I know this isn't the best breed for meat production but right now it's what we've got. She's on the thin side and she's CAE positive... we're thinking about butchering. Would it be worth it in feed costs, etc to do this? Or are Saanens naturally always going to be thin? How would I bulk her up? Feed?
Saanans are a dairy breed and if she recently kidded getting her back up to weight could take time and energy. Depending on her stage of CAE then you may or may not have issues bulking her up. I would provide plenty of hay and feed grain twice a day. Give her plenty of room to exersize - you want muscle not fat
I have Saanens and boers. I feed the same feed to each. The meat goats are bulked and big. The Saanens are not. We were so used to looking at a meat goat that when we got our dairy we were sure they were too thin. However, the breeds are just different. Dairy cows look a lot thinner than beef cattle but lots of people raise the dairy bulls for meat. You get less- about 100-150 lbs less, but the meat is just as good. I would feed her out for a time, then butcher her.
