# Nigerian Dwarf Doe gets 1/4 cup of grain per feeding, and is still way overconditioned.



## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Hi all!
My purebred Nigerian Dwarf doe Gracie, is an obvious easy keeper. She is not in milk, and we still aren't sure if she is pregnant. If she is bred, and nursing kids as she *should* be in the Fall, I'm sure the problem will fix itself. As of now..how much grain should I be giving her? She is only fed 1/4 cup of Purina Goat Chow twice a day--morning and evening. She is fed a quality hay, and has plenty of pasture to graze on. Should I be feeding her any grain at all? Give her only 1/8 of a cup instead? She *should* (if she's bred) only be one month into pregnancy, but she looks like she is ready to give birth! Well, no udder and uncomfortableness but, you know what I mean. 
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

i would stop feeding her grain. You dont want her to get too fat, especailly while preggo...


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

I agree that taking her off grain wouldn’t be a bad idea - however - be sure to put her back on grain about 4-6 weeks before kidding. You don’t want any toxemia issues.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

You can do alfalfa pellet if you want to give her some kind of pellet. So e goats can get fat on air.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

:up: I had a cow, a little aberdeen who was NEVER fed grain, she would just get grass, and she was HUGE!!! She was a little turd, and never got pregnant, so we did get rid of her. We only have one aberdeen left, and i like her alot better, but we do have to watch her weight.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Thanks all!
We will take her off grain and see what happens. How much grain do you think she should get 4-6 weeks before kidding?

Just to keep her happy, we might just give her a small handful of grain so she doesn't scream and act like we forgot about her.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> :up: I had a cow, a little aberdeen who was NEVER fed grain, she would just get grass, and she was HUGE!!! She was a little turd, and never got pregnant, so we did get rid of her. We only have one aberdeen left, and i like her alot better, but we do have to watch her weight.


That's funny because, we can't get Gracie bred either! She may be pregnant now and we just haven't realized it yet. If she is bred now, that means there were about 7-8 failed attempts. It was driving me insane! :heehee:


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Can you post a picture of her? Some nigies are naturally large bellied. I have a 7 year old ND, .shes a butter ball..but if she was to thin out I would worry. She's been a rollie pollie her whole life. Some are just built that way. My other two are on the more natural lean side. (These 3 are the only ND I have left) 
Your girl may be naturally round and getting her thin would not be a good thing.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

happybleats said:


> Can you post a picture of her? Some nigies are naturally large bellied. I have a 7 year old ND, .shes a butter ball..but if she was to thin out I would worry. She's been a rollie pollie her whole life. Some are just built that way. My other two are on the more natural lean side. (These 3 are the only ND I have left)
> Your girl may be naturally round and getting her thin would not be a good thing.


I will try and post a picture of her today! 
You could definitely be right about that, thank you!


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

I hope these pictures are okay. I can get more if necessary. By the way, she isn't shaved and her fur is about 1.5 inches long.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

CaramelKittey said:


> Thanks all!
> We will take her off grain and see what happens. How much grain do you think she should get 4-6 weeks before kidding?
> 
> Just to keep her happy, we might just give her a small handful of grain so she doesn't scream and act like we forgot about her.


May was the same way, I didn't give her grain until the last month before kidding, but she got to lick out Willow's grain bowl with 2 or 6 grains left. It was important to her that she got to do that and it worked for me.
For the last month of pregnancy I gave her 2 tablespoons each of BOSS and oats.
Good luck!


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

MadHouse said:


> May was the same way, I didn't give her grain until the last month before kidding, but she got to lick out Willow's grain bowl with 2 or 6 grains left. It was important to her that she got to do that and it worked for me.
> For the last month of pregnancy I gave her 2 tablespoons each of BOSS and oats.
> Good luck!


Thank you! I'm going to try out a new feed mix, and thankfully, BOSS and oats are in it so I will have that available to give to her. 
I feel weird saying BOSS because I just learned that it stood for 'Block oil sunflower seeds' about three minutes ago. :heehee:


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

CaramelKittey said:


> I hope these pictures are okay. I can get more if necessary. By the way, she isn't shaved and her fur is about 1.5 inches long.
> View attachment 180727
> View attachment 180729
> View attachment 180731


Looks familiar!


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

MadHouse said:


> Looks familiar!


:heehee:
How are May and Willow doing now?


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

CaramelKittey said:


> I hope these pictures are okay. I can get more if necessary. By the way, she isn't shaved and her fur is about 1.5 inches long.
> View attachment 180727
> View attachment 180729
> View attachment 180731


Forgot to mention, her front leg is shaved, and a little section of her back leg. Long story...don't worry. Nothing bad.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

Can you feel her spine?
With May, the spine is protruding a bit more now, that she has kidded and is nursing/milking. Before, I had to look for that spine!  The belly can be misleading. Especially after eating and the rumen is big.


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## Abby Wootan (May 7, 2020)

I would go with goat sweet feed. I do a handful of alfalfa in the morning hay all day and about 1/2 cup of feed mixed with alfalfa pellets in the evening.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

CaramelKittey said:


> :heehee:
> How are May and Willow doing now?


