Goat appetite first day after delivery

[Georgia Girl]

Great news. Her milk production will become appropriate to the number/size/appetite of the kids within a few days. Did you milk her out at all?

Birth is a tiring process. The ewe I described in a thread I called 'A Huge Pair"....apologies for the tasteless title....is a big, fit 3 year old who had 2 huge twins. Both she and they were very lethargic for 48 hours, sleeping most of the time, and eating/drinking poorly. Her udder was vast. They are now bouncing around in the field and that udder looks normal-sized (and well used!).

Animals vary so much in the post-natal period. Some are lively, some tired. Huge udders, small udders. Great mothers, 'clingy' offspring, poor mothers, 'detached' offspring......but most survive and thrive. We do all the worrying for them!

SO glad to hear they are doing well. Now, where are the pics.?

I don't know to post pictures, I took them to the vet at 4 days to be disbudded and they weighed 8.5 lbs and 8.9 lbs.There is so much that I don't know....I have milked about 1/2 pint a day, udder is soft, no redness, I think the babies are using only one teat at least this is what I see them doing, although the udder does not look larger on one side, but is almost equal...how will the bag look whe milked out? The babies don't seem to such very long and when out with mother I have noticed them nibbling the dirt? Do they need some type of vitamin? or why are they doing this? thanks

 

[Southern by choice]

You can post pictures by where it says upload file, you can click and drop as well.

All normal. Kids eat constantly when they are on the dam, usually for a few seconds to 15 seconds then off.... then back again.
Nibbling at stuff on the ground is normal, they watch momma and do the same.
They must be utilizing both sides or her udder would be very uneven.

 

[Alaskan]

how will the bag look whe milked out

At first, there is so much extra everything going to the udder to start up production that I don't think it ever looks really empty.

Later on... an empty udder looks alot like a raisen. Unless the udder is "meaty" then it never looks that empty.

Each doe is different.

 

[Georgia Girl]

You can post pictures by where it says upload file, you can click and drop as well.

All normal. Kids eat constantly when they are on the dam, usually for a few seconds to 15 seconds then off.... then back again.
Nibbling at stuff on the ground is normal, they watch momma and do the same.
They must be utilizing both sides or her udder would be very uneven.

My goat is a Saanen, how much grain should I be feeding her in am and pm. I read somewhere a quart each time. I was also told to add some oats to the feed.

 

[Alaskan]

Saanen can be very heavy producers. Heavy production means they need more feed and better quality feed.

Each grain has different nutrition. I can't keep them all straight.

I would feed as much pellets as she could eat during a milking. I fed pellets made for milking goats that are in milk. I would add a handful or two of grain.. the least expensive in my area was barley.

Then free feed high nutrition hay.

But I would watch her body... in peak production I had to feed my Saanen a lunch too.

And that girl stayed at high production for over 2 years.

I know there is a formula though... so much milk production means you should feed about x amount... can't remember it though.