# Ignorantly overfed



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

Hey y'all. We have a 16 month old Nubian doe who is pregnant. We don't even know how pregnant. I'm reading the posts about how much grain other goat farmers are feeding and I'm realizing we have been over feeding Cookie, A LOT!!!! My worry now is that she will have trouble kidding because we fed her so much grain and the babies will be huge. This is her first pregnancy. Help this ignorant farmer out. What do I do now?? Is there any way to right the wrong?


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Stop feeding her grain and just feed her hay and minerals.


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

I would just reduce the grain until she isnt getting but a handful or so. I wouldnt do it cold turkey it could be a shock to her system.
Say she's getting 6 c am & PM. Cut it to 5 for few days, then 4 etc. Give her time to adjust.


----------



## ogfabby (Jan 3, 2013)

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. I know there are opposing views on feeding during pregnancy. I always grain my does while pregnant and have never had to pull an oversized kid (I say this while knocking on wood  How much are you saying is too much. My concern would be an overweight doe rather than oversized kids.


----------



## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

depends on how much you have been feeding her. Nubians are full size, I have nigerians which are minis so you would feed your full size more then I would my mini


----------



## TrinityRanch (Mar 26, 2013)

It says that you should feed a pregnant/nursing/milking dairy doe 5 LBS of grain each day on top of normal food. We don't feed that much, but it obviously works for those people. I don't think the kids will get way oversized, just make sure the doe doesn't bloat or anything.


----------



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

Ogfabby, we are feeding her aprox 6 cups in the morning and 2-3 cups in the evening. It's 16% protein mixed with 12% sweet feed. She grazes on grass all day and we walk her every several days for bushes an leaves. Thanks for the encouragement everyone. This is our first rodeo!


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with just cutting back some..the last 2 months is big growing times for babies so she needs the carbohydrates, but not a ton..Make sure she has loose minerals and baking soda the important thing here is making sure she has plenty of roughage, browse, hay and/or alfalfa ..once she kids you can increase her grain slowly to what she need to maintain condition and feed her babies...I like your idea of walks... activity is important.. especially in the late stage....I would also read up on pregnancy toxemia/ ketosis..and have what you need on hand as a "just in case"..best to be prepared : )


----------



## ogfabby (Jan 3, 2013)

What is her condition? Can you post pics? It doesn't sound too excessive. If she isn't becoming overweight, I would let her be. I would feed more of the pellets and less of the grain. IMHO.


----------



## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

what are the protein pellets? 

when I had standard goats the max amount of grain per feeding I gave was 4 cups so I would cut her back some in her last month of pregnancy to like 3 cups a feeding and then move up to more depending how much she is milking. Some do give up to 6 cups a feeding if they are high producers.


----------



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

This is cookie. When I say grain, I am referring to bagged goat feed pellets bought from the store. Is that not the same thing as "grain"?


----------



## ogfabby (Jan 3, 2013)

I refer to grain as the mixed sweet grain. I think she looks great on the amount you are feeding!


----------



## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

yup thats grain  its just in pellet form


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

she looks fine....not too fat at all : ) very pretty girl and nice udder : )


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Oh she's not fat at all in fact she looks good!
If you're really concerned about kids getting too big you can slowly cut grain in half the last 3 weeks then after kidding slowly up it again.


----------



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

Well that's great to hear! Thank you everyone. About the baking soda and loose minerals, do I just get regular old baking soda and dump it in a bucket? How much should I make available to her? Does my buck also need this? They have a mineral block to lick. Is that sufficient?


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Yes..you just buy regular baking soda and put it in a feeder free choice...Loose minerals are better and have less salt..the goat tongue is very soft...those hard blocks are hard on them. plus they get too much salt before they get enough minerals...Yes your bucks need this too : )


----------



## kimbuffet (Apr 18, 2013)

*did the same thing*

Hi,
I am also new to the goat thing. We bought 2 nubian doe bottle babies 2 years ago in the spring. We thought they would be pets. My daughter showed them at the fair last year as non-milking does and decided she wanted to breed them. We bought a buck and bred them. My husband overfeeds all our animals and our goat girls are big. The first one kidded three weeks ago. She had triplets-two over 9 lbs and 1 over 7 lbs. The first one delivered no problem and was walking around when we got home. The doe then stalled. We thought she was done. She ate, drank, slept and nursed the baby. 6 hours later she went back into labor and was struggling. I had to reposition and pull the last two. The last baby did not make it, it was presenting sideways. We now have 2 large, healthy babies and another doe to kid. I am hoping to be around to help the second one, but predicting when is hard. The first one kidded on March 13 but according to calculations should have kidded on March 6.


----------



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

Awwww kimbuffet, so sorry to hear you lost a kid. I know that must have been heartbreaking. I know what you mean about hoping to be around for the next kidding. We don't even have a round about due date. We were keeping the male and female together since we only have the two. But when Cookie appeared to be pregnant we fenced off more acreage and separated them. So we have no idea when they mated. Good luck with the next kidding!! I'll keep everyone posted when Cookie kids.


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

kimbuffet..those are some large kids for triplets...I understand about over feeding...I have to remind myself often they are dairy goats..need to see a bit of hip lol..Im more comfortable see fat butts...keep a close eye on your other doe ..she may need your help...good job on the first doe


----------



## kimbuffet (Apr 18, 2013)

Thanks Cathy,
My two babies are doing great. I am trying to be around for the other delivery, but the doe was bred sometime between end of September and January! Do does have false labor contractions? This doe has acted like she was in labor 3 times and nothing happened.






This is my other doe and her 9 lb 4 oz Lucky on his birthday.


----------



## kimbuffet (Apr 18, 2013)

My daughter with our two babies Lucky and Leia


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

awe they are adorable!..Does do like to keep us guessing...best way to know when time is near is to watch the ligs, babies to drop low.rear will be baggy and swollen..watch her udder for it to be filled tight and teats strutted....false labor could be more like pre labor..kind of getting the babies in place.....


----------



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

Boy do I have a story to tell!!! I left the house this morning for a run at just a few minutes before 8. Cookie was showing absolutely no signs of labor. When I got back at about 9:40, I looked over in the goat yard to check on her and thought a small dog had found its way into her pen. Nope. That stinker had her kid on her own while I was away! Must have been just fine on size. She had a single male. Now for the job of naming him.... You can throw out a few suggestions if u wish. Mom's name is Cookie Belle and dad is Uncle Jesse.


----------



## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

We officially named him Peanut Buster Parfait. We will cAll him Buster.


----------



## StarMFarm (Jan 17, 2013)

:fireworks: Yay, I'm glad she didn't have any problems. What a sweet little guy you got there...and what a cute name too


----------

