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I have just got two six month old Anglo Nubian wethers and I feel they need some fattening up and some TLC. The lady who bred them clearly adores her goats as they are all super friendly and come running to her wagging their tails and she cuddles and kisses them, knows them all by name, but there also seems to be a bit of an issue with foot rot, lameness, under weight animals and general poor condition. They have been kept on very wet, muddy ground with some access to grass and browse (but I don't really know how much). They have been fed on hay, goat mix and fruit and vegetable scraps. The lady also said she gave them milk if and when she had excess from her milkers but that mum was dry.
I have an acre of decent pasture, with access to oak, mountain ash, hawthorn, beech and bramble so they can eat plenty of grass and browse. I have bought a bag of coarse goat mix (with molasses) and have been giving them a handful, twice a day. I have dosed them with 2ml Dectomax to cover internal and external parasites. Given each of them 2g copper bolus. Have ordered vitamin A,D,E and B12 paste which I will then administer 5ml of, per animal. I have cleaned, scraped and clipped their hooves and ordered foot rot spray as one of them has early signs of it. I have been giving them about 10 oz of pasteurised supermarket goat's milk, once a day (no access to raw milk).
Both boys are bright and alert, full of interest and curiosity and have run the length of the paddock at full pelt with no problem, however, the one with the early foot rot signs (occasional favouring of one leg, a tendency to walk on tippy-toes on that foot, small amount of grey pastey gunge between the toes, bad smell) has hocks that seem to rotate outwards as he walks and when he runs, he tends to gallop on his back legs with both of them hitting the ground together, rather than a 1,2,3,4 gait like his brother. He also seemed to be quite a lot more out of breath after the run than his brother and I would say he is a good few pounds lighter, though he is a smaller goat. His brother, while being in better overall shape, has a dry, hacking cough which comes and goes.
For ease of identity.....the one with the odd gait is called Leon. The coughy boy is Harry.
So my questions are these:-
I don't have scales to weigh the boys but they both seem quite bony....you can clearly see their hip bones and feel their spines. Is there anything else anyone can suggest for weight gain that doesn't put them at risk in any other way (i.e too much grain leading to UC!) Or is this boniness normal in Anglo Nubian kids. I have two pymy x nigerian wethers who are little dumplings so maybe I'm just paranoid??!!
Leon's odd gait, with the hocks rotating outwards....is it likely to be as a result of the foot rot? Is it likely to be a copper deficiency? If the underlying cause is cured either by the footrot spray or the bolus, is the issue likely to correct or will he be permanently affected?
The dry, hacking cough in Harry.....could this be lungworm? The dectomax claims to kill lungworm so if it does, how long before he should stop the coughing? Is there anything else that causes a dry, hacking cough but with no other symptoms?
The boys are six months old and should, therefore, be weaned by now but am I better keeping the milk for now to help boost their health and if so, how much should they have and when do I stop it? Is the supermarket stuff ok for them?
Copper bolus....is 2g OK and how often should I re-dose if they are deficient?
Any other advice at all to a new Nubian mummy?
By the way, I am in the UK where most of the things which are run-of-the-mill available in the States, are not available here so bear that in mind xxxx
Here's a piccy of the boys....not the best but all I have at the mo. Harry is the spotted one, Leon is the fawn.
I have an acre of decent pasture, with access to oak, mountain ash, hawthorn, beech and bramble so they can eat plenty of grass and browse. I have bought a bag of coarse goat mix (with molasses) and have been giving them a handful, twice a day. I have dosed them with 2ml Dectomax to cover internal and external parasites. Given each of them 2g copper bolus. Have ordered vitamin A,D,E and B12 paste which I will then administer 5ml of, per animal. I have cleaned, scraped and clipped their hooves and ordered foot rot spray as one of them has early signs of it. I have been giving them about 10 oz of pasteurised supermarket goat's milk, once a day (no access to raw milk).
Both boys are bright and alert, full of interest and curiosity and have run the length of the paddock at full pelt with no problem, however, the one with the early foot rot signs (occasional favouring of one leg, a tendency to walk on tippy-toes on that foot, small amount of grey pastey gunge between the toes, bad smell) has hocks that seem to rotate outwards as he walks and when he runs, he tends to gallop on his back legs with both of them hitting the ground together, rather than a 1,2,3,4 gait like his brother. He also seemed to be quite a lot more out of breath after the run than his brother and I would say he is a good few pounds lighter, though he is a smaller goat. His brother, while being in better overall shape, has a dry, hacking cough which comes and goes.
For ease of identity.....the one with the odd gait is called Leon. The coughy boy is Harry.
So my questions are these:-
I don't have scales to weigh the boys but they both seem quite bony....you can clearly see their hip bones and feel their spines. Is there anything else anyone can suggest for weight gain that doesn't put them at risk in any other way (i.e too much grain leading to UC!) Or is this boniness normal in Anglo Nubian kids. I have two pymy x nigerian wethers who are little dumplings so maybe I'm just paranoid??!!
Leon's odd gait, with the hocks rotating outwards....is it likely to be as a result of the foot rot? Is it likely to be a copper deficiency? If the underlying cause is cured either by the footrot spray or the bolus, is the issue likely to correct or will he be permanently affected?
The dry, hacking cough in Harry.....could this be lungworm? The dectomax claims to kill lungworm so if it does, how long before he should stop the coughing? Is there anything else that causes a dry, hacking cough but with no other symptoms?
The boys are six months old and should, therefore, be weaned by now but am I better keeping the milk for now to help boost their health and if so, how much should they have and when do I stop it? Is the supermarket stuff ok for them?
Copper bolus....is 2g OK and how often should I re-dose if they are deficient?
Any other advice at all to a new Nubian mummy?
By the way, I am in the UK where most of the things which are run-of-the-mill available in the States, are not available here so bear that in mind xxxx
Here's a piccy of the boys....not the best but all I have at the mo. Harry is the spotted one, Leon is the fawn.