New buckling

Moody

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i have a Nubian buckling that I got about a month ago. He was smaller than my Nubian/alpine doeling that is three days older. But now I see that my lamancha/alpine doeling is bigger than he is and she is 6 weeks younger. He seems otherwise healthy. Stools are berries. He is active. Has been accepted into the small herd I have but his size is starting to bother me.

I know cocci can cause this but his stools are fine. I haven't wormed him yet but plan on it today. I never weighed my doeling a. I could se them getting bigger practically daily. He, however has a smaller head, face and is just tiny.
 

Moody

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image.jpg


This is flash next to my same aged doeling a month ago.
 

babsbag

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I am not trying to scare you, but was the herd he came from checked for G-6-S; it can cause them to be be smaller or stop growing.
 

Moody

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No. The herd wasn't checked. I believe the sire and Dam were both on site and seemed fine. He is a twin and his mother was thin. I figured that was the cause when I got him at 3 months old. Being a twin (my doelings are both single births) and his momma was thin and maybe not making enough milk for him to thrive. I tried to give him milk from a bowl the first night I had him but he refused.

I still am afraid to do testing myself. Finding the jugular and drawing blood seems daunting.

I know g6s is a genetic issue to check specifically in Nubians. I will definitely look into it and I need to find someone locally who can come show me the blood draws.
 

frustratedearthmother

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We drew blood for testing from an ear, lol. On a full-sized Nubian it was no problem at all...not sure about kid sized ears. It seemed to be less traumatic for the goat and a whole lot less traumatic for me!
 

Goat Whisperer

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Like Babs said, get him tested for G6S. It is believed that 25% of Nubians have the G6S gene.

Hard to tell in the pics...Is he thin? Does he have a "pot belly" look to him? How do his eyelids look? Try to get a fecal run on him to see if he has worms or cocci, you treat it with different meds so this is important.

If his sire and dam carried the G6S gene they wouldn't show the symptoms but could throw affected offspring.
Capture.JPG

Courtesy tanbrit tiny goats.
 

Moody

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I had no idea the estimates were that high...l

I knew before I got him that folks should test for it but honestly all the breeders I have bought from don't run these tests. I'm just starting out so couldn't invest more than $200 a goat.

I will research it and hopefully he is just smaller for now.
 

Moody

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See in the photos his face and body look more the size of my 6 week younger lamancha alpine mix. I've never gotten to watch kids grow so my two mixed doelings are the only reference I have. I thought a full blood male Nubian would be a bit bigger...maybe it is gs6. From what I've read a person wouldn't notice until about now.
 

Moody

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My girls are both beefy looking but he is not around the middle. They also both still nurse. The breeder had more goats than I and I'm pretty certain she feeds in a mass trough and little kids may not get much. I feed mine individually since I have a small herd. I know which ones eat heartily and will notice if there is a drop in interest in feed. That's why I thought his size may have to do with less milk from his skinny momma and feeding practices.

I see that unthrifty growth is a key sign early on. I wish I had more kid growth experience. I will start weighing him weekly now.

can I treat for coccidiosis even without stool issues? My vet did a stool sample a bit ago for me and found a common worm in my sample. Didn't do quantative worm load count. Just qualative and told me to automatically worm at least every 6 months.
 
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