# how to fatten up a doe who kidded yesterday?



## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

i'm about to go out and check her again. as soon as she kidded yesterday i was like OH MY HEAVENS she is skinny! grass is coming in good now and they have 5 acres to forage thats about half field and half wooded. i'm going to be milking her once i seperate her from the kids in a few days (may 5 or 6). 
she is saanen. born in february 2009. had twin boys yesterday at about 2:00 in the afternoon. i give her feed and hay and fist fulls of grass (the yard has yet to be mowed and is about knee high so i give her alot).
what do you use to keep your milkers up?
will take pics and get em on asap...


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Depending on what your hay is and what your feed is, and how much she is getting, she may need a higher protein diet. A lot of the milkers are hard to keep weight on, and the heavy milkers are more so. I bet there are a lot of skinny Saanens. Put up the pics and maybe some of the people who have the big dairy goats can tell you if her condition is normal.

Jan


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

After Does kid... they always seem to look a bit on the thin side...

feeding good Alfalfa and giving grain... with plenty of water..... will help...


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## MindieRose (Apr 28, 2011)

Someone feel free to correct me if this is horrible, but lamb grower works wonders. Last year we had our 4H lambs in with our goats, and the last couple months of finishing the lambs, it had become nearly impossible to feed them separate from the goats. Needless to say, all of my goats were rather FAT for 4H last year. So much so that my ND's baby inside of her grew too big and nearly died at birth because she became so stuck, and the doe looked like she had 2 more in her (she didn't) after she kidded. This of course was complete ignorance on my part, but I now know never to do that again. Almost lost mom and baby. However, my nubian had ROLLS at the show, and somehow took Jr Champion in breed class. The only thing is that lamb feed contains no copper because copper is toxic to lambs, so if you use it, make sure to have minerals available.


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## mommaB (Oct 1, 2009)

She should be wormed! Kidding puts alot of stress on their bodies, and can make them more susceptible!


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I would do a fecal test before worming. If she doesn't have a overload the wormer is unnecessary. I personally don't worm ever unless a fecal shows that there is a issue. With a dairy goat if you will be consuming the milk and do worm her be sure to find out what the withdrawal period is before the milk is safe again.


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## Kimmerz Cali Kidz (Apr 30, 2011)

^Good advice^ 
Good luck!!


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

You can also look at the gums and inside eyelids. If they are pink worms are unlikely. If they are white or grey there is probably a worm problem.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

My doe had the same issue (OK, still does-bad). right now I've got her on a 20% goat protein block, free-choice alfalfa hay, plenty of pellets and calf manna, plus whatever pasture she can get ahold of, and she's only just now starting to look like she's regaining weight, and she kidded over 7 weeks ago.

I've heard BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) works wonders, but I think steady diet and plenty of time will be the only thing that'll work well. I do think we need to see pictures, I'm having to dry off my doe she's so bad. Every bone in her body is visible, including the dorsal and transverse processes on her spine. She finally started fattening up over her hips and brisket, but she's still painfully thin, so it's going to be a fun game of drying her off this year...


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

she's in the pasture now and is eating to her heart's content and looks much better now. thanks everyone


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## lesserweevil (Oct 5, 2007)

often Saanen does are just skinny! I have one that is - she looks grand til she kids then she's thin as anything - and however much I give her, she just puts it into milk production.

It's a Saanen thing 

LW


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

So glad she is doing better .... :hi5: :thumb:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

You have to remember to double the TDN. I really pour on the grain (slowely) after they kid. 

That is what I do anyway.


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## logansmommy7 (Nov 11, 2009)

lesserweevil said:


> often Saanen does are just skinny! I have one that is - she looks grand til she kids then she's thin as anything - and however much I give her, she just puts it into milk production.
> 
> It's a Saanen thing
> 
> LW


I agree with it being a Saanen thing as well. I have a yearling Saanen who kidded and she looks ANOREXIC. I think all she eats goes straight into milk production...I'm trying to dry her off now, but unsure about how to get it done successfully-her udder keeps filling-so tight she can hardly walk! :chin:


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

lesserweevil said:


> often Saanen does are just skinny! I have one that is - she looks grand til she kids then she's thin as anything - and however much I give her, she just puts it into milk production.
> 
> It's a Saanen thing
> 
> LW


I'm glad my doe isn't the only one who does this....I'm only just now getting some weight back on her, and she kidded well over 2 months.


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## lesserweevil (Oct 5, 2007)

logansmommy7 said:


> I agree with it being a Saanen thing as well. I have a yearling Saanen who kidded and she looks ANOREXIC. I think all she eats goes straight into milk production...I'm trying to dry her off now, but unsure about how to get it done successfully-her udder keeps filling-so tight she can hardly walk! :chin:


With my Saanens what I usually do is drop to once a day milking for at least a couple of weeks, then to once every other day for a couple of weeks, then once every 3 days maybe twice, then check after 4 days, make sure she still isn't milking... and finish off by squirting a mastitis tube (dry cow tube) up the teats to prevent mastitis forming.

They always look really uncomfortable though during this process - which is why I prolong it over a few weeks rather than forcing them to stop milking straight away.

LW


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## ohiogoatgirl (Jan 31, 2010)

well she is doing very well. she's nice and big now. almost as big as when she was preggo but not in a round preggo looking way. lol! i guess she just needed a few days to get around eating everything.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Glad to hear she is doing well!


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