Ladibird0305
Hatching
- Jun 16, 2016
- 1
- 0
- 6
My vet told me to cut out the alfalfa hay and feed 50/50 alfalfa pellets and a goat feed with a urinary acidifier. We don't have a lot of choices where I am, so they get purina noble goat feed (what our local feed supplier has available). She said use a grass hay. We have bermuda hay available, but the goats won't eat it. They just play with it and make a mess. Their pasture dries up about May, so they won't have any natural brows until late winter and spring. We are goat novices, and have 3 nubian goats..about 6 months old, 2 females and a buck. We also have a 4 month old nigeria dwarf goat.
I am concerned that the goats are not getting enough to eat. We give them a 3 quart scoop of alfalfa and 1 1/2 (3) quart scoop of the purina goat feed. I also sprinkle loose minerals and baking soda onto the feed as a topper (I left it free choice in the pen and they kept spilling it). Since they won't eat the bermuda grass, my husband cut the grass from the pasture (it is a mix and has wheat) and put it in a wheelbarrel for them in their pen. Again, they play with it and eat very little. They will however, eat oat hay and alfalfa until their hearts are content. They eat all the pellet feed immediately after I put it out, then gorge themselves on the hay, but sit at the fence and call to me the rest of the day like they are starving. I know goats are greedy, but the male seems to be the only one putting on weight. The females still seem small for their age.
The little goat gets fed outside of the pen, as he is very people friendy and the big goats don't let him near the food. He gets a bowl with alfalfa pellets, and purina goat feed. We let him out at least twice a day, sometimes a third, and he is allowed to eat all the pellets he wants. He prefers the goat feed and always eats that first before going after the alfalfa pellets. He does not prefer any hay except alfalfa, which we give him very little, but he browses on the property for leaves and grasses. I thought he was a healthy weight, but the vet says he looks a little thin. Yeah...more issues. I also give him baking soda and loose minerals.
To boot, the little goat is being treated for his 2nd bout with penumonia and the big goats have had a dry, persistant cough for 2 months that my vet does not seem to be concerned about. The little goat has gotten nuflor x2 doses, and we have had to start a second round. It kicked it for about 2 weeks, then the fever and cough came back, and the big goats have gotten no antibiotics, as the vet said to not give them unless he had a fever or when off feed, which they never had. I'm at a loss. Are they hungary, or greedy? What can I given them that they will eat besides the alfalfa? Why is the little goat consistently sick, and should I treat the big goats as well. So frustrating...every website gives us a different story and the vet is fixated on not giving antibiotics. We do not have a wet environment, so lung worms are unlikely, so I've been told. They have all been dewormed twice and had the CDT vaccine.
I am concerned that the goats are not getting enough to eat. We give them a 3 quart scoop of alfalfa and 1 1/2 (3) quart scoop of the purina goat feed. I also sprinkle loose minerals and baking soda onto the feed as a topper (I left it free choice in the pen and they kept spilling it). Since they won't eat the bermuda grass, my husband cut the grass from the pasture (it is a mix and has wheat) and put it in a wheelbarrel for them in their pen. Again, they play with it and eat very little. They will however, eat oat hay and alfalfa until their hearts are content. They eat all the pellet feed immediately after I put it out, then gorge themselves on the hay, but sit at the fence and call to me the rest of the day like they are starving. I know goats are greedy, but the male seems to be the only one putting on weight. The females still seem small for their age.
The little goat gets fed outside of the pen, as he is very people friendy and the big goats don't let him near the food. He gets a bowl with alfalfa pellets, and purina goat feed. We let him out at least twice a day, sometimes a third, and he is allowed to eat all the pellets he wants. He prefers the goat feed and always eats that first before going after the alfalfa pellets. He does not prefer any hay except alfalfa, which we give him very little, but he browses on the property for leaves and grasses. I thought he was a healthy weight, but the vet says he looks a little thin. Yeah...more issues. I also give him baking soda and loose minerals.
To boot, the little goat is being treated for his 2nd bout with penumonia and the big goats have had a dry, persistant cough for 2 months that my vet does not seem to be concerned about. The little goat has gotten nuflor x2 doses, and we have had to start a second round. It kicked it for about 2 weeks, then the fever and cough came back, and the big goats have gotten no antibiotics, as the vet said to not give them unless he had a fever or when off feed, which they never had. I'm at a loss. Are they hungary, or greedy? What can I given them that they will eat besides the alfalfa? Why is the little goat consistently sick, and should I treat the big goats as well. So frustrating...every website gives us a different story and the vet is fixated on not giving antibiotics. We do not have a wet environment, so lung worms are unlikely, so I've been told. They have all been dewormed twice and had the CDT vaccine.
