Trying to put weight on goat

[CarolynRenee]

I have a six year old Saanen doe. She kidded seven weeks ago with triplets and two of them are still nursing (sold one yesterday). She had been losing weight, but I attributed it to her being such a heavy milker.

She's been wormed for specific parasites (had a fecal done on her) and last one came back pretty much clean. She had been getting a 16% goat feed, but right after kidding I also added rice bran and BOSS to her am & pm feedings. I've also started giving her a coffee-can full of alfalfa pellets in addition to the free-choice mixed hay they have.

Anyways, since I've been trying to put weight back on her, I haven't even milked her but twice, thinking the milk should go to the doelings. But since they are going to be weaned soon, should I forgoe milking her at all & still keep up the same grain ration & alfalfa pellets?

I'm assuming that if she's not being milked, the calories from the grain will go to her gaining weight instead of producing milk for me.

I don't mind losing a season of milk if it means she'll put some meat back on her bones.

[Lizza]

Is she usually this way?

Most of mine keep weight on pretty well but one it is really really hard. This last year we had to keep her separate from the others with only her kids with free choice alfalfa and a lot of grain. By show season she was decent and she won grand champion at fair but it was really hard to get her in that condition.

Is she low on the pecking order? Do you think she is being kept away from the free choice hay/alfalfa by the others? This isn't mine's problem, just a thought.

I never have noticed a difference by the way if I milked or not (for this one doe). Locking babies up at night and milking her in the morning should be just fine, you won't be hurting her.

[CarolynRenee]

Well, she did recently lose herd-queen status to her larger daughter. But I feed them their grain separately in the milk stand (even when not milking). She gets pushed around by her daughter now by the hay manger, but I put hay in three different spots now so everyone gets all they want, just maybe not as soon as they'd like.

It's been a gradual weight loss for the past year & a half, but I really noticed it after her last kidding.

[motdaugrnds]

About 5 years ago I had a doe who did not gain well and continued losing. I discovered too late that she had milk fever and I lost her.

Now when I notice a goat not looking as prime as I want, I worm her again (either Cydectin or Ivermec Plus, depending on what she had last), give her a big glob of C.M.P.K. and follow all this with a big glob of Probios Paste. This has worked well for about 6 yrs now.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Tums help, too.