# Goat seems skinnier?



## farkus (Jan 21, 2013)

I have been watching my goat lately and putting him out to free feed, instead of in his pen on hay, on the new shoots coming up because his flanks seems sucked in. He hasn't gained any weight yet. We did worm him a couple days ago. I was curious am I missing a supplement like a mineral lick or type of a extra feed(or grain) that would help him? Or is that normal for a goat when they reach a year old to start looking a little more slender in the flank area? Sorry I'm new to goats and just wanted to make sure if I needed to do something different. Thanks for any advice.


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

You need to reworm again 10 days after the first worming. The first kills the live ones and the second kills the newly hatched ones as wormers do not kill eggs / larva. Also, goat dosages are upwards of 4 times that of a cow per pound. So id do a search on the net for how much a goat dosage is of that kinda de wormer. 

Might try a better feed. personally I would never go less then 50/50 alfalfa and grass. If he is working hard on the trail or playing or being active, he will need the extra proteins. I good supplemental grain could also be used to offset low quality grass feed. Licks dont work for goats. Try a loose mineral salt. We use a cattle premix and feed it straight and free choice. Dont add salt to it if it already has salt added. Sheep mixes are no good for goats. They are low in copper and goats need copper.

Id start off with some good quality all stock grain / dairy ration. Lots of good stuff in there and goats tend to devour it  And dont forget to worm again.


----------



## farkus (Jan 21, 2013)

Good to know on the reworming I didn't have a clue about that. And we have been giving him some of our horses grain here and there. But know I will probably just get a good grain and some minerals. Might be why he is eating my cedar trees due to lacking minerals


----------

