Goat too skinny?

[Bear Foot Farm]

worm, is very common parasite and one of the most pathogenic nematodes of ruminants. Adult worms are attached to abomasal mucosa and feed on the blood. This parasite is responsible for anemia, bottle jaw, and death of infected sheep and goats, mainly during summer months in warm, humid climates.[1]
Females may lay over 10,000 eggs a day,[2] which are secreted from the host animal via thefeces. After hatching from their eggs, H. contortus larvae molt several times, resulting in an L3 form that is infectious for the animals. They can take up these larvae when eating grass leaves. The L4 larvae, formed after another molt, suck blood in the abomasum of the animal, potentially giving rise to anaemia and oedema, which eventually can lead to death.[3]

 

[OrpObsessed]

Barber Pole Worms are the ones that cause Anemia, and also the most damage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemonchus_contortus

Agreed. I stinking hate barber pole worms!

 

[abbymckinn]

Ok, we wormed her and her buddy! We are going to worm again in 10 days..

 

[20butterflies]

She is thin. The first thing I would do is to pull down the lower eyelid and check the color. It should be a dark pink. If it is a pale pink or white she is anemic and needs worming. Your doe needs grain. I used to feed my goats COB, which was rolled corn, oats and barley. Start slow with the grain. You also need to give the goats shots for enterotoxemia. You can get the vaccine at the feed store or livestock supply. You need clostridium perfingens toxoid. Sometimes you can get it combined with tetanus. You should also keep clostridium perfingens antitoxin and GasX on hand. Goats can get entero even if they are vaccinated and if they do, it is a true emergency. They can also bloat, which is what the GasX is for. Hopefully, you won't need either one, but if you do you don't have time to go to the store to get some in time to save the animal's life.

How often should give them shots for enterotoxemia ? Or is that a one time thing ?Where do you get the feed mix ? Or do you just mix equal amounts of corn oats and barley. I also have some skinny goats .

 

[cassie]

How often should give them shots for enterotoxemia ? Or is that a one time thing ?Where do you get the feed mix ? Or do you just mix equal amounts of corn oats and barley. I also have some skinny goats .

To vaccinate adult goats for entero, you give two shots of CD/T about three weeks or so apart and then a booster each year from then on. I lived in an area where entero was so common and so deadly I gave my baby goats a shot within a day or two after birth and then one every three weeks until they were about four months old.

You ought to be able to find COB at any feed store. It comes wet or dry. Wet has molasses added and dry does not. You can mix your own by combining equal parts of corn oats and barley. Now this mix is only about 9% protein. I got away with that because I fed top quality alfalfa that had a protein level of over 20%. I fed Omaline, a Purina grain mix for horses that goats like, for a while but I was told the copper level was too high for goats. Some of the calf starters work out well too.

If your goats are skinny you need to find out why. Is the hay of poor quality? Are they not getting enough of it? Do they need more grain? Do they have worms or lice?