doe just freshened, doesn't eat grain

[billooo2]

I bought a 5 year old bred doe. She freshened about a week ago. I give her grain on the milk stand. She eats only a couple bites, and that is all. She gets good alfalfa hay. She has been consuming a lot of mineral salt. This morning I gave her some probiotic, and I offered her some baking soda. She ate a couple handfuls of the baking soda. I wormed her with Ivermectrin after she kidded.

She had a single buck kid. She did not freshen with much milk, but it is slowly increasing.

I am concerned that if she doesn't consume enough grain, her milk production will not increase like it should, and she will lose condition.

Any suggestions???

[Milking Mom]

Her calcium could be low. You can get the CMPK paste in a tube and give to her (which kind of burns the back of the throat and/or lips it is a little caustic) give her about half a large tube the first day then about 1/4 of a large tube each day for the next 5 days or you can get some injectable CMPK (Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium) from the vet. It is like $8.00 for 1000 ml bottle. You give 30 cc sub q injected under the skin right behind the last rib every day for 5 days. Just put her on the milk stand and give her the injection while she is restrained there. Do not be concerned if it seems to pool under the skin at the lower edge of her abdomen. By the next day it will have been all absorbed. Injecting it is a LOT easier than trying to force the tube stuff down her. They also make a liquid CMPK that you can get at the feed store, but it is oil based and if she aspirates it while you are trying to force that down her and breathes it in you could give her pneumonia. I like the injectable best. Also give her 2cc shot of Vitamin B or Vitamin B Complex to help stimulate her appetite. Give her a dose of Probios you can get at the feed store. This will help regulate her rumen. Also you will need to give her some propolyne glycol about 10 ccs orally twice a day for 5 days. If you have the goat nutridrench just give that to her every day (it has lots of prop. glycol in it). Make sure you clean and empty her water bucket daily and keep fresh water out for her. You can even put a little Molasses in her water to encourage her to drink more. It will take about 7-10 days for improvement. Let us know how she does.

[mpillow]

I have a Toggy/Alpine that freshens with twins on just really good hay....I leave her loose and she eats and eats and eats! She is a super forager. By the time I do start milking her around 3 months after kidding she is right at a gallon. She hogs on the grain and guess what? her production drops off but she does not like being milked without food in front of her. I have her back to hay and pasture by the end of Oct. She is also the one in the mineral salts all the time....she is due anytime now at 9yo. Still the queen of mean.