They each get their own grain bowl!!
And May is a lot more confident since having kidded.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

She does not look too fat at all....she looks to be in good shape. I see hip bone but not too much..rumen side is a bit larger but that is normal..over all she look pretty good. Here is a picture of my fattie

The dark brown doe..Genevieve is 7 years old now


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

not the best to show her wide profile lol.but you get the idea. The little brown one behind her is 2 years old..she and my other are in the natural leaner side. Here is a I icture of the three playing..again not the best pic but shows size difference


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Awww! She is pretty cute happybleats! 
caramelkitty, she isnt very fat at all! Some of my does are a little chunky right now, but i want to get a few bred soon, so i am happy with their weight.


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## CountyLineAcres (Jan 22, 2014)

I agree she doesn't look too chunky, but pictures can be deceiving. Maybe check into body condition scoring to get a feel for where she lies on the 1 to 5 BCS scale.

http://www.luresext.edu/sites/default/files/BCS_factsheet.pdf


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Thanks all!
I'll take a look at the body condition score and see where she lands.

@happybleats, your does were beautiful! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I was told by a judge she was (and I quote this word for word) 
"A little fleshy." :heehee:


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

MadHouse said:


> Can you feel her spine?
> With May, the spine is protruding a bit more now, that she has kidded and is nursing/milking. Before, I had to look for that spine!  The belly can be misleading. Especially after eating and the rumen is big.


I'll feel for it today.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

To all that suggested alfalfa pellets..
Thanks for the suggestion! She has a large area to graze (little less that maybe 1/2 acre) in her pen. We let them out in the day, and they (her and 3 other goats) barely scratched the surface of an overgrown 1 acre field left by our neighbors. Plus, our own property which is about 3 acres of cleared land they are allowed to access. In the morning and evening, they get a quality hay as well. Do you all think we need to buy alfalfa pellets for them too?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Yes..mine are "fleshy" lol
Yes..add alfalfa..they need the calcium to balance out the phosphorous


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

In the books Nigerian Dwarf are considered a “dual breed”, that’s what I tell May. So she doesn’t get a complex, looking at her nubian friend.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

happybleats said:


> Yes..mine are "fleshy" lol
> Yes..add alfalfa..they need the calcium to balance out the phosphorous


Thank you. :heehee: 
Will that also increase our does' milk production. Our doe (Nigerian Dwarf) Squeaks is only producing about 20 ounces in the morning and 15 ounces at night..
We give Sweetlix Meat Maker minerals and orchard grass hay. So far, we've been okay without it. Do I need to give it to all my goats?


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

I could very easily feel her spine today just by rubbing along her back today. I thought it would be a lot harder to find.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I feed chaffaye to all my goats. Even my bucks


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

happybleats said:


> I feed chaffaye to all my goats. Even my bucks


What type of hay do you think is best for them? Unfortunately, we do not have any place we can buy alfalfa hay. Should we stick with orchard grass hay or give them alfalfa pellets or both? It is probably very easy to tell that I know nothing about types of hay! :heehee:


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

A good grass hay is fine plus alfalfa pellets


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

happybleats said:


> A good grass hay is fine plus alfalfa pellets


Thank you! Is Gracie the only goat who should get pellets, or should they all have them? And, just because I can't only ask one annoying question...How many pellets should each goat get?
Thanks so much! :ty:


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

CaramelKittey said:


> Thank you! Is Gracie the only goat who should get pellets, or should they all have them? And, just because I can't only ask one annoying question...How many pellets should each goat get?
> Thanks so much! :ty:


Someone correct me if I got it wrong. 
I would say, they all should get alfalfa, if all their other food is high in phosphorus (grass hay and grain is). As for the amount, start with a small amount and increase a bit everyday, until you get to the desired ratio of 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus. You will have to sit down and consider evrything they consume and look up what the ratio is, it's a bit of a math puzzle.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

Go by weight when you do that math.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Yes..you are correct Madhouse. For an example..i feed roughly one part oats and Boss to 3 parts chaffhaye. And all goats should have alfalfa. 
Start with a handful or so and build that up until you reach your goal of 2.5-3:1 ratio.

write down what they eat and look up the ratio of each. Most prepared feed is already 2:1. Most loose minerals are 2:1 but do check to be sure. Add hay. Estimate browse..add all calcium then add all phos. Then divide the 2 for your ratio.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

CaramelKittey said:


> Is Gracie the only goat who should get pellets, or should they all have them?


And your whether too!


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## NDinKY (Aug 3, 2019)

We give our ND does alfalfa pellets and don’t grain until they’re in milk, unless we have someone looking too lean. If you can feel her spine and her ribs aren’t too padded she’s probably a good weight. NDs can be deceiving, I’ve got some with massive rumens but they’re not fat. Others are little fatties. We did the protein tubs this year for preggos and it seemed to work really well. Will continue doing them instead of graining in the last 4-6 weeks of pregnancy.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

NDinKY said:


> We give our ND does alfalfa pellets and don't grain until they're in milk, unless we have someone looking too lean. If you can feel her spine and her ribs aren't too padded she's probably a good weight. NDs can be deceiving, I've got some with massive rumens but they're not fat. Others are little fatties. We did the protein tubs this year for preggos and it seemed to work really well. Will continue doing them instead of graining in the last 4-6 weeks of pregnancy.


Thank you for the suggestion!
I could feel her ribs and spine somewhat easily. But, you're right! Those Nigerian Dwarves are troublemakers..


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