# Buck too skinny?



## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Today i was doing goat maintenance (hoof trimming, cd/t, copper) and when i got to Luc, my buck, i noticed when i gave him his shot that he was skinnier than the girls. I admit my girls are probably considered 'chubby' when i compare them to the skeletal dairy goats i see at local fairs, but Luc didn't seem to have any padding over his ribs. His fuzzy coat apparently hides alot. He gets hay free choice, grass, minerals, and lately apples. I know he isn't supposed to get grain, so how do you put weight on a buck? Why would he be thin anyway? I wormed him a couple times last month, he seemed to have recovered from his bout with coccidia, and I am wondering what I have done wrong. I want to make sure he is completely healthy for his upcoming date with the girls in a few weeks.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Bucks in rutt do tend to burn off more energy and need more food. All my bucks get grain twice a day while right now my girls dont. They also get their food topped with alfalfa pellets and beat pulp as well as much hay as they want.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I'd start feeding him alfalfa or alfalfa/grass hay mix. Some extra alfalfa pellets as Stacey was saying. Make sure he's got good bedding/warm at night. Also check for lice. Maybe even get a fecal run on him too if worms may be a concern.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

I would say that adding BP would be a good idea. I used this on an older horse a few winters ago and she put on the weight. Didn'y make her high either.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Thank you, i will try the beet pulp and alfalfa pellets. I just got some new hay that is higher in alfalfa, the first cutting i got before was very stalky but it was what i could find. He should be nice and warm, as i remodel my barn i have been adding that silver bubble-wrap insulation to block the wind, and in his pen (since it was on the west side which gets the most wind) I put in 2 inch thick styrofoam insulation. I can check for lice, and i will do a fecal for worms (although less likely since he was just wormed recently) His coat does seem rougher than the girls, more coarse, but i thought that was just the texture of his coat, maybe it's something else although he doesn't seem like he is itchy or anything.


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## potentialfarm (Apr 11, 2011)

When you all talk about beet pulp, are you talking about the pellets or shreds, or does it make a difference? I have a doe that I'd like to put some weight on, so recently went & got alfalfa pellets & was going to get beet pulp until they asked if I wanted pellets or shredded. I didn't know what to get.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I tried the shredded - it works the same but the goats like the pellets better. 

Laura do you know when he was last given copper?


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

My boys that are breeding or prebreeding do get grain. They get a medicated grain with AC in it. With Beet Pulp Pellets and Alfalfa Pellets and oats.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

I got the pellets. I mixed some beet pellets and alfalfa pellets for him and he came running over to see his treat, and then acted like I was trying to poison him. After a couple hours i drizzled some molasses on it, and he still turned up his nose (literally!) so i sprinkled a 1/4 cup of sweet feed in and he picked thru and got what he wanted - which was NOT the beet pulp or alfalfa pellets.

In the meantime i offered a handful to the girls and they fought over me to try to get to it. :laugh: 

Stacy, I don't know about when/whether he was given copper before (i could ask) but he got a dose yesterday with the girls. Do you think that could be it?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Copper will help his coat for sure!

my buck Puff Daddy is much thinner then I like my goats to be but its rutt season and its ok. My vet says their bodies are meant to do this and as long as worms or other parasites aren't the issue then he will be ok. 

Leave out the beat pulp and keep mixing it with his grain (like a handful) till he gets use to it.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Yeah, i was thinking the copper would help his coat - I haven't had him long enough to know if his coat is naturally coarser or not, but the girls are all sleek and shiny, so i wasn't in a huge hurry to dose with copper before now, but i wanted to get them all ready for breeding season.


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## Rev144 (Jan 22, 2011)

On the beet pulp, does the bag say NON GMO? Most of the Sugar beet grown around here are GMO.


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## lovin'_my_life (Sep 20, 2011)

Where do you get beet-pulp from? I have heard mention of it, but never really looked into it. There are the two new girls I got who still need to gain weight, they are looking SOOO much better than when I got them, but still need some more padding on them.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

I got mine from Countrymax but TSC had it also (i was going to buy it there but i noticed the chicken feed was more expensive by about a $1 a bag, so i thought maybe everything else was also) Turned out Countrymax price was the same for beet pulp and $0.50 cheaper for alfalfa pellets. But since Countrymax is regional, you may not have it.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I buy it from tractor supply. They have two brands - one is stanley and the other is blue seal = the blue seal is usually cheeper


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Are there any issues with beet pulp pellets swelling up in the gut? I have used the shred but soaked them first, the pellets seem to be more economical and wondered if swelling of the pellet is an issue?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

doesnt seem to be an issue -- mine always eat them dry


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

He's tried them. Getting desperate since he is being picky about the hay (just like the girls) Although today i saw him nibbling at the bits of hay from the girls side poking thru the common wall.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

rutt tends to make them go goofy about feed so as long as he is eating something he will be ok. Give him some probios if he stops eating and some B12 (I have b12 gel I give).


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

He hates the beet pulp pellets and the alfalfa pellets. Even when i put molasses on it. So I am giving him my sunshine plus/sweet feed mix that i was giving the does b/c i am worried that he is getting too skinny. (2-3 cups a day for the past 3 days) I threw a few beet/alfalfa pellets in on the off chance that if i keep offering them he will eventually eat them. I gave him some probios too. Anything else that will put some weight on him? I didn't realize rut was so stressful on bucks.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

What about calf manna? I saw someone was feeding that to kids to put some weight on them, would that help him? What about 'people' food like raisins or something to attract his attention? I am so used to girls gobbling down anything i put in front of them, odd that he prefers the hay over grain and other treats.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

calf manna may help but that is only if he eats it. I wouldn't give him a bunch of people food but a few raisins over his grain to entice him is fine. Have you tried a regular goat pellet or grain mix? Just the beet pulp and alfalfa are bigger so maybe just some grain?


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Yes, i have some Sunshine Plus and sweet feed that i had mixed up for the does, but once i dried them off I wasn't feeding it to them anymore. But he prefers his hay. This morning i gave him 1 1/2 cups of grain, and a small handful each of beet pulp pellets and alfalfa pellets off to the side (so he doesn't have to eat them if he doesn't want to) and then i didn't give him any hay. You should see the look he gave me when i gave the girls their hay and not him :roll: He was trying to stick his tongue thru the bars and reach their hay :laugh: I will give him some hay when he eats the grain (boy, that sounds odd, it's like saying I will give my kid some broccoli when he eats his ice cream)


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

I found this at TSC. Omega-3 Plus for Goats/Sheep. Maybe it will help?

http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/sbsite.php?view_printable_item=y&pid=070KG018

Has anyone else tried it? He doesn't seem to mind the taste, and maybe it will stimulate his appetite. Or should I just give up and put him in with the girls now - would that be better?


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