[Fainters]

I have a baby fainter that is 1 week old today. I have mentioned in another thread that she was born so weak that she could not stand up for 3 days. She has seemed to be getting stronger and Sunday could actually stand up and nurse all by herself. I keep her in the house except to nurse her mother because she has a cold and is very frail. Last night she was crying and seemed to have gas or a belly ache. This morning when she got up, she pooped bloody goo. She was hungry and nursed her mother and played a little but she has had 6 bloody stools so far that I have seen. What could be wrong with her and what can I give a baby this small? She weighed 3/4 lb. at birth and weighs 2 lbs. now.

http://www.freewebs.com/scapegoatranch/

 

[KikoFaerie]

My first thought with bloody stool is cocci. Anyone have any other thoughts?

 

[enjoytheride]

E coli comes to mind but with one that little? How's her temperature?

I heard the cocci takes about 3 weeks to develop so it would seem early for that.

 

[getchagoat (Julie)]

Might as well do a fecal to see if it's cocci. It shouldn't hit until 3 weeks, but rule it out. Some pepto won't hurt and may help whatever is bleeding. I'd call and ask your vet what possibilities there are.

 

[susanne]

this is either bacterial infection or e-coli. she is definitive tooyoung for cocci as this parasite has a life cycle of three weeks. how is her temperature? how clean is the area the dam is in?

 

[Fainters]

When she was born, she seemed to have massive bruising on her stomach area and I thought that was why she couldn't stand. She passed the meconium and the next day she had yellow poop and then she didn't have a bowel movement for 48 hours. Then when she did go, it was a huge amount and hard as a rock. Then we started having a little bit of red in the poop and now it has progressed to almost total blood. She has not stayed in the barn since she was first born because she was weak and chilled so the only way she could have gotten anything is from the mother's milk. The first 4 days, I milked the mom and fed it to her out of a bottle. Now she is strong enough to nurse on her own but she still stays inside when not eating. Could e coli or cocci be passed thru the milk or do you think she hemorraged when she seemed to have been constipated?

 

[StaceyRosado]

sounds like an internal injury to me. The vet told me that for there to be internal injuries anywhere the bowels are best because it can heal on its own (had this happen with a new born kid last year). It will be touch and go for your little one. one thing you will need to watch out for is her getting anemic.

 

[Fainters]

I called my vet to see if I could pick up some medicine for her when I get off work this afternoon. I described her symptoms and he said that she is probably not going to live and that she either has clostridium, her intestines never got fully developed, or she got stepped on and has internal injuries. He said that he would give me some Albon but since she is so tiny, he doesn't expect her to come out of it. Some days she is bright eyed and jumping around ready to eat and then others she is lethargic and seems to have a stomach ache and will hardly nurse. I will try pepto also to see if it soothes her belly.

Any other suggestions or ideas are appreciated because frankly I think that there are a lot of people on here that know more than the vets in my area.

 

[StaceyRosado]

ok I had a baby stepped on at birth. It took $900.00 which included a blood transfusion from mom and lots of prayer for him to live. Ok so I was nuts, But i JUST HAD to save him.

I pray that this isn't the case for your little girl - my guy never did the normal stuff until after he was out of the hospital. I was so thrilled when he was 3 days old and I took him outside for the first time

 

[enjoytheride]

I have little experience but, if your vet couldn't offer any help, I might try a couple of things to give her what chance I could. She needs to be kept really hydrated so I might give her Ringer's lactate if I could or dilute her milk with water so she gets less solid matter and more liquid to keep things soft. I probably would give her nutridrench and infant vitamins as keeping the solids low also means she is probably won't be getting the nutrition she needs. i don't know enough about antibiotics but I think that a little sulfa type in the water she gets might be good with a little something to sweeten it. And small amounts frequently rather than larger amounts at one time.
Also keeping her inside and warm is great because she will need less to keep warm.
her condition does sound difficult especially being so tiny- she might be that small because she did not develop normally.
The best of luck with her- she does look like such a sweetie.

