# Doeling not growing...opinions (new pics)



## 4hmama (Jan 9, 2009)

I will try to make a very long story short....
My doe had quads on Thanksgiving. I was keeping an eye on the babies and all were growing and doing well. We had a REALLY cold snap in late December. My first born quad (doeling) got hypothermic (temp of 94). Between putting her in a laundry tub of hot water, nutridrench, thiamine, warm electrolytes, and heating pad, I got her temp back up. Amazingly, with a few days, she was doing well - except for diarrhea, which could have been from the stress, milk change, cocci, or all of the above. Gave DiMethox and diarrhea cleared up. Returned her to the herd a few weeks ago, and she is doing well. Mama is tolerating nursing (some) and she is eating grain & hay and drinking water. The only thing different between her and her siblings is that she is TINY! At 8 weeks, my 3 week olds are the same size. I have a creep feeder area for the babies, and I know that she is eating and drinking...is she just going to need time to 'catch up'? I know a vet visit wouldn't be a bad idea, but we have none around here that are willing to see goats...they are strictly dog/cat vets.... Give her time?? Of course, this is the doeling that we were planning on keeping all along...and with her spending time as a 'house goat', the 2-legged kids are attached, so she is still staying regardless of her size. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

Has she been treated for cocci at all? Kids can easily be stunted from cocci. What kind of feed has she been on? I like to keep my young goats on some calf manna and goat fix mix along with alfalfa. They seem to do really well on it. Maybe it's just because she was one of quads and then going through winter it will just take a little time for her to catch up.


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## 4hmama (Jan 9, 2009)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

Yes, I did treat her for cocci with DiMethox, and she has also been wormed with ivermectin 2x at 3 week intervals. We only have 2 feed stores to choose from, and I usually feed either Dumor Dairy Goat or Purina Dairy Goat feeds...depending on who is out of what. They also have free access to loose minerals and baking soda. I have heard differing opinions about Calf Manna, and haven't used it personally. I just have to wonder if she is just slow growing because of her rough start... She is just a shrunken down version of her siblings!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

she spent all her energy to get better -- its normal for her to be tiny compared to her siblings


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Dec 14, 2009)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

It will probably take her quite some time to catch up with her siblings. Not a big deal really, you will just have to wait longer to breed her if you plan to keep her.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

Give her some time.... it is good ...you treated the cocci....and got it early..... she should start picking up on her growth now.... :hug:


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## 4hmama (Jan 9, 2009)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

She is staying here...I figured it would just take time, but I was hoping that others would agree....


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

You got it.... :wink: :greengrin:


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## 4hmama (Jan 9, 2009)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

Pam - This is the exact doeling that I was referring to in the other thread.


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## goatkid (Jan 17, 2009)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

You say the dam is tolerating nursing, some. Is she really getting enough milk? I never leave more than two kids on a doe for that reason. You say that she was the one of four kids that got chilled. I'd bet she may not have been getting her share before the hypothermia. You might want to supplement the dam's milk with a bottle of goat or cow's milk.


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## 4hmama (Jan 9, 2009)

*Re: Doeling not growing...opinions?*

Pumpkin seems to be doing okay...she is nursing, but is still SO small... She is eating grain and hay, drinking water and mama-milk, been wormed and dimethox-ed...but is going for the record for the world's smallest goat!

Snapped some pics
Pumpkin (born 11-26) and Mocha (born 11-27)









Pumpkin is the small one...Mocha is to the left, the white/red in the top right were born 1-6-10 (they are standing in a washtub, but still...!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

yup she is tiny. she may catch up or not.


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## 4kids (Jul 21, 2009)

we have a tiny one too! It actually was Wildflower's first kid (of trips). He is tiny compared to his sister! He was also floppy at birth. I have done everything like you to make sure he gets the best but I have just come to the conclusion he is going to be a tiny goat!


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

Maybe she isn't absorbing all the nutrients she should? I had to raise a foal that was having issues. Grain did nothing but make her scour. I gave her red cell, and some coral calcium with some other odds and ends. Maybe that will help?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

She may get a growth spurt here over the summer, but I don't think she'll be as big as her siblings. As long as she's healthy, eating well and being a normal kid I wouldn't worry too much. This could be her normal size....maybe inherited from waaaay back in her pedigree.


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## greatcashmeres (Jul 13, 2008)

Wow, you have a very special small girl there.  She looks very healthy in the first pic with Mocha, so definitely still time to catch up for her own size, if she is meant to.


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## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

Yes she looks small but she looks healthy ... she just might catch up. Being small makes her special !!


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## jdgray716 (Aug 8, 2008)

There are a lot of things that could add up, as posted, to cause these things. There are also things that can be done to help boost her growth over time. And she may very well hit a growth spurt. Over all though, I think the post I did one runts will help. That post is here.

This is the runt, and almost every litter or group of babies will have one. In most cases it is the weaker of the bunch. The difference with a runt is normally very much so noticable, they are also much smaller than the others their siblings. Many do not thrive very well, most can not fight or compete with their siblings for food and warmth. When they survive, they normally grow up to be smaller than, and they sometimes develop different personality traits as a result of their stunted childhoods or early difficulties. However, when a runt is given supplemental food and attention, they can develop normally.

Some people feel that a runt is designed to be a potentially sacrificial member of a litter in nature. With this theory, when the runt survives, great for the group, but if food etc are scarce, the runt will not be missed and very little has been lost as to food and so forth. With some animals the runt may even be eaten by the parent animal or by its siblings as a response to little food or nutrition sometimes even stress. Other then this not much is known about the runts and science is still studying and learning more on this at this time. I however had the opposite of yourself. I had the bigger boys born and the smaller girls. My one doe is caught up. In this case this is not considered a runt this is a member of smaller size due to a posponing of growth. Many time due to room in the womb or things of this nature. When this is the case often the second or number that may be, catches up fast to it's sibling.

Hope that helps.


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

I had a doe like that, sometimes the nigerians throw a tiny tiny kid who matures slow, I call it a super dwarf, some eventually reach a normal size, or stay super tiny. I've had experiences with both

My doeling i bred was a twin, and was never super super puny, she just never grew fast, I sold her as a pet because i didnt want to breed the slow maturing line into my stock more, but the buyers brought her to me to see if she had matured enough to breed( they have grandkids and want milk as well as kids) and sure enough at 3 years old she was normal size and weight

but then i've seen another that was really slow to grow and a runt at that, she never got over 15 inches or 30 pounds


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