Hay belly, good or bad?

[dragonchick]

I have a small doe who will be 1 year old on the 5th of January. Supposedly she is a Saanen x Boer but looks more like a Saanen x pigmy. She always has a HUGE belly that does not go down. She eats/drinks/pees/poos/chews cud normally. Temp is 101.7 and its cold out there. Fluffy soft coat and normal looking feet that don't get overgrown very fast since copper bolus a month ago. Had the big belly before that. I have pictures if you need them.

Shes NOT bloated even though she looks it.

She has NOT had a bout with cocci,

Doesn't have a worm overload,

She could be pregnant but its doubtful,

She acts totally normal for a goat. She just has a HUGE belly on BOTH sides.

Do I need to be looking at other causes or is this totally normal and a good thing?

[beccachow]

If she IS pygmy, they are great for looking bloated when they aren't.

[dragonchick]

This is a picture from a couple weeka ago. I will get a current one in the morning.

[spiritrider]

A normally and well developed rumen should look rounded. I'd be concerned if she was thin.

[pookshollow]

That's the Boer in her. Some of them look like they've swallowed two watermelons.

[wintrrwolf]

Dang she looks worse than my buck did last night! Difference I think is I knew what he looked like normally so put out the baking soda. But if you have had her for awhile and thats what she has always looked like then it must be the Boer in her ...? My Saanen and pygmy doe's don't look that swollen either.

[dragonchick]

Originally Posted by pookshollow

That's the Boer in her. Some of them look like they've swallowed two watermelons.

That's actually a great description of what she looks like. When I went out to do the last check of the night it looked like someone aired her up.

[garyh141]

If she has any rumen issues, she will eat the baking soda on her own. My goats (nigerians) look like that but they are pregnant and the right side is as big as the left at times. IF she is bred, sometimes the babies push the rumen out more to the left and as they grow, then the right side expands to look like the left. At least it does with mine.
Sandra

[dragonchick]

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

Dang she looks worse than my buck did last night! Difference I think is I knew what he looked like normally so put out the baking soda. But if you have had her for awhile and thats what she has always looked like then it must be the Boer in her ...? My Saanen and pygmy doe's don't look that swollen either.

Sometimes she is biger than this. She doesn't get grain and shes not fat. I guess the hay we get is just really good.

[dragonchick]

Originally Posted by garyh141

If she has any rumen issues, she will eat the baking soda on her own. My goats (nigerians) look like that but they are pregnant and the right side is as big as the left at times. IF she is bred, sometimes the babies push the rumen out more to the left and as they grow, then the right side expands to look like the left. At least it does with mine.
Sandra

She has baking soda if she wants it. The first time she looked like this I was stuffing BS balls down her throat. Didn't make a bit of difference and shes never had any issues with it. Its just normal for her.

[pookshollow]

She looks normal to me. Her belly will go up and down as she competes in the "rumen-stuffing contest". If she gets really huge, and feels tight as a drum - then you worry.

[Beulah Gardens]

That's the Boer in her.

[beccachow]

I don't know, my pygmy wether looks like he has two bowling balls in there!

[jil101ca]

My Suzie is 75% Boer and is just about as wide as she is long,

[Beulah Gardens]

This should make you feel better. LOL! she is prego but looks about the same when she is not.:baby04:

[dragonchick]

Ummm yup, that does make me feel better. Here I thought Dancer was HUGE, she's got nothin on your girl.

[Briza]

This is just my opinion but I adore a huge belly and high rumen.
It says to me the goat has good gut capacity- probably no cocci scarring on intestine and was well fed as a kid to flex ribs and expand all parts of the many chambered stomachs. Their system is evolved to work off of huge amts of bulk and the more they can pack in the more they can get out of it! Love them big bellies. Not fat ya know- just full of good stuff cookin. We have dairy goats but I don't mind the boer watermelon look at night cuz in the morning the milk bucket will be overflowing.
B~

[Tracy in Idaho]

LOL, she looks just fine to me!

[dragonchick]

Oh yeah she got lots of good foods when she was a baby. Shes actually a bottle baby we got at 3 days. She had hay and developer pellets in front of her from the beginning. We cut out the pellets a couple months ago as she seems like she was getting too fat. She now gets plain alfalfa pellets and hay. She can really pack the hay in though. Shes real healthy but I wish she would have taken after the Saanen instead of the Boer in her growth. Shes short and squatty instead of tall and sleek.

[kitty]

She looks like she's fine to me -- just nice body depth.