# My Saanen Doe, quite the skinny thing!



## zatsdeb (Jan 20, 2008)

Ok, I know Saanens tend to be skinny after they have babies, but My Sharabelle is so skinny! She is healthy, eats well, shots and worming all done all the time, we have had her for 5 years. My Husband keeps telling me he is going to sell her because she is skinny. My friend said her goat is skinny too, we both got them from the same dairy farm. Now Sharabelle had her first baby about 5 years ago and she is purebred also, Angel is very stocky! The only thing I can think of is Sharabelle was never allowed to nurse, she was taken off her mamma and bottle fed from day one, and my Angel nursed from day one! Sharabelle was skinny when we got her, not like she is now, but when we look at angel we think that sharabelle never looked like her! I know they had different parents also.... 
So... is there anything that I can feed her, or give her to make her gain weight? I surely don't want to breed her this year if she is so skinny. Just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas!
When I was milking her the first year, her udder was so big! I could get almost a gallon at one milking! She is dried off this year so I am hoping to be able to get her weight back up.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Good quality hay, freechoice browse and a good grain ration 2 x a day. A little corn oil topdressed will also add fat to her grain.


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## zatsdeb (Jan 20, 2008)

liz said:


> Good quality hay, freechoice browse and a good grain ration 2 x a day. A little corn oil topdressed will also add fat to her grain.


I feed alfalfa hay, pasture with mix of fescue/grass/alfalfa..Goat feed 2 X a day,I will add corn oil though, I was wondering if there was anything else I could add.  She loves that nutra drench... she would drink the bottle if I didn't keep it up!


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## logansmommy7 (Nov 11, 2009)

My alpine/saanen doeling is very skinny as well. I have wormed her, and she has plenty to eat. I've even started taking her and putting her on the stand at night time so she gets extra grain. I know she has a lot of growing to do (she was born April 1) but still...I'd like to see a little more meat on her bones. Hopefully the added grain will help!


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## MiGoat (Apr 21, 2010)

BOSS can add fat. And shiny coats too! LOL


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

You can also add beet Pulp - that is what I used with my goats and my horses along with the oil to help put weight on


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

BOSS does add fat but be careful of how much they get, especially if you have a mineral with selenium, their grain has selenium or you give BoSe, BOSS has alot of selenium and adding too much can possibly cause a selenium toxicity.


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## zatsdeb (Jan 20, 2008)

my goat does like beet pulp! I think she just likes to eat.... unlike most goats.... lol! We think they come to us cause they love us, we know they come cause they think they will get something to eat!!!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

If by feeding her as mentioned by everyone .....doesn't increase her weight within a reasonable time ....I would get a fecal done ....as adults... not always show scouring signs..... they just show weight loss no matter how fed..... Something to consider.. :wink: :hug:


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## zatsdeb (Jan 20, 2008)

well, I watched her eat tonight, she eats her feed, then something catches her attention and she wanders off, maybe a leaf, or something she eats it and then forgets what she was doing. I know the other goats root her out, I watched that before I moved her into the backyard by herself. My husband usually feeds them in the morning and again at night while I am at work both times! He just lets her fend for herself. I don't know if she is so used to being pushed out, when I showed her the bucket again, she ate again, until something distracted her. I almost think she forgets she was eating the feed, she wanders off eating grass, sticks.. leaves, whatever she can forage. I guess I will have to get on my hubby and have him wait to feed her right or when I am out there!


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Definitely watch when hubby feeds her. If she is getting pushed out, she may not be getting enough. When you said she wanders off when something gets her attention...I thot, this goat has ADHD! 

Boss has Selenium in it? Now I have to rethink some things!


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

Yes, I have one doe that always gets pushed out. When I got her, she was the worst looking one. I have to feed her by herself. I have a lead rope attached to the fence outside the gate. Every morning, she comes to the gate when I bring her food dish, and I tie her up until she is done eating.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I also feed Calf Manna to skinny girls. It really seems to help.

Anyone who is skinny gets put in their own stall to eat. I feed them first and then I can go about feeding the rest and maybe even doing chores if they are slow eaters. I also have one that is easily distracted and this is what I do for her.

Like someone else mentioned, you may want to get a fecal done just to be sure that there are no parasites. Barberpole worm doesn't usually give them loose stool.


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## zatsdeb (Jan 20, 2008)

well, we have her separated now from the rest for a while now. she is getting good alfalfa hay, pasture, and grain/w corn, and she has decided she likes the blackberries out of the garden, so we drop a handful on top of her food, seems to keep her attention better, guess its like fruit on her cereal! she seems more alert now, and hopefully will build up some fat on her skinny bones.


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## SweetSaanens (Mar 6, 2011)

I have a skinny Saanen who is easily distracted too. I tie each of my goats up at feeding time, out of reach of each other but in the same room and nobody gets loose until everybody is done eating. The first time I did this there was chaos in the stall but now they know when it is feed time and they all go an stand in front of the rope that I tie them onto and wait patiently for me to tie them. I also give all my pregnant and lactating does black oil sunflower seeds with their feed too help keep their weight on which really seems to be doing the trick with my herd. 

My skinny Saanen is still very lean but no bony anymore.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

My doe is insanely skinny as well (just look for the thread I started to see how horribly). Right now she is on alfalfa pellets (and hay when I can get it, but she does have free-choice timothy/oat hay), calf manna, feathercreek dairy ration, beet pulp, and a 20% protein block, as well as Manna Pro loose minerals. Unfortunately, any gain she gets goes right back into milk production, and while she looks a tiny bit better, it's going to be an uphill battle until she either peaks and starts dropping production or I dry her off. She's always been on the skinny side, though, so I'm not as concerned for her as I would be if another doe were in this condition.


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