 

[RunAround]

I would be reluctant to give her any antibiotics because the poor girls rumen sounds like it is out of wack. I would try to give her some probiotics or yogurt in her milk to help get all the beneficial bacteria going.

 

[StaceyRosado]

oh I forgot - my buckling was sent home with instructions to give him penicillin for 7 days twice a day. The vet was very worried about an infection.

trying to think of what else I gave him. Oh B Complex - but that was because he wasn't eating well. I gave it orally but that didn't seem to do to well, but then I gave it to him in an injection and it helped, I got up at 2:00am to see him nursing on mom, it was such a beautiful sight.

enjoytheride has some good points about keeping her hydrated. Try some sugar water added to her milk - what saved my little guy was his IV until we could bring the mom for a transfusion. (my mom still rolls her eyes when I tell this story)

 

[susanne]

this recipie was posted on another forum. i think the cinnamon can be very benneficial for your little girl. since she does not has diarrhea, i would leave the slippery elm out.
i think as long as she is eating and gaining weight, there is hope. did she get enough colostrum at birth?

1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp clove
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp slippery elm (health food stores or Hoeggers Goat Supply)
1 tsp garlic ( I use liquid)
2 cups of water

Bring to slow simmer on low heat while stirring.
I then place in jar and cover and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
I have been using it for
the past few years with awesome results.
Give 6-12 cc's orally several times a day.

 

[StaceyRosado]

susanne that is an interesting recipe - what is it usually used for?

 

[susanne]

it is for e-coli infection in young kids. this mix is supposedly to be antibacterial but i have not used it, and don't know if it really works.

 

[KikoFaerie]

FYI - I have a slight variation on that recipe, for scours, if anyone is interested. It comes from a naturopathic doctor who has raised goats all naturally for 18 years.

2 teaspoons each of:
powdered cinnamon
powdered cloves
powdered garlic
powdered slippery elm bark
powdered ginger
2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

Put all in a brown glass jar, put in brown paper bag and let set for one moon cycle. (shake daily)
Dosage - 6 ccs several a day until berries appear. (and I always shake before administering, as the powders settle in the bottle)
All of these herbs are also natural antibiotic/antiviral herbs, so the mix not only helps stop the scours, but helps fight off any "bug" they may have. I can say it works well from personal experience - my little "free range" Pygmy guy got into something that disagreed with him and 2 doses cleared his scours up.

 

[goathappy]

it is for e-coli infection in young kids. this mix is supposedly to be antibacterial but i have not used it, and don't know if it really works.

All the herbs in it have anti bacterial properties(esp cinnamon) so yes I'd say it would work.

How is the little girl doing?

 

[Nancy_in_GA]

Because of the blood, I would guess clostridium, like your vet said. Unless the blood has already gone away, I would try CD antitoxin.

 

[Fainters]

She is still hanging in there. I gave her the Albon this morning. I took another suggestion off the board and gave her neomycin sulfate last night in place of her night time feeding. This morning she had about half yellow/half bloody stool. She nursed her mom and played for an hour before I had to pack her up and bring her to work with me. We got snow last night and it was 28 degrees this morning so I am still afraid to put her in the barn for long periods of time.

I have given her B12, probios and I will try the cinnamon/ginger recipe this evening. I weighed her this morning and she weighs about 3 lbs. so she is growing in spite of her problems.

If I have to give her penicillin can that be given orally? She is so tiny that I would hate to try to stick a needle in her.

http://www.freewebs.com/scapegoatranch/

 

[sweetgoats]

Bring to slow simmer on low heat while stirring.
I then place in jar and cover and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
I have been using it for
the past few years with awesome results.
Give 6-12 cc's orally several times a day.

it is for e-coli infection in young kids. this mix is supposedly to be antibacterial but i have not used it, and don't know if it really works.

Sorry, I am confused. Have you or have you NOT used this Susanne? you said you have used it for a few years with awesome results, and then you said you do not know it it really works.