Too fat?

Forest Breath · #1 05/17/10, 09:02 AM

As you all know by now, I am new to goats. I have two kids, one Alpine mix and one LaMancha. They are about 3 1/2 months old. One male, one female.

They seem "Fat" to me. I have no clue how fat a goat is supposed to be. When I put them back in the pen in the late evening, their bellies are pooched out and they are fat.

We put the goats out of a morning in a movable fenced area about 16x16 feet. It is always LOTS of fresh grass, honeysuckle, blackberries and such. They have a shelter in the fenced area with plenty of shade and a large bucket of fresh water. I am not sure what I expected them to do, but they eat...all day. Sometimes I catch them laying in the shade but they mostly just eat.

Of an evening I will give them about a cup or a bit more of goat feed and a few alfalfa pellets, fresh water and they have their minerals in the pen as well.

Of a morning their bellies don't pooch out so much but they sure ain't skinny.

Am I feeding them too much?

Should they have little poochy bellies?

rootsandwings · #2 05/17/10, 09:22 AM

the "poochy belly" is the rumen - when it is full it sticks way out. overnight they chew and digest the food and it goes down. check elbows, tail heads, and chests for excess fat. you can tape measure your goats for weight (Fias Co farm has a chart)

shiandpete.1 · #3 05/17/10, 09:24 AM

That "poochy" belly you are seeing is their rumen. It is good to have. A goat puts on fat on the inside of the body cavity first and the pits day on the outside of the body. If you have a goat with fat around the tail head, in the brisket etc then your goat is obese.

*posted at the same time as r&w...lol*

Forest Breath · #4 05/17/10, 09:30 AM

Oh thank the gods I am not making my goats obese!

The legs and all other areas of the body are what I think to be normal. It is just those huge bellies that had me so confused. I looked at Chris the other day when I was putting Mr. Goatsie S. Tumnus in the barn and said "I think we have a Prader Willi goat.". Then Narcie Bell had a pooched out tummy and I was afraid I was making them way too fat. I cut back on the dried apple slices for treats and even the marshmallow I give them once a week.

I am learning as I go and appreciate your responses so much.

Thanks

Cyndi

jill.costello · #5 05/17/10, 10:06 AM

I am going to post a picture of my beloved Coffee, when she was FAT FAT FAT. I will then post a picture of her cousin, Cayenne, who was/is "very healthy" <grin>. The blubber I am pinching in the picture of Coffee is FAT; the "boobs" on her chest were FAT. I was an over-indulgent mommy and her genetics didn't help (she was a dwarf with a heart condition). Cayenne, the gray one, is a "normal" goat"......You can really see the difference behind their elbows: Coffee has rolls of blubber behind her elbow, but Cayenne you can see the full definition of her front leg.

Too fat? - Goats

PLEASE, nobody use these pics as examples of good conformations or anything other than fat vs. not-so-fat! My goats are mutts-y (well, Cayenne is a high % Alpine but not anything highly bred, etc)

Jay27 · #6 05/17/10, 10:34 AM

If you think a goat might be fat, it probably is

You should be able to see the point of the hip and feel ribs (but not see ribs).

Forest Breath · #7 05/17/10, 12:01 PM

Legs, around legs, neck, hips, face, etc. are all totally normal. It is just the big belly and only that big belly after they have been grazing all day, when I put them in the pen at night. I can still feel the ends of their ribs, except for that fat belly part. I looked up pictures after reading this thread and what it looks like is the goats with the pictures of the rumen. I feel better now.

jill.costello I love your goats and think they are adorable. LOL No offense, but my goats look more like your Cayenne. I cannot pinch any fat anywhere else on the body and really not even the belly because it is so poochy when I lead them to the barn.

Thanks so much everyone

I am so very thankful for the goat forums! I have learned so much from you guys.

Cheribelle · #8 05/17/10, 01:41 PM

HAHAHA My sister usually comes in the evening, and my Gidget is HUGE around the belly. Looks like pg with quads, every evening.
One morning, Sis came by, and asked "Where's the other half of that goat?"

hahaha she digested it last night........

sunshinytraci · #9 05/17/10, 02:56 PM

Here are a couple of informative websites on body condition scoring for your goats so you can determine whether they are too thin or too fat:

http://www.luresext.edu/goats/research/bcshowto.html

http://www.smallstock.info/tools/condscor/cs-goat.htm

Hope you find these as helpful as I did.