# Trying to get weight on the new girls



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

My kids got 2 new doelings for 4-H a few weeks ago. They looked great when we picked them out, but were skinny when we picked them up but they also weren't raised for showing, and I won't knock the breeder she's trying her best 
, so she has to do it pretty much on her own.

So anyway, the smaller one was lice infested. We are working on getting it under control, since it spread through the herd... :hair: 
We also wormed yesterday with Cydectin and will repeat in 10 days.
These two new doelings were wormed right before we loaded them up to bring them home.

We are feeding a 16% medicated pelleted feed, and we creep feed all the doelings, I make sure they always have feed available day/night. And these two seem to eat pretty well, and also have hay. They are learning how to graze/browse with the others a little bit.

Any idea what I can do to get healthy weight on them to get them filled out? I have been mixing in some animax <generic to calf manna that I can buy by the lb.>, and think I"ll pick up some beet pulp today.

How much beet pulp should I add?

I really think these does will be nice if we can get some width to them.
They were born at the end of Dec and are 55 & 60lbs, so they need the weight.

Would it hurt to add a little corn oil?

They don't like BOSS.

I don't want to add a bunch of other stuff and worry about it upsetting their stomachs. I do think they will like beet pulp, all of the goats we've had have loved it, and they love the animax.


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## Goat Lover 98 (Mar 25, 2012)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

I'd do 2 cups per day if it's dry, or 4 cups if you soak it, give or take. They tend to eat it faster if it's soaked. And no, I don't think it would hurt to give them corn oil. I've had great success using Permethrin to get rid of lice. I always shave the goat first, then it can get down to the skin, plus the direct sunlight will kill the lice. Be sure to check for anemia regularly, it can be dangerous if it goes untreated.

What breed are they?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

Thanks again Emily! I'll do that, I'll see if they like it dried first, if not then I'll soak it. 
I have been planning to shave them today, so I'll do that, they have very thick, long coats. Once I get them shaved I plan on spraying them down again.

These two are fullblood boers.


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## Goat Lover 98 (Mar 25, 2012)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

I'm glad to help, hope it all works out well! :hug:


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## BareCreekFarm (Nov 20, 2011)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

My goats like dry beet pulp, when I fed it to them soaked they did not eat it. It will spoil in just a few hours if it is hot outside. My new does were invested with lice when we got them too :shocked: Luckily they were isolated from the herd and nobody else got it! To get rid of the lice I shaved them down, and then treated them with Cylence, sp?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

Thanks both of you  Sadly, even if we kept them away from everyone, I'm sure they'd still get it because they were sleeping in the barn. It seems that the only ones that I've seen them on are our pregnant doe, our buck, and these 2 new girls.

We got one of the girls clipped today, had to start by cutting her hair shorter with scissors, her hair was at least 4" long! She looks like a totally different goat, but sooo skinny 
The other we cut her hair down with scissors, I'll clip her tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll get the beet pulp and more animax, and hopefully it will help. I remember when I soaked some beet pulp in water and removed it they wouldn't touch it, and weren't interested in the water either, so I'll definitely try it dry first. I did add a little corn oil to some grain tonight and they ate nearly all of that. 
Fingers crossed!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

Well...they hate the beet pulp LOL But I'll keep pushing it. Hopefully they start eating it. I think when I feed it, I'll just put a little down with some feed/animax mixed in, and once they finish it off I'll give them feed. They ate some but not as much as I hoped.


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## Goat Lover 98 (Mar 25, 2012)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

Yeah, mine couldn't stand the beet pulp at first either, but they love it now!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

Thanks Emily! Hopefully these brats will take to it as well  So far they are still picking through their grain to avoid eating it, but I'll keep adding it, whatever they don't eat, I just give to the mama's so they get 'fresh' stuff..mama's don't care they love it even if it's been picked over lol


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

Well they aren't eating the beet pulp as well as I had hoped. But the two newer does love animax, so I am giving them about 2 1/2 cups a day between the two on top of however much grain they want to consume.

problem we are having is getting them to fill out over the loin area. It's frustrating! They eat very well, eat hay, and still look sunk in. I need to get pictures. The older one hasn't fully grown into her skin <LOL>. I am seeing a bit of progress, but not as much as I had hoped. We did worm them with Cydectin last week, and plan to worm again at the end of this week<they were treated for cocci before we got them - she treated all of her kids on a routine basis>.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: Need to get weight on the new doelings FAST*

I'm really frustrated....
The two girls we bought have grain available 24/7, plus hay in their stall at night <clover mix>, and they graze/browse with the others during the day, plus about 2 1/2-3 cups of animax a day.
But we can not get them to gain around the midsection, they still look sunken in! :hair: 
They were wormed on May 7th with Cydectin and we wormed again today as we just didn't have time to do it sooner.
So that should have any issues there taken care of.

I think instead of tossing $$ away on additives they may not eat besides animax, I'll try to pick up some alfalfa hay next week. Hoping and praying that might help give them a round look? They just don't look round.

One of the other 3 doelings could use some roundness, she was what I call a late bloomer with eating, she didn't start eating grain until she was about 2 months old and she just turned 3 months. She long bodied and hasn't gotten width to her yet, I know she'll pick up. She could use some extra I think, BUT I have to keep extra away from her twin because she's a chunk lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Have you checked them for dehydration.... 


All of the advice given was good...have you tried a little bit of molasses ..to get them started on it?


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

It is expensive to treat a lot of goats but giving raw unsalted pumpkin seeds plumps them up quite fast. It also has copper in it. You have to start off small though as this is such a rich food. I get mine at the grocery store food bins and give about 1/4 cup a day for a couple of weeks. Supposedly it is supposed to be good to keep worms from getting out of hand and some say it kills worms. I am reluctant to reccomend it for a d-wormer but it sure is good for nutrition.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Pam and Merry! I don't think dehydration is an issue, Star drinks a lot of water, and usually SP follows her to the water buckets. 

Thanks for the suggestion of pumpkin seeds, I'll see if I can find some tomorrow when I do my grocery shopping.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Candice, you say your feed is medicated. Does it have Rumensin in it?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Tenacross said:


> Candice, you say your feed is medicated. Does it have Rumensin in it?


We were using a sweet feed with Rumensin, but a month ago we switched to a better pelleted feed with Decoquinate. 
The two girls were treated on a routine for Cocci before we got them, since the owner had a large herd, she treated everyone whether they needed it or not <she also gives 3 cd/t shots in stead of just 2>.

The last few nights I have been offering them a few handfuls of alfalfa but we don't have much and I can't get more until next weekend.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Coni Ross on The Boer Goat on yahoo groups *swears* that rumensin
is better than decox. She says she even tested the theory with a one
year run with the decoquinate. She says her kids were 10lbs heavier
at weaning with the rumensin. It's not just about the coccidia. It helps
them grow better. I believe her. Just trying to help. I'm really just
a newbie still.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Tenacross I appreciate it  I wish we could have stayed with the rumensin, but the feed store we now buy from doesn't use it in their goat feed. The feed store we were buying the sweet feed from was 45 minutes away, and we now drive 20 minutes at most. The other reason we switched is because they were picking through the sweet feed and wasting a lot, plus our buck seemed to always get sick on it. Since we got him adjusted to the pellets he doesn't fuss, he eats every bite, and we haven't had any issues with waste.


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## cowgirl1 (Jun 3, 2015)

What is animax?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Calf Manna


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Cowgirl - it's very similar to calf manna, but I believe it has a little more in it, I was told it's better for them, and it might also be a little cheaper than calf manna. We used to use it, and buy it buy the pound at our local feed store.


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