mama doe not eating

windinthewillow · #1 04/30/07, 12:26 PM

We just got our first does on Sat. The first few days I couldn't give the mama enough food while she was on the milk stand, it seemed as though she would have eaten forever if I let her. I did however do my best to limit her to her "ration" but since I'm a new milker it took me a little longer to get all of her milk out and she would freak out if she ran out of food.

Anyways...this morning when I went to milk her she had absolutely no interst in her grain. I even tried hand feeding her some and she had no interest. She did end up eating a bunch of hay while I milked her. Should I be concerned? Should I give it more time and see how she does at her night milking? What could not eating grain be a sign of? I'm so new to all of this, thanks so much for any advice/reassurance!

fishhead · #2 04/30/07, 12:38 PM

It's hard on their digestion to make sudden changes to the amount or type of food.

What did the previous owners feed her? I would try to find out and stick with that at first then gradually make any changes you want.

Does she have access to baking soda in case she now has an acid stomach? Probiotics?

windinthewillow · #3 04/30/07, 05:01 PM

I am using the same kind of food although it seems she's eating more because it takes me a little while to milk her. She did eat some at dinner. Not nearly as much as before but she did eat some grain. She does seem to be acting fairly okay. I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Sher · #4 04/30/07, 05:12 PM

If it were me...I would give her the same amount of grain that the previous owner gave her. Thats it. If you are slow...give her some hay to chomp on while she's up there.

Good luck!