Posted by Vicki McGaugh on December 11, 2000 at 21:50:07:
In Reply to: feeding times posted by Freud on December 11, 2000 at 14:39:19:
This isn't that big of a deal! Enjoy!
I feed all my does grain during pregnancy, though very little compared to how much they get during milking. The last 50 days of the 150 days pregnancy the babies inside of her grow from the size of large shrimp to the bouncing babies. This takes incredible amounts of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals. So yes grain her, just be very leary of grains containing animal by products, these can sit in the rumen an rot, mimicing ketosis and milk fever symptoms when in fact the problem is rumen acidosis. You could eaisly just feed her grain once a day like the sheep, then plenty of hay in the evening will give her rumen something to munch on which actually causes her body temperature to rise, just like stoking a furnace. With all this roughage in the evening to have to digest, this will also cause very few midnight 2 am kiddings! We have grass hay in front of our girls all the time this time of year since the browse in the woods is so depeleted, but before I go to bed at night, I go fill the barn feeder with good hay so everyones rumens are full for the cold nights. Vicki