Nubian buck underweight

[Jesusfreak101]

Ok I am getting frustrated with my buck since he went into his first rut(breed one for and now breeding the second) he hasn't gained weight he hasn't lost anymore but he looks so dang skinny. I imagine it has more to do with the rut like other male animals lose weight during breeding. They have access to a round bale of hay from last year its good hay. (I haven't had it tested but its coastal and looks great) I also feed him some alfalfa pellets everyone once in awhile in hopes to get his weight back up. I don't feed him grain through the does I do. The grain mix is two parts barely, two parts crimped oats, one part calf mana, one part black oil sunflower seeds. He very active and playful. I can let them out on pasture as well, I let them out every few days but I prefer to keep them in for the most part right now (I am pregnant and due Feb 14 my doe due Feb 17 so close by in the pen right now is easier for me). Should I give him grain or will he gain weight when he done mating my last doe.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH! So glad you joined us. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

Where are you located? Temps/altitude/moisture/etc. How old is this buck? You say his first rut, so he could be anywhere from about 3-4mos to a year or more. Is he pure bred Nubian? How much does he weigh right now? Pictures would be very helpful... Just because hay "looks great" doesn't mean it's nutritious or has enough of the vitamins and minerals or protein he needs... just sayin... You could try to supplement him a little with some alfalfa cubes or alfalfa hay, just make dietary changes slowly. Or add some balanced goat feed (you can buy feed with AC added) to his daily intake? Just be careful of the potassium/calcium balance. Is he getting goat minerals?

Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. Old folks like me will never remember from this thread. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Sorry about that lol I was in a hurry. He gets free access to minerals, he gets a 1 quart of alfafa pellets. He was born January 20 so he just turned a year. We live in south Texas not much elevation we live in the San Antonio area. So we have small hills but that's it. He also had copper supplement which h to get again in march. He weighs close to 150-160)lbs. I haven't had him weighed that's baised off my estimation. I post a picture in just a moment have to get the human kids settled first (4yr and 2 yr)

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Best pictures I could get by myself lol he kept following me as I was trying to back up to get the photo lol.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Whenever you have a thin goat it is a good idea to have their fecal checked for parasites.

He doesn't look too thin. My boys are still a little lean from rut too. I ended up putting all our young bucks on free choice alfalfa/orchard hay, along with a good quality feed.
Did you weigh him? Weight tape or scale? He doesn't look 150lbs, but it could be the angle of the pics.

I would start giving some grain- but I wouldn't give the mix you are using for the does. Barley/oats/BOSS are all very high in phosphorus. Too much phosphorus leads to urinary calculi. Instead, I'd look for a good goat feed with a calcium : Phosphorus ratio of 2:1 (more calcium), that also contain ammonium chloride. I like Bartlett goat pellets, the goats seem to do great on it. I don't like sweet feeds.

Sometimes goats can also go through growth spurts where they look leaner, because the suddenly grew taller. One of my 2 y/o bucks is doing this right now. I didn't realize how tall her has grown until I saw some pics from 6 months ago.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Could I have him feed on the 200 acres avaible pasture the reason I ask is I have to stay in budget with their feed I have 150 a month between them and the other animals their feed for the grain I mix is already 100 I also use that for some of the other animals. Alfalfa is 16 a bale around here and others around say the alfalfa is extremely rich in calcium so they said not to feed him much if any... I don't mind giving him some to help but right now I can only use the pellets and what I currently have. The grain is not pre mixed I mix as I go is their a combo nation of what I have I could use for him?

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Forage is always great.

I understand not being able to feed alfalfa. That is just what we did.
You might be able to give a small amount of the calf manna.
The alfalfa pellets are good.
I wouldn't feed him anything else in the mix.

The calcium generally doesn't cause an issue. It's a common misconception with UC.
Its the high phosphorus that causes issues.

Bartlett goat pellets are $12 a bag here.
1 bag should last one goat a while.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/SP/MG/Documents/SLIDES/Urinary calculi.pdf

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I wish he would eat it, the mixture recipe I got from the woman I bought him from when he was a month old. I tried different goat pellets and so far no luck with any of them eating it unless it was high in molasses which made them sick.... Probably because the heat we had as well at the time. (Doesn't get cold(cold being 50degrees) till mid November) I do the pasture an mana for now I just hope he gains abit more lol I like fat looking goats. I also gave them recently probiotic and viatem paste. Unless I take him to the vet I can't get him weighed around here and unfortunately loading him and pulling a trailer isn't (the trailer part) what I am good at. Thank y'all for the advice I don't like him looking so skinny. But this is my first year with goats so its been interesting, I have experience with much larger animals lol horse,cows,pigs this one new lol

 

[Southern by choice]

Definitely check his parasite load. Rut does cause stress and can cause a bloom.
I'd forgo the alfalfa pellets and give him feed instead. Or mix it. This should still keep you in your budget.
Alfalfa hay is fine for bucks.