# Weight gain on Saanen doe



## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

I have a friend that has a dairy goat she has had to bottle feed and has brought her inside to do so. She is a Saanen doe born December 23rd that now weighs 10.5 pounds. She has been bottle feeding her as her mother rejected her from the beginning, though I do think they milked out some of her first milk/colostrum and fed it to her. She has been feeding milk replacer and now uses milk replacer and about 25% whole milk with it. She has hay to eat and a little bit of creep feed. 

She plans to dehorn her soon, and give her her tetanus anti toxin. She plans to give CDT after the horns are removed.

The little doe has no runny poo. No fever. She is Bright and bouncy otherwise!

She just seems slight in weight and overall appearance


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

She is getting a bottle at about 18% of her body weight now -so 4 bottles at about 8 ounces each.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What was her weight at birth? That does sound small for a Saanen.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Guessing she was about 5.5-6 pounds at birth. She wasn’t weighed immediately


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

She was the smallest of the 3 born to the doe


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Here she is!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

She looks Saanen x Nubian. What a sweet face. As long as she is eating well, acting well etc. then she is good. If she was tiny, 10# sounds good. That means she is growing.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

I would also disbud now. The longer you wait, the harder it can be to get a good burn on.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Here she is! 
Does she look too thin? Not familiar with the dairy breed


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)




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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Are her ears erect or floppy? That first photo she looked Nubian X now she looks more Saanen. The sooner she is disbudded the better. (Like Goat Blessings said) Saanens can be tough to get rid of all the horn roots. She is so cute!


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Odieclark, I think your friends are doing great. I would start decreasing the replacer and increasing the real milk were she mine. I do agree with disbudding asap.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Her ears are more up I think, but maybe more down when she is sitting or sleeping


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I breed saanens ... she has to be either mini cross or an extremely tiny to be that size at birth and at a month old. 10lbs would be close to a normal birth weight for a saanen. Its also unusual that she doesn't have horns by a month old. Usually saanen kids require disbudding within the first seven days. I did have a tiny doe kid born start of November at 4.4lbs but I disbudded her at 10 days and at two months old she's now 44lbs. 

Having said all that, in your photos she looks healthy and happy. If she is doing normal kid things (playing and jumping etc) I would just keep doing what you are doing. You can weigh her weekly if you'd like to be sure she is growing.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Maybe she is naturally polled and doesn't required disbudding?


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## LizWiz (Sep 12, 2017)

she looks poled to me :/


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

She took her to the vet and handled it pretty well! Phew!!!
I don’t know anything about that, and am glad she had the vet do it and it went fine! Phew!!!♥♥

She is slender, so leggy! Hoping she can put some weight on with eating her creep feed!


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

At this age the creep feed won't do much she is just learning how to eat- milk puts more on them.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

She likes sleeping on a hot water bottle and uses it as her pillow! Pretty darn cute!


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

She had it done and it went great!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

She is so sweet looking. Glad the disbudding went well.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

On her weight gain, it still seems slow! So at five weeks she is still very slight! 

She is likely dealing with worms I am guessing 

Is she too young to use ivimec injectable? Is there risk neurologically from ivomec because she is young?

She also seems to be dealing with lice or fleas, which would also benefit from worming, correct?


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## mariella (Feb 23, 2017)

I would feed her more. My babies eat 33oz a feeding and I feed twice a day my biggest is 22bl at 30 days. 
I wouldn't worm her yet but up how much she eats and see if she puts a little on. As for lice and mites I would do DE(diatomaceous earth) it's safer for babies and it will help worm her.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)




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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Darn, she is cute! Does she want to come to Ohio and live? Have they (you) given her CDT shots yet? (If you do give them?) 
Soon she will start nibbling on hay.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Oh my goodness. She is ADORABLE!


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## Deborah Haney (Jul 11, 2017)

So leggy! She looks proportionate to me (so she may just be a small kid, not sickly) but everyone has posted great advice for increasing growth to where she should be for her age.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

So she gets 4 bottles each day-approximately 40 ounces, hay, and creep. She had her first CDT. 

I do think she needs to be wormed because she is also dealing with lice, that appear to be sucking she said. So what she he use to worm her at 5 weeks of age?


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