BOSS...shell on or off?

[jill.costello]

I know, I know....you'd think I'd know by now! When you all are talking about adding BOSS to your ration, are you meaning whole-shell or shelled? My goaties have always been in such, uh, good condition <fat!> that I never thought about it. However, my littlest special goat, Coffee, has become alarmingly thin (prominent spine and hip) and I'm trying to develop a ration for her that won't be too rich but will bring her back up to dry-doe normal weight.

Her worm load was normal when we last did counts (4 months ago) and her gums are pink and her attitude good. I just must have completely underestimated how much nutrition and protein they were getting from their Alfalfa mix hay this summer: I switched them over to straight grass & a cup of Caprine Challenger grain mix per goat per day. Well, the other two held their weight just fine, but Coffee has been losing.

Maybe adding Alfalfa pellets? Hard to find around here, everyone stocks huge cubes (hard for Coffee to munch; she's got a pygmy-sized mouth).

She is one that gets clumpy poo when her ration is too rich..... I gotta find a happy medium to build her up before my move.....

[pookshollow]

Shell on - they love it.

[madness]

Can you have fecals done again? I keep hearing about goats going downhill FAST from worms. We also had a goat start to lose weight and couldn't figure it out - fecals clean, eating the same good stuff as everyone else. I found blood sucking lice on her - she was literally infested! Check the legs, that's where they get to first.

And yup, shell on!

[Qvrfullmidwife]

It is obvious that you dont love your goats or you would individually shell each and every seed...



(shell on)

[jill.costello]

You're right, I absolutely detest them. Every morning while I'm meticulously breaking apart 3 lbs of Alfalfa cubes with a hammer into little bite-sized wafers, I think about what other more important things I could be doing like wiping the dust off my baseboards or pulling a wad of hair out of my bathtub drain.

In fact, as I give the little one her morning chest-scratch, I have to use every ounce of will to keep myself from retching at the thought of my perfectly manicured fingernails getting GOAT SCURF under them!

Seriously, I must have a crossed wire or something, because the hours I log just hanging out with the lying, whining, demanding, fussy buggers is a HUGE part of my alloted 24/day!!

[Farm Lady]

jill--how can you milk with perfectly manicured fingernails?

[Freya]

Originally Posted by Farm Lady

jill--how can you milk with perfectly manicured fingernails?

My vote is wrapping them each up in gauze first.

[AuntKitty]

You will have no trouble finding alfalfa pellets in Florida - so that is something to look forward to!

Kitty

[kitty]

Just buy the seeds for wild birds shell on.

[fishhead]

Is it possible she's getting butted away from the feeder?