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Not able to put on weight

7K views 78 replies 18 participants last post by  janeen128 
#1 ·
So my saanen Cloud had babies in April (I think it was april!)

Anyway, she put her all into feeding her babies. I chose to not milk her as her condition was poor.

Cloud has never really recovered from milking her kids.

Her body condition I would rate as emaciated. I've done fecals, and tested for cocci.

She is negative (a few worms here or there but not a large load and she's been treated).

Her eye lids are still pale. Her gums area pale. I would consider her emaciated. I am putting off taking her to the vet as we only really have dog and cat vets, so I'm better off doing most stuff myself.

I can draw blood, do you suggest any blood tests?

One thing that is worrying me, is her front knees are very knobby and creaky.

She has free forage, I have tried a variety of things over the last few months. Grain, extra alfalfa, corn, beet pulp, dairy cow grain, etc etc.

She has access to high protein weeds (partrige pea and other legumes) as well as grass, guava, albezia tree (high protein), etc etc.

Now I KNOW dairy goats are slimmer then other types of goats. I will get a photo tomorrow. She is probably 40 pounds under weight. Seriously.

I do not know what to do at this point.

What blood tests should I run that I can send off myself? My vet charges $120 for a CAE test. Yeah, seriously. I asked when my buckling had a cyst in his neck.

My goats are pretty healthy except for the occasional hoof rot. I've ordered the hoof rot vaccine and am almost done building the foot bath thing suggested.

I give vitamens, loose minerals, grain, alfalfa, orchard grass, beet pulp, etc etc.

I'm getting so frustrated! I feel like no matter what I do or how many hours per day I spend caring for goats, it's one thing after another!

Again, I'll get a photo tomorrow. So skinny! I can about wrap my fingers around her spine. :( She eats and poops normal too. Just fyi. lol
 
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#54 ·
Negative test results are awesome news!!!...I know goats who suffered Cocci to heavy worm load can have scaring that prevents nutrition from absorbing well...
Have you tried adding Flax seed?
 
#57 ·
Well an update.

I've done all the things suggested on this thread plus a lot of other things. A month ago i started a new feed regime for her and we are FINALLY seeing results!

She gets:
Corn oil
Corn
Wal mart all stock feed
calf manna
boss
kelp meal
sweet cob
alfalfa pellets
timothy pellets
probiotic powder

She gets a bowl full of the food at night, aprox a total of 8 cups of feed. And a bit of sweet cob hay in the morning.

She's put on 10 pounds in 4 weeks. So we're finally on the right track. I also am doing a week of red cell once per month for her, with it once a week on the "off" weeks. Her eye lids are FINALLY a medium light pink instead of white/grey.





She still is my ONLY goat with a weight issue. Everyone else is either perfect or slightly fat. So I don't think it's me, I think it's her. I just wish I could pinpoint what I'm feeding that is making a difference.
 
#59 ·
her over all condition looks to have improved..so thats wonderful...keep up the great work
 
#66 ·
So, do you think it's taken 7lbs of grain for every pound she's gained? (105lbs of grain approx.)? That's how much they say it takes for a goat, just curious. :)
I have no idea and with all the supplements I am just not sure what's helping her put on weight.
 
#69 ·
Good Job Dayna!!!
 
#70 ·
I thought I would post another update on Cloud. She continues to grain weight!

I think she looks fine now, but I see her everyday. Does she still look thin to you guys or does she look normal weight for a saanen?

Her sister Bonnie is larger boned than her and looks larger, more meatier. But many of the saanens I've seen around here have more of a hollow look like Cloud.





i think her eyelids are starting to look a bit pale, what do you think?

 
#71 ·
Wow, she's gained quite a bit of covering since the last pics. She still looks like she has about 15-20lbs more to gain, but she looks waaaay better!
She would score about a high 2-2.5 out of 5 on the body condition score now
 
#73 ·
I agree....much better...keep up the great work...
 
#76 ·
I agree...
 
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