[goingnutsmom]

I got an 7 or 8 year old wether in Nov. Very thin and won't gain weight. In December after a trip to the vet to see about getting his teeth floated she said he basically has no teeth and to put him on a diet that is as much predigested as I could get. He has gained about 15 pounds since I have had him and he still probably needs to put on 40 or more pounds. Am I being to impatient with his weight gain. What else can I try. His daily diet now is: 2 cups soaked alfalfa pellets, 2 cups soaked beet pulp pellets, 1 cup dry cob, 1 cup meat goat pellets, 2 tablespoons sumo (meat goat weight gain supplement powder), handful of boss, 1/4 cup corn oil, 1 oz. ACV, a little powder probiotics, 2 tbsp. AC, 2 cups senior horse pellets.
This is all mixed up and fed through out the day. When I first started this in Dec. this mix would last two days, now he is eating more and it only last one day, sometimes I add more dry alfalfa and beet pulp pellets. He has free access to a grass hay and alfalfa hay if he wants. He mostly eats the grass hay. The younger wether (8 mo.) eats the alfalfa. His coat is looking better, not so dry and curly, but I am still worried about the slow weight gain. Am I just being to impatient? Oh, he gets browse most days, but he has a hard time chewing things up.

 

[sanhestar]

Hello,

have you checked him for intestinal parasites, too? How cold is it at you place right now?

I would consider that he has a tape worm and that (given that you have a cold winter) he's losing weight during the night or even the day because of the outside temperatures and might benefit from a coat/blanket.

 

[Nanno]

I agree with Sanhestar about checking for worms and also about getting a blanket for him. It is very difficult to put weight on an animal in the wintertime when most of their food energy is going into keeping their body temperature up (especially if they have no fat layer to insulate them). If your goat is still 40 lbs. underweight (that's severely thin!), then I would actually go another step further and get a heat lamp or a heated mat for him to lay on. I'm thinking of getting a heated mat for my old toothless goat next winter. As they get older, they just don't have the muscle tone, and gravity seems to pull all the fat down to the belly (my dad keeps complaining about the same problem). So it's important to make sure your goat stays warm enough that he's not burning all those good food calories just to maintain his body temperature.

If your goat has already gained 15 lbs. that's a great sign! Good luck!

 

[goingnutsmom]

I have done fecals 3 times and the vet has done a fecal. No worms.
It gets down to freezing some nights, and daytime temps are in the 50's -60's. I do blanket him on the cold nights and when it stays frozen most of the day. I didn't know about heated mats, so I will do a search on some. Thanks! Yes, he is that thin. No meat or fat on him anywhere. His hair was dry, rough, and curly when I got him, and is now starting to look like a normal goat coat.

 

[sanhestar]

Hello,

in regard to fecals please keep in mind that you often can't find a tapeworm via fecal testing.

I would worm against tapeworm, just to be on the safe side.