Skinny buck

[DocM]

I have a 4 yr old buck who has serviced many, many, MANY does this breeding season (lucky guy). He's home and done breeding for the year, but his tongue is still out and he's looking at the ewes with a gleam in his eye...

Fecal was negative, but I wormed him anyway, simply because he's been at 3 different dairies in the last 2 months. He's had plenty of good feed but he's lost a significant amount of weight this season, probably 20 lbs. Overall his health is fine and he's quite happy and spunky - um, maybe a little too spunky. He'd rather do his stupid buck dance slobbering beard shower instead of eat.

I want to get him back into condition, not sure if there's something I should supplement him with or just let the weight come back over time. Hopefully he'll calm down some with breeding season about over, the only does cycling still are my 6-9 month old babies who are going to be dry yearlings. They are 600' from his pen but he can obviously still smell them.

In August he weighed 150 and he's down to 128. I want to get him back up to fighting weight without overloading him. Suggestions? He is getting alfalfa pellets and free choice grass hay, and about a half pound of 12% senior horse dry cob stuff once a day. He doesn't really care for grain mix at all, kind of sniffs it and picks out the senior pellets which I think are a biotin yeast mixture stuff, like horse super gain. I don't want him having too much of that.

[GoldenWood Farm]

DocM I went through the EXACT same thing. My boy lost so much weight he looked anemic or like the walking dead. He just wouldn't eat nothing. All I could and did do was lock him up in a small area where he couldn't pace alot or burn of calories much. Then he got free choice hay along with grain daily and alfalfa pellets. He is doing much better but could have more weight on him. He also was in the barn during this (yes around girls) but he did ok.

I suggest putting him in as small a pen as you feel comfertable doing and just making sure he was real good food and maybe give him special treats that have lots of carbs or something in them. I think the only thing you really can do is wait for him to come out of rut. Thats what everybody told me with my guy. Mine is just turning three and this is the first year he did this. His problem though is he wasn't used except for 2 does and that was hard for him.

MotherClucker

[DocM]

I have him in a three sided horse stall and his only access is a 40' round pen. There's no grass in it or anything. I'm afraid if I lock him up in just the stall he'll try to climb out of it, or tear it apart. He's got a poor little wether in there who scoots around with his tail tucked over his, um, nether regions. I guess I'll just have to wait until he stops thinking with his little brain.

[manygoatsnmore]

Just gonna have to wait it out, I think. Rut should be ending soon, thankfully. I'm looking forward to my guys putting on some weight again, too, and not stinking so much!

[moonspinner]

Sometimes it can be difficult to keep weight on bucks during rut. Mine tend to lose weight over the fall as well. And his being at three different farms and all that breeding - I'm not surprised he's gone light. Maybe now he's back home you'll see him put it back on.

[DocM]

We had a herd of elk come through early this morning. I wish I'd had my camera, as he called and whistled and stomped, looking longingly at those cows......

[KSALguy]

Free Choice Alfalfa hay if you can, other wise dont be too skimpy on the pellets but be carful and work him up to what he can handle,
cut ceder branches or what ever you have still green and let him clean them up, i would be VERY carful with grain but it can help as well when done right, if he has a companion that will probably help him settle down i would think.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

We don't expect our bucks to look anything but rangy this time of year. Winn used up one whole service memo book, while GE only bred 56 does this year Pi our new young buck bred 17 does before he was 9 months old and is now breeding 2 more next month. Yep rangy. GE has always had the ability to keep on more weight, he also doesn't perfume himself like Winn does either, so his hair stays fluffy and blonde

Mine get about 3 pounds of alfalfa pellets each, minerals, all the grass hay they want, 10 acres of woods to eat through and 3 pounds of grain each once a day (it's a goat grain with ammonium chloride in it). Once out of rut because we are appraising them in april, PI about 150 pounds will stay on 3 pounds, but the big boys, over 200 will more up on grain pellets) But do keep them wormed, I don't fecal the boys they are much more likely to have adult blood sucking worms way before you see alot of eggs this time of year...no worm mom worth her salt is going to lay a bunch of eggs this time of year that would be pooped out onto the frozen ground!!! So you normaly see much less eggs in poop this time of year. But do check your goats for anemia...got a FAMACHA chart? Really you don't need one Doc, just look at one, it will give you the idea quickly.

Once the oat hay comes in, in Feburary and the bucks are out of rut, they will gain weight...appraisal here is in April, so they had better gain some weight! Vicki