new doeling ~ VERY picky eater

[mtnmenagerie]

hi everybody, i'm new to the group. actually been lurking for a couple of months, and SO glad that i'm finally able to post!
i need your help/advice on a 3-4 month old Saanen doeling i purchased a week and a half ago. she was very thin when we got her.the owner said that she had been weaned several weeks already and was still "adjusting".
we got her home, she wouldn't TOUCH our regular goat feed. we went right out and bought what we were told she had been eating... no luck. i have literally bought 6 diff. kinds of feed. and the only thing she takes a few nibbles of is the oats that i pick out of horses sweet feed mix. she does eat SOME fresh greens, but not hay. she loves fruit though? i give her small snacks of fresh fruit and raisons. she has had two doses of panacur. loose minerals and soda available. also has been given B comp shots.
oh, and her horns... they are very "papery" with seperation and large cracks in them... is that from under-nourishment as a baby??
sorry this is long, but i just want everyone to understand the situation.
what do you suggest i do??? i thought she would settle in by now, but i'm getting very worried. is it unheard of to try and bottle feed her? lol... i don't know, i've never had a situation like this.
all advice will be greatly appreciated.

[mamajohnson]

I have a Saanen cross doe, and her horns look a lot like your girls. I just figured that is the way they look. I have had her about 2 months now, and her horns do seem to be getting sturdier, less papery looking. They have more like ridges than cracks in them.
As far as skinny, hard to tell from your pics, and I am not an expert, at all!
maybe someone else will chime in, but my first thoughts are worming, and seeing if she has normal poo, looks like you have green stuff for her to eat, so maybe she just doesnt want grain type stuff?
Like I said, I am NOT an expert, maybe someone else will jump in here...
Glad you joined us. Lots to learn around here!

[mtnmenagerie]

lol... sorry, this pics were just intended for cuteness purposes.
her poo is normal (although, today is does seem to be sticking together a little?)
thank you for your reply, it makes me feel better hearing about your goats horns. this is my first saanen, so...

i'll get a better pic of her up tomorrow.

[mamajohnson]

Well, she is extremely cute! I only have the one saanen, and have decided I just love them!
clumpy poo could mean worms.. probably should worm her just in case.

[BlueHeronFarm]

Are you OFFERING hay and she's not eating it? Or are you not feeding it (sorry...couldn't quite tell)

I would think eventually she will eat if she gets hungry enough.

The only two other things I would suggestt would be alfalfa pellets (our babies love them) and BOSS - no goat can resist BOSS.

She's a cutie.

[mtnmenagerie]

offering all the hay she could eat... she practicly RUNS the other direction. and she won't won't touch alfalfa in any form, neither dry nor soaked
and about the BOSS, i just knew that she would go head over heals for it.... she takes ONE seed in her mouth, then immediately spit it back at me.
it makes me so sad to see her so skinny. thank you for your help. i'm absolutely in love with her already. if every saanen is as sweet as her, i'll end up with a hundred of them!

[mygoat]

Odd that she doesn't like it... Especially the BOSS which would get her horns back in good condition. If she's still new and scared, most likely she's too nervous to eat. Is she your only goat? I reccomend getting another soon here so that she has a buddy, which will calm her down. Prefferably an older, weaned kid that is willing to eat so that it will eat the food and she'll grow curious

[YodelDogs]

Sometimes if an animal's mouth hurts they behave the way you describe. Have you checked to make sure that she has no dental problems or mouth abrasions?

[mtnmenagerie]

we have two other goats. a mama and her 1 month old baby. i feed them seperately, each one tied. they get along well. (especially her and the baby)
her mouth is something i haven't thought about... i'll check that.
thanks ya'll.

[Sweet Goats]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.
All my goats have horns and at the begining for about 6-9 months the hors always to be like you said. They even feel a little "soft", but I believe that is just the way they are until they grow up. As for eating how about a Vit B12 shot? that will stimulate her appatite. Have you given her any Probiotic, or Nutra Drench? Try that. I had a freined that raises Boar goats, and they bought this one and he lost 17 pounds from when they bought him, I told them to try the Probiotic, just to humer me (they said it would not help). Well they did it for three days and he started eating really well, and he has gained his weight back plus 4 pounds. That might not sound like much but it is huge being he lost so much. Good Luck