# Very thin doe



## nagismom (Sep 25, 2010)

I don't know why this year seems to be soo tough but once again I need advice. Ember(nubian), my 2 yo ff dropped on Friday(she's at day 149 today). She was starting to look thin as her pregnancy progressed but once she dropped I could really see how thin. I can't see ribs but can see her entire spine. 
Background on her; last winter she was tough to keep weight on so I chose to wait until this year to breed her as a 2 yo. As spring approached she was still on the thin side. Vet did fecal and she was carrying a parasite load. Wormed with ivermectin. she still didn't gain weight...another fecal...worms. Once again vet said ivermectin...month later worms. FINALLY, he decides she is tolerent to ivermectin so he switched us to cydectin. Which worked wonders. By July she was beautiful and did well at a couple shows we took her to. So, I flushed her and wormed her one more time and bred her thinking that we'd finally nailed the problem...
For feed she's getting almost 2 quarts of a textured 18% goat feed top dressed with 1 cup calf manna, 1 cup of alfalfa pellets(daily), and free choice 2nd cutting clover/orchard grass hay. Feed mill recommended mixing a tablespoon of flax oil in to increase the fat in her feed. So, I started doing that.Coat is starting to look rough. Uggg. Other than that she's bright eyed and has a very cute ff udder. Eyelids are a little bit pale.
My plan is to pull the kid(hopefully one) at birth. Take another fecal to the vet and probably worm her again. I'm really afraid to increase her feed to much more with her being this close.
She does have a shorter,thinner coat and I think that might account for the weight lose with the drop in temp. Any advice would be helpful.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

sounds like youve done a great job with her. 
take the fecal in and go from there. when does close to kidding 'drop' they can look thin...


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## nagismom (Sep 25, 2010)

Thanks Katrina for the encouragement. Can you think of anything else I can do to get some more weight
on her?? Her mother was quite the milker and from the looks of things she will be too. Once she kids I will increase her rations based on her production. Do you think beet pulp would help??


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

I'm using BOSS and Rice bran to help pick up weight on a doe of mine.
lots of heavy producers are on the thin side


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## farmgirl42 (Jan 3, 2010)

I would definitely add beet pulp to her ration. Also, have you checked her for lice? Also would add Diamond V yeast supplement (about 1 tsp per day) as it improves feed utilization.


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## nagismom (Sep 25, 2010)

Erin,
Where do you get the yeast supplement?? No lice on coat just a little rough. How much beet pulp or BOSS would you ladies recommend??


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## jay13 (Apr 12, 2009)

I seem to remember reading somewhere that a rough coat could be a mineral deficiency. One of my girls had a very rough coat when I got her, turned out she was deficient in zinc. A couple of ground up human zinc pills in her feed for a couple weeks and she was right as rain again. I also read copper deficiency can affect their coats? Just my .02


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Everyone has great advice here.... :thumb: 

Most Does will look thin like ...after they have kids.... but if ...they are more so then they should be.... intervention is needed...

when you feed goats... real well ...and they don't gain weight.... it could be from worms to cocci ....cocci doesn't always show the classic signs of scouring.. but shows rapid weight loss.... did they test for cocci as well at the time of your fecals....?

When she was tested ...what kind of worms... how much wormer was given....and did you give it again.. 10 days later... to kill the hatching eggs..? if you didn't... then ....they will keep coming back....if goats... have them... really bad... I'd even do it another 10 days after that..... 3x 

Caution though...Worming often and not hitting it again..when you know.. they in fact... have a worm load..... 10 days later...can make the Goat immuned to the wormer... if... you are not careful.... you have to hit them the 10 days later...to stop the problem...and nip it in the bud.... :wink: 

Sounds like... you are feeding her properly...

Lids being pale...she may need something... to build up her blood ....

Is she getting loose salt and minerals?

