Goat NOT eating grain

[Hykue]

My older doe is not eating any grain. She'll eat other treats (apples, carrots, other fruits and veggies), but she'll only eat a mouthful or two of any grain I've tried. She used to chow down on my homemade grain mix, the commercial mix, and plain oats. That was all I'd ever tried. Now she's not eating any of those. She's in good condition and feeds her kids okay (although she makes them work for it), so I'm not worried about her feed intake, per se.

I'm worried that I won't be able to milk her because I won't be able to give her grain to distract her on the milk stand. And I'm still really slow, so I would have to give her about a gallon of fruits and veggies, which probably wouldn't be great for her digestion . . . or my wallet, because I don't have access to cheap produce.

Any suggestions? I never even considered this possibility.

 

[julieq]

That sounds really strange. Any chance she's in heat? Sometimes our does go off their grain for a couple of days while they're in heat. Doesn't sound like she'd be sick since she's still eating the treats OK. Is she filling up on the treats and not wanting the grain maybe?

 

[Ariel301]

It's kind of weird that she'd stop eating grain if she used to like it. Did she stop eating it when you changed anything, or got a new batch from the store that maybe tastes different?

You could just give her hay on the stand, or alfalfa pellets if she likes them.

 

[Hykue]

Yeah, she stopped eating it when I got premixed goat grain with minerals - rolled barley, etc. But she ate that kind before. And now she won't eat even just plain oats. Or the home-mixed stuff I was giving them before she went off the grain.

Her rumen always looks really truly enormous, is there any chance that she's avoiding bloat by not eating grain? I really don't get it. Unless she's trying to avoid being milked. She's nine, she's been through this before, maybe she would rather not get a taste for grain, because then she knows she won't be able to resist. But I'm not putting it up on the milkstand or anything, I put it down in front of her so she doesn't even have to stand up (she's a bit reluctant to stand up, I think because her kids are all over her udder the instant that she does). And she's interested in treats, but she doesn't eat all of them either - she left two snap peas in the dish tonight. And she only got about 10.

I am a little bit worried that something is wrong, too, I guess. But I haven't EVER heard of a goat that likes grain suddenly stopping eating it. So I don't even know where to start.

Seems like no-one else does either! Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'll just keep an eye on her, and try to find something she likes well enough to get her on the milkstand, I guess.