Hello,
My two does are both due to kid the end of February for their 2nd time (my first! :O) . When dry we feed only free choice, good quality hay. I plan to add grain toward the end of the pregnancy and then through milking.
So, when would be the best time to add grain so we maximize health/nutrition needs but don't get them overweight? When we do grain, we feed a custom mix that is about 16% protein with Fertrell minerals added in. Does that sound like an ok protein level? I mix it, so I can adjust it if needed... Currently they are getting Goat Manna goat minerals (not balancer) and Thoravin organic kelp free choice, and Molly's herbal wormer 2 weekly. I also have Molly's herbal mix I plan to add.
We had a Tamworth sow who we feel had complications from being overweight, and I'm just afraid we will do the same for these girls if I overfeed. What are your all's thoughts? All ideas welcome - I'm new at this!!! :)
Thanks!
Replies
Oh, my! What a sad experience with your sow!
With first fresheners, I've pretty much quit giving grain at all in pregnancy because they are more likely to have a single, so I figure I'd rather risk a couple of tiny kids rather than one huge single. The only reason, other than an undernourished doe and poor quality hay, to start giving grain at the end of pregnancy is really just to get her used to eating grain because you don't want to make abrupt changes to a goat's diet. A professor I know who specializes in goat nutrition says to be feeding them half of their milking ration by the end of pregnancy, but you don't usually know exactly what day that is! If you have a doe that is on the heavy side anyway, you could give her as little as a quarter cup of grain once a day the last few days of pregnancy, and then you can just gradually increase the amount of grain once she kids. Of course, be sure that you have free choice minerals available all the time for her.
Thank you! I had also posted this on the Goat spot, and got the same advice there. Thanks so much!
We nearly lost our sow during delivery as well. She only had one piglet (which was not related to the extra grain) but the vet said since she only had one, it got all the nutrition. It was (he said - I do not know about piglets) 4x the size of a good-sized piglet. As a result she could not pass it, and it did not survive us trying to pull it. I do NOT want to go through anything similar with our goats that we might be able to prevent with wise feeding.
In the end, we weren't able to breed the sow again, and were fortunate that she was able to provide food for our family, but we had grown quite attached to her. :(
Thanks!
You can start giving them grain in the last two weeks of their pregnancy. I myself stopped graining before they kid, because I had a doe that had two kids over four pounds when I grained, and had tripplets all over 3 when I didn't. I think she is prone to having large kids, but my new routine is to just keep an eye on my doe's condition BEFORE breeding, and not to breed an underweight doe, and then to monitor her during her pregnancy. If she looks like she is getting thin, I might grain her at the end of her pregnancy, but so far, the hay I feed does well to keep them in good condition. My doe had complications from her nearly 5lb kid, and she still needs help getting onto the stanchion because of it. I'd rather lose a kid than a doe, so that's why I stopped. I know a lot of people here that grain without issues, but I myself stopped doing it as a routine practice, and now would only do it if a doe needed it.