[jaytori220]

My sister in law had a doe that had unexpectedly had twins yesterday. The one twin passed today. The buckling was given to me tonight as she has no time to feed him. Mom refused both kids. They tried to hand milk the doe and she was dry. Her udder was just hard they said. Doe was too distressed and just wanted to get back to the others. So I have this buckling who was cold when I got him. I got him warmed up. His first bottle was 24 hours after birth. She gave him powdered kid colostrum and ate decent. I gave him his 2nd bottle. He didnt want to take it. I did get him dribble it down. This is my first attempt at bottle feeding a kid and read whole cows milk is better then the suppliment. Should I feed him the cows milk alone or mixed with the powdered colostrum? Should I add buttermilk, kayro syrup? He will stand but not walk around much at all. He acts like he is still trying to walk. He stands with his head down but can pick it up and look around. I think its weak kid syndrome. They said he was bouncing around and acting playful yesterday after birth. I am hoping to save this kids life and just wondering what I should do? He passed meconium and has peed a few times already.
TIA! Tori

 

[Axykatt]

Sorry to hear yer having a hard time. What's his temp? I don't know much about newborns, but I'm sure someone who can help more will be around soon.

 

[Axykatt]

What supplies do you have? He could probably use some BoSe for a start.

 

[goathiker]

The colostrum will do him no good now. He should have had it before 12 hours had passed. You will need to raise him as if he had none at all to be safe. Just feed him warm whole milk. Not a lot a time, about 3-4ozs every 4 hours for a start. Put a tiny pinch of soda in one bottle a day to help his tummy. If his sucking reflex is weak, he will need a Bo.Se shot. This is from a vet or breeder.
He should get a C&D antitoxin as soon as possible because he did not get that immunity from his mom. He should get this anti-toxin every 2 weeks until he is old enough to get his CD&T toxoid. Anti-toxin can be difficult to find, you may need to order it from Jeffers Livestock.

His temperature should be around 101.5 to 103. This is taken rectally. If he is still cold he can't digest his food. It is good he pooped.

A hard udder with no milk is classic of CAE disease. It's a good thing he got no milk from mom in this case. He will probably escape the disease.

Good Luck...I hope he does well for you.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Whole cows milk is much better than replacer. I would get some whole cows milk and start slowly mixing it with the replacement until it is all whole cows milk. You can put honey on your finger so he learns to suck, then put honey on the nipple. He should learn soon. I would also mix some probios powder in the milk as well. He sounds like he needs some BoSe, also. If you can't get BoSe, a selenium AND vit. E tablet can be used instead. More people will give better advice than me... But this should get you started

 

[jaytori220]

THANK YOU THANK YOU! All I have is a TSC here. We have no goat vets here. We have equine vets and small animal vets. Maybe I can get BoSe from them? Or a selenium and vit e capsule? I may be able to get C&D at TSC. I have CD&T only and might be able to get the other locally.

 

[goathiker]

The equine vet may have it. They would also have Thiamin which you need for just in case.

 

[goathiker]

Oh, he can have a human vitamin E gelcap for a couple days. Just get the regular 400mg kind and poke a hole to squeeze the oil into his mouth. That might help him out a bunch.

 

[jaytori220]

THANK YOU THANK YOU! All I have is a TSC here. We have no goat vets here. We have equine vets and small animal vets. Maybe I can get BoSe from them? Or a selenium and vit e capsule? I may be able to get C&D at TSC. I have CD&T only and might be able to get the other locally.

 

[jaytori220]

How long can he go at night without a bottle? I work night shift and actually at work now. I have noone to feed him when im gone and my husband is NOT an animal person. Can he go 8 hours?
Here is a pic of the tiny guy tonight before I left for work.

 

[goathiker]

He can go 8 hours at night and now that I see he is a tiny guy you're only going to want to feed him 2 to 3 ounces of milk to get him going. You want a firm stomach but, not hard and bulging. If you have a way to weigh him he should get 15% of his weight broken into 4 feedings.
Your TSC should have tubes of Selenium Vitamin E gel for cattle. That doesn't work as well as Bo.Se but, it does work. You would just give him a pea sized piece of the paste, making sure to go slow so he doesn't choke on it. I give the extra Vitamin E as well. It doesn't hurt at all.

 

[jaytori220]

He is so tiny. Id say he is 1 lb to 1.5. He is much smaller than my cats. I think the doe weighed under 50 lbs. She was a very small nigerian. Now I feel better lettting him go 8 hours. If my doe was in milk I could milk her. And if he was strong enough I know she would adopt him in a heartbeat.

oh yes his belly was firm and not bulging.

 

[goathiker]

Then yep, tiny amounts on the milk. His ears should stand up right after the Selenium and Vitamin E. He should also get stronger.

He's a cutie for sure.

 

[jaytori220]

:hugs::hugs:

 

[goathiker]

:hug:

 

[jaytori220]

Just talked to my husband and the little guy is still hanging in there! Im gonna head to TSC soon and get some prichard nipples and some other stuff for him. Hopefully it will jump start him.

 

[kccjer]

What kind of heat vents do you have in your house? I have had really good luck with a wire dog kennel next to a forced air vent with a blanket over the top for during the night. Keeps them warm and they don't have to have the light on them.... Just another idea. Actually raised a tiny one in the house that way and she would go into her kennel at night to sleep and then wake me up in the morning so she could outside to pee!
I would also suggest you get something for scours (diarrhea) at the TSC....if you need it, it's nice to have on hand. Look in the meds section of the TSC and you should see packets of stuff. What I use only costs about $2 and will feed that little guy about 20 times or more.

 

[jaytori220]

He doesnt wanna even stand up now. His poop went from black and tarry to yellow. So that looks normal. He just is weaker now.

 

[kccjer]

Is he dehydrated? Pull up on some skin and if it stays out, he's dehydrated....need to get some fluids in him ASAP. SubQ is best....

 

[kccjer]

Is he even trying to suck? Does he hold his head up or does he let it flop?