# Nigerian Dwarf Wether - newby food questions



## Brigabart (Oct 31, 2014)

Hi there!
I just became the owner of two wethers (both will be 2 years old in January). I've seen and read all sorts of things on what to feed them, but I still have a couple of questions, especially since they seem to be dropping some weight. When we got them, they were fed Chaffhaye (unsure how much) and 3/4 pound of medicated feed. Now, I would like to do this:
1. move them off the medicated feed
2. transfer them to regular hay (I have a choice of timothy and a weedy fescue mix from Southern States). 

So... we've only had them since Sunday and I feel like I'm seeing a weight drop. They were wormed by the previous owner on Sunday, btw. I've been feeding them 1/2 cup of their old feed type plus unlimited fescue (they had zero interest in the timothy), plus some browse. Perhaps I'm feeding them too little grain? Everything I've read about wethers indicates that they should do well on low/no grain amounts, and I don't want to change anything too fast, but if I'm noticing them looking a bit thinner after less than a week on a smaller amount of food.... maybe they need more?

Also, I put out some goat minerals and they chowed down. It was all gone in one morning (I put out about 3/4 cup). Does this mean they love minerals or they need minerals? I don't want to poison them, but what if they need it?

I know about the need for ammonium chloride (which is in their old feed and the feed that I want to transfer them to), and about keeping the Ca/Ph ratio right. So if I"m feeding a weedy fescue and grain - they need some alfalfa to balance this, right?

Thanks guys. We actually have a call into the vet also - one has dandruff and scabby ears.
Heidi


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Hi Heidi  Congrats on being a goat mommy ! You came to the right place , lots of awesome people here and tons of great advice !
Im going to leave the hay question for someone else.
I will comment on the minerals . Leave minerals free choice for them
They can have as much as they want . You can't poison them with it 
A really great mineral is Manna Pro , it comes in a orange bag , you will usually see a eight pound bag on the store shelves. Its a wonderful mineral for all goats especially wethers. Your guys must have really needed it for them to finish it right up like that. Leave it out for them all the time. They won't touch it if it gets wet , just so you know 
If you want to change their grain to something different , do it slowly so as not to upset their tummies  Did the previous owner say they had parasites or was it sort of a maintenance thing ? Just curious if they had a extended belly from having a parasite load……It would be a good thing to ask the previous owner what they had and what they used to treat them.All worming meds is more then one dose , at least the ones i know of.So , if the previous owner treated once , you will have to do it a couple of times more. You can buy a container of ammonium chloride from Jeffers or whatever place you shop at and add it to their grain daily. That will help them a lot  Was there a reason you didn't want to keep them on the chaffhaye ? Its a really good food for goats  My wethers get much more grain them what your feeding , but that explains why the one in my avatar looks like he swallowed a beach ball :-D
As for the grain , i feed my guys Southern States goat pellets and they all do well on it. I also mix in alfalfa pellets for them. Are you mixing your own grain ? There are some really great mixes here if you do a search. Just a thought 

Has the previous owner ever copper bolused them or given any selenium ?
Thats another thing you can ask so you have a idea if they need supplementing or not.That depends on your area as well. Some places have no need to supplement and others need to do it monthly or yearly.

Enjoy your boys and post some pictures if you can , we would love to see them  I hope some of this helps you . Im sure others will come on and give you tons more great advice


----------



## Brigabart (Oct 31, 2014)

Thanks for the reply! I'm not using chaffhaye because with two goats, it will go bad before I can use it all - I don't have the freezer space for it. Also, the nearest dealer is a ways away. I wish I could just buy a box of the sample size - that would be awesome  I think I will go get some alfalfa pellets for them - do you have to soak them for goats? I've only fed them to horses and we had to soak them.

I am using Manna pro - and River just gulps it down. Glad I can't poison them with it! The previous owner just kept all her goats on medicated feed for maintainance. The worming was just something she does before she sends a goat off. These two were just rejects - someone bought them, raised them, got divorced, the hubbie threatened to send the goats to the meat market, the breeder took them back but didn't want them. So now they are in their forever home. I put a photo in my avatar of Paint Sample (Sammy for short), leaning on River's back. River is black with brown markings and a white star.

I haven't started changing their grain yet, but I did up the amount a little bit last night. I wanted them to have a week or two where nothing changed but their location and their hay (I got some chaffhaye samples so that I could slowly wean them off). They love love love the fescue, and all the branches that we cut for them. As well as the yummies they pick up on their two walks a day. We try to give them limited snacks so as to not upset their tummies - they are on a drylot (they came from a drylot), so we give them a bit of apple peelings, or lettuce, or carrot, etc from the compost. Sweet boys didn't seem to know what carrots were, so we taught them  They love them now!

I don't believe the previous owner every did copper bolusing or gave selenium. Definitely not to these boys - she just tried to keep them from the meat market. They are the sweetest things - the first owner gave them no socialization (the breeder said they were crazy unsocialized), but they've been no problem for us. In fact, they bleat when we come out and when we leave them. They love it when I just bring a book down and sit in their pen to read. LOVE them. I tried to upload some photos, so hopefully you can see them.


----------



## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

No you don't have to soak the alfalfa pellets. Just give straight from the bag. 
Alfalfa is very nutritious and if you are weaning off the chaffhaye and not supplementing with anything else that there could be your weight loss issue. Chaffhaye really puts a nice girth on them. I love it for my does and notic a huge difference. 

Adding in the alfalfa pellets should really help


----------



## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

Good advice from everyone. One thing about possible weight loss though is that they might just be eating less from the stress of moving to a new home. They haven't been with you long, and you're most likely just noticing a less-full rumen than they had when you first got them rather than true weight loss. When I took my girls' to another farm for a long weekend, they looked like they'd lost 10 pounds each, but by the next day they were settled back in at home, eating well, and looking plump again.


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Heidi , just a note on the chaffhaye , it will keep well in a rubbermaid tub and lid , and thats in the summer months , and in the winter as well. Ive never had a problem with it. I had some left over that i had forgotten about ( in the summer ) and it was absolutely fine to feed.
So , with two goats , you can get a few bags and as long as there are no holes in the bags , they will be fine . When you open them , put it in a rubbermaid tub and keep it covered . I kept mine in the garage and in my feed shed , both places it kept just fine. Its a great diet for goats !
A couple of bags should last you quite a while  
If i had only two goats , i would definitely be feeding chaffhaye 
But that option went up in smoke a long time ago , lol.
Get yourself some ammonium chloride and your all set 
The alfalfa pellets are a great option too , and they LOVE them .
Some people leave alfalfa pellets out free choice and their goats do very well like that. That is something i think you would have to do slowly , but they will eventually only eat what they need .
Thats great your using the Manna Pro minerals ! 
You saved those boys for sure , good for you ! They will love you forever for it  Im sure they weren't treated the way your treated them now , so they are loving every minute of it , lol. They know when they got it good  Another thing i would do , is look up what is poisonous for them and what is safe , just so you know . You don't want them to pick up anything that would make them sick or worse.
Your in the right place , stick around


----------

