# Overweight Nigerian



## firecattx (Nov 18, 2010)

We are having the hardest time keeping our does at a good weight. One of our nigerian does currently weighs over 100lbs! They have a large pen but never do much walking etc. they mostly lay around sunning themselves .
When she was in milk she received free choice alfalfa pellets and grain (oats, barley, boss) on the milkstand twice a day. We dried her up at the beginning of September and now she gets one scoop a day ( 8 cups) total of all stock and alfalfa/timothy pellets, mixed. She shares this amount with another goat. She has never been interested in eating hay. As you can see from the picture, her sides are huge! She is a very compact, heavy goat. How can we change her diet to help her lose some weight?


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

If she were mine, I would start cutting out the all-stock. That will affect her like candy would affect us. Lots of carbs. If she is dry, she really only needs her alfalfa/grass hay pellet mix. Even my mini who produces a gallon a day, only gets a cup or two of grain.


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

She doesn't look overweight to me. Very hard to tell from that angle, but the top line looks boney. If you are giving 8 cups ration, with only half being all stock, and then she has to share it, it doesn't really sound like she's getting too much. You said she's not interested in hay. Does she have browse? She needs to be filling her rumen with hay or browse. That should be the backbone of her diet. Cut all that other back and be tough, and she will eat hay - unless there is a problem with her teeth or something.


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2012)

Eight cups a day even with sharing with another goat is too much for a dry doe, Nigerian.. She does not need any grain at all...If you plan on breeding her, you need to get the weight off her.. Cut back on the grain or completely cut it out and she will eat hay... My dry does if they get any..
Barb


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## NWgoats (Jul 17, 2008)

My milking girls are only getting about 8 cups between the two of
them. 1/3 is grain and the other 2/3 is alfalfa pellets. They have 
free choice orchard/alfalfa hay and both are keeping weight well.
That seems like a lot for a Nigerian.


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

She doesn't have an interest in eating hay because she is stuffing herself with grain. An over-conditioned dry doe simply does not need to be grained.


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## firecattx (Nov 18, 2010)

Would you cut out both the all stock and the alfalfa/timothy pellets? Should we just offer her free choice hay?


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## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

I would try just cutting out the all-stock for now, if she were my doe. If she still seems to have too much fat after a month or so, then try limiting the alfalfa/timothy. I like to give at least some alfalfa, just for the nutrients it gives.


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I ditto what Michelle says. I would take her off the concentrates and just feed the roughages. She'll eat the hay if she is hungry enough.

I always feed hay at least an hour before they get any types of concentrates. It makes them want to fill up on the hay and it gives their digestive tract a lining of hay before the grain hits it.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

I have friends who breed Nigerians, are on milk test and also place well at the national level. I also milk test for them and therefore are familiar with their feeding practices. Their does in milk get a small tuna fish can of grain at milking each and that is it (they do have free choice hay and acess to pasture all the time though), so although I don't raise Nigerians I can say confidently i am sure that you are feeding them to much. I don't even think my full size goats in milk get much more than 8 cups a day.


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## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

Free choice hay should be plenty. When you cut out the treats I suspect she will learn to like hay


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## punchiepal (Aug 4, 2010)

2 of my nigerians that kidded end of Jan (milking 2.25# a day) and beginning of Feb (milking 1.5# a day) are only getting about 1/2-1/3 cup of grain at each milking, others get less. None if you are not milking until you are close to delivery.


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

I have one Nigi who really lives on air (and hay). The breeder I bought her from (on DHI and shows at the National level) told me to give her less than a handful of grain- just something so when everyone else eats she is included. She does have good hay at all times. She is even heavy/ fat on this diet.


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## Guest (Oct 10, 2012)

Nigerians do tend to be easy keepers.. for that reason feed them much much less than you think they need.. take a small scoop to use to measure, because its just to easy to overfeed them.. I have one that gets fat on air also.. and all she gets is hay..


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Next year, I am not giving my ND's any grain, unless they start looking too skinny. I just talked with a woman that lives in Alaska, and has had several top ten milkers. She only feeds hay, and only a little bit of oats if they get skinny, which has only happened with 2 does out of all the ones she's had (and it was quite a few).


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

And this is milkers I'm talking about not feeding grain too. A dry doe, Definitely doesn't need any grain. In fact, a dry Nigerian doe, might need to be limit fed on hay too. LOL! But, grass hay, probably that would be fine...I still would want her to get some alfalfa, to even out the Ca ratio (but don't need as much calcium as a milker, and therefore, wouldn't need that much alfalfa).


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## Sans Gene Goats (May 15, 2011)

Your doe does not look overweight to me. Structurally she looks a lot like a 7 year old doe I have, who has a very well-sprung rib cage and whose belly had dropped a bit with age and kidding so she's always bulgy looking back there. It can be surprising how much some Nigerians can weigh, and not be too fat. If you can feel her rib cage with your palms, she should be ok. If not... then she may need a Jenny Craig plan for awhile 

I agree with the others and would pull her off the sweet grain regardless. Hay and a couple handfuls of alfalfa pellets to keep her calcium up should be plenty. If she won't eat hay, check her teeth to make sure she can chew it. But if she has them all and they are in good shape, then she should be fine and will eat it eventually!

Dixie


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## smithurmonds (Jan 20, 2011)

I feed even my dry does and bucks some alfalfa each day to balance out the high phosphorous content of grass hay. Unless they're dry for a really long time they don't end up overconditioned doing it this way.


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