Reevaluating Boer/Meat Goat Feed - HELP!

[HappyFeetHens]

One of my Boer does is a yearling (born November 2018) and she’s just so small for her age. She’s a normal height, very long body and nicely built, and at fair, we were told she was built very well, with a nice long body and neck, but simple too small. She has no depth, little width, and I just don’t know how to fatten her up. She’s a very active goat, has tons of space and runs around all day, but I feel like there has to be another reason she’s still small. She also has been dewormed so she should not be dealing with an issue like that. She took a long time to get to the normal height of a goat her age but she’s caught up in that arena now. It’s just that she is not keeping on weight.

I feed her about 2 lbs of her grain daily plus free foraging in the woods and shrubbery and access to hay. She’s never been one to eat much hay. Her grain is show feed meat goat grower, it’s steam flaked for easier digestion, and she did initially gain a lot on it, but she’s gotten to a plateau. If I feed more than around 2 lbs, she stops eating it.

We feed our own hay (which is primarily timothy), but I am thinking if I start buying alfalfa pellets (for goats) this may benefit her with the higher fat? It will be more expensive but I think it will be worth it if I can get her to start gaining and filling out. I am getting my show wethers soon as well and I was thinking it would be good to reevaluate our feeding before we get them. So...
Is alfalfa hay (chopped, pelleted, either way) going to be beneficial for my goats? Will it help them fill out?

I attached a picture of the doe in question below. Let me know your thoughts!

 

[cassie]

You may not like what I have to say. She may just be a poor doer and no matter what she is fed or what you do she is simply not going to gain and fill out and thrive the way she should. Bear in mind it costs the same to feed a poor quality animal as it does to feed and care for a good one. Only you can decide whether this animal is worth the time and trouble. Personally, I would be hesitant to keep any of her offspring.

 

[res]

What did you deworm her with? What amount? How long ago? Is she in a herd? Grazing or drylot? Is she fed hay off the ground?

All those questions are aimed at the possibility of her carrying a parasite load.... internal parasites can be a bugger with goats, and reinfection is a HUGE issue.

 

[HappyFeetHens]

Res, I’m honestly not sure what dewormer as my uncle bought it... Parasites might be a possibility. I will deworm again! She is due to be dewormed soon anyway. She does graze. Thanks so much!

Cassie, it is definitely possible she’s just not a great doe. I understand that. But she does come from good genetics and their lines consistently produce both good wethers and good does, so I’m just not sure what happened... I know she’s not incredible, but I do want to do my best to bring her to better condition if it’s possible. She has the right structure for a nice wether dam but she’s not big enough for me to feel comfortable enough to breed her, plus she grew very slowly so I don’t know I’ll ever breed her. However, our county had an awful winter into spring last year that caused a lot of problems with county goats — lots of dead kids and does, struggling kids, all the issues, so I do wonder if this has affected her. I just am hoping I can get her to fill out if it’s at all possible!! Thank you!

 

[cassie]

I said doer, not doe. That said, I didn't ask if you had had a fecal done to determine parasite load and I should have. Just because she was wormed it does not mean the wormer was effective. Parasites develop an immunity to wormers, and a wormer that was very effective last year may not work this year.

Goats are far more susceptible to worms than sheep are, and worms can be devastating, even fatal. One thing you can do right now that may give you a clue as to whether worms are a problem is to pull down the lower eyelid and check the color. It should be a dark bright pink. If it is pale pink or white, the goat is anemic. Several things can cause anemia, but parasites are by far the most common. Check for lice, too. They are hard to see but they can pull a goat down. Oddly enough, sometimes you can have one animal in a herd that is crawling with lice while the others are relatively unaffected.

If the doe was damaged in some way by environmental issues, that would not affect her genetics. You might breed her and see what happens. Either the kids will be satisfactory or they won't, but at least you will know.

 

[HappyFeetHens]

Thanks! I’m going to have a fecal done ASAP and see if my vet has a recommendation for a wormer if the fecal shows it wasn’t very effective. I’ll also check her again for lice. Thanks again for the help!