With the way you are feeding her ...she should keep condition... if she isn't ...worms or cocci.... is most likely the cause... :hug:


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## nagismom (Sep 25, 2010)

Ivermect was given orally at 1cc/30 lbs (per vet). Fecals were done on her specifically at 7 days. Hooks were predominent. We did have two kids pop positive for cocci at the same time. So, vet opted to treat EVERYONE. Water was treated and yes he retested...neg. The entire barn was scrubed with a bleach solution and rebedded(lime under straw). Cydectin was also given orally at 1cc/11 lbs. Retested after 7 days(in late May). Problem solved. Last fecal was performed in October with minimal parasite load. We do NOT rotate wormers because I know goats quickly develop a tolerance to wormers. Interesting side note, Frontline stopped working on our dogs too and we had to change flea meds. I also, rotated their pasture. We have loose minerals, salt, and baking soda available free choice. All the other goats look good. Her coat is by and far the shortest and thinnest. Please, anyone interested in giving Cydectin; DON'T use with pregnant does as it will cause miscarriage/stillbirth. I learned the hard way. Our feed is also fortified with a goat specific mineral blend. I don't copper bolus because I know of atleast two people in my area who have lost goats to copper toxicity. Both my feed and minerals have copper in them. I didn't think about a zinc deciency. How does that present??


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## jay13 (Apr 12, 2009)

On the zinc deficiency her coat was very rough, there were even patches of it that looked like they were missing. We had checked for mites, lice, worms ect and nothing came up. I read somewhere that if you have high levels of certain vitamins/minerals that it can retard zinc absorption and cause a deficiency. We gave her 1/4 tsp of ground human zinc supplement dressed with a little mollasses in her grain a couple times a week for a couple weeks and it cleared up beautifully. I don't know if she was thin because of it because she was still a yearling doe unbred at the time we got her and had that dairy look already. Now of course she is a big momma expecting her first babies in the next few weeks  Perhaps your girl is just still recovering from the worm load? I know some does take a while to recover their condition after something like that.


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## farmgirl42 (Jan 3, 2010)

You can get the yeast supplement from Hoegger's Goat Supply or other Livestock supply stores. I have heard that some local feed stores carry it, but not around here (southeastern Ohio). You can buy it at a health food store, too, but the cost is a lot more than at a livestock supply.

As for the BOSS and beet pulp... I mix my grain/pellets 7 parts to 2 parts BOSS and 1 part beet pulp. Since she is so thin (and it is so cold right now), you might want to increase the beet pulp until you start to see a little improvement.

You can also get a Vitamin A/D/E oral paste supplement at the livestock supply stores. Some people also just buy the vitamin E gelcaps, cut the end off of the gel, and squirt it into the mouth. Vitamin E will help slick down the coat a little bit.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Wow... sounds like... you did it all...after treatment ....it was the right thing to do.... 


> We do NOT rotate wormers because I know goats quickly develop a tolerance to wormers.


 But...Rotating wormers is crucial....you have to go to a different wormer...the next go around of worming...if you stay with the same wormer...your goats are more likely to get immuned to it.....

Supplementing the doe with coat issues... would be good to do... just make sure she eats it... :wink:

Zinc states hair loss
http://kinne.net/hairloss.htm


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## ruedyranch (Jan 15, 2011)

I had a little Saanen kid this spring that I had similar problems with. I dewormed with Ivomectin as well twice to no avail. After almost losing her and a temp that spiked to 107 we did another fecal and she was positive for cocci and worms. So frustrating. Treated her with corid and valbazin and she finally came around. I ended up treating everyone just to make sure I got rid of it. She is now perfectly healthy although all the trouble did stunt her growth quite a bit. I bottle fed her until she was 9 months old too until she put on enough weight. Good luck!


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## nagismom (Sep 25, 2010)

So, I think I nailed the problem. She's a very SLOW eater. I mix up everything in a separate bowl for her and she picks at it, and pushes away the calf manna. When I put her in the isolation stall with food she won't eat. She just waits by the door. It took her 20 minutes to eat all of her food. Where everyone else is done in 5. I think they finish all of their food and then take hers. I did take a fecal to the vet just in case...it's clean. So, I guess I'll be waiting for her to finish eating every day. Oh, and she's not losing hair at all. My stardards are pretty high for my girls, so her coat looks like my saanan crosses coat. It's still pretty shiney.


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## farmgirl42 (Jan 3, 2010)

LOL! I have one just like this! She is so slow that I put her on a tie and give her her feed, then I milk TWO other does while she eats, then I move her to the milk stand and let her finish her feed while I milk her. Whew!

Good luck with your slow girl!


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## nagismom (Sep 25, 2010)

Thanks Erin, now I know what I have to look forward to. LOL I bought beet pulp and mixed that in her feed and she wouldn't eat. So much for that idea. I guess one diva in a herd of 12 isn't soo bad. Her sister's nickname is Fatsy...eating definitely isn't HER issue.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Try soaking the beet pulp in hot water....mine LOVED it that way...and any of the water left in the pail was sucked up PDQ!


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