I'll put some on her grain, too. How much, do you think?
She does NOT like the probiotic powder and leaves it at the bottom of the dish. I had been putting it on her alfalfa pellets, but I'll try top dressing the grain or mixing it into a paste and squirting it into the back of her mouth, if it's possible that the probiotics will help.
This morning it was all pellets in the pen from overnight, no clumps, so some progress is being made there.
We've had more than our fair share of internal parasites here, and I've never had one that became gassy, nor have I heard of worms causing gas. I'd say it's a digestive issue. You said she has free choice baking soda? If so, maybe you should sprinkle a little on her grain? She really needs about 14-16% protein to make enough milk to feed three babies.
(Hope I'm sounding coherent. I just came inside from a doe that gave birth to triplets at 2 a.m., including one that is so tiny it can't hold up its head or suck, so it's in the house, and I just did a tube feeding.)
Ah...I just learned about body condition scores. Spot is very low. About a 2.o, I'd say, just from petting her and seeing her through her fur. I will check more closely in the morning, but she's certainly not going to have a higher score. Poor sweetie! And here I've been giving her so little grain. Could the smell come from being UNDERfed, or from a belly full of worms?
Update--
Upon further up-close-and-personal investigation, I've determined that the smell is not so much flatulence as belches. Her breath is fine, but the belches are deadly. I assume this is a problem in the rumen.
She's also been having clumpy poops (berries stuck together), so I dewormed her with Dectomax on Sunday. Monday she was back to individual berries, then Tuesday the clumps again.
I have not been able to track down any alternative hay, but those "lite" horse pellets are a mix of alfalfa and bermuda. Are they likely to have the desired effect even though they don't have the long fiber like hay or browse? I've been foraging for browse for her as much as possible too--dry leaves, weeds, prunings from my rose hedge--but it doesn't seem to be helping much. Perhaps because of this, she seems to be looking even thinner, so I increased her grain to 1/4 cup.
She actually does get a little BOSS daily to help with zinc or she gets flaky skin. I may try increasing that and see how she does--however, her breeder told me the smell was from protein overload, so I don't know about adding another high-protein source.
Unfortunately, I don't have the facilities to separate her from the older doeling--I'm a "backyard homesteader", and everybody stays together in the same pen at night and roams the yard during the day. When the older doeling was aggressive with the kids when they were smaller, one day I tried keeping her in the pen while the others roamed, then letting her roam while the others were in the pen, but she screamed her head off and I have neighbors close by. I don't think Spot is letting her nurse a whole lot--it's certainly not showing in the other kids, who are growing like crazy--just enough, maybe, to keep her from being so insanely jealous of the babies. I will certainly keep a close eye on it.
I like black oil sunflower seeds. High in fat and about 15% protein to keep weight up in heavy milkers. You can find it were you buy birdseed at the feed store. I buy it in 50 lb bags and my goats love it. You can mix it with her grain. You know, I would get that 10 month old doeling separated from her. She will take too much milk away from the others and will be a drain on the doe.
Nope, no Tractor Supply....I'll try calling around to feed stores in the greater Phoenix area. Locally all I can get is alfalfa pellets, although I did notice that they have a "light" version when we were last at the feed store. Maybe that's a mix.....anybody familiar with "light" alfalfa pellets?
I checked her carefully all over, and she's definitely not carrying any extra fat anywhere, just that great big wide belly. The triplets are growing like gangbusters and with her letting her ten-month-old doeling nurse as well I know I need to keep her calories up.....is there something that I can add to her diet that will give her a boost in calories without so much protein? I was thinking even just some fruit daily, but I don't want to upset her digestive balance.
Oh, GAS! I think I understand now. Geez, I've never had a goat with gas. Any chance you have a Tractor Supply near you? They have timothy hay pellets at the store here. Maybe that would help. It definitely sounds like you need to change something about her diet.
No drainage, just gas. Alfalfa hay is just about all that's available around here, although we can get bermuda grass hay in the summer sometimes.
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