I have a bottle baby that is 2weeks old today. At his last feeding a few minutes ago, he is going down on his knees and having trouble getting up. Although once I help him, he can stand. So I am thinking vitamin E and Selenium but maybe it is another issue? He is eating well and appears fine otherwise. Of course I can't find my vit.E gel but I have power punch that has both to get him through he night. I also have B complex if you think a shot of that might help? I thought weak leg were mostly at birth. s it normal for him to be having this issue at 2 weeks?
Selenium deficiency can show up anytime. I'd get a shot of bo-se from a local vet. They only charge maybe $10 for a shot. The shot is much more affective than the gel.
weak as in cant stand back up onhis own weak or legs bent and hard for him to work them??? any swelling on the joints...heat or pain? how does his belly button look?
Weak as in can't stand up with his front legs. The first post was at 8pm or so. My husband was in town so he picked up the gel because I could get it faster than waiting until today to get Bo-se. He ate good this am, I just fed him. I didn't check his belly button. But I will check it and his joints. Back legs seem to be ok and overall he seems ok just can't go. I gave him the 2ml of gel. Should he get more? Brother is doing fine with no problems. Should I give it to him also? He doesn't seem to be in any pain.
it wont hurt to give his brother some...2 ml sounds right hows his temp? hows his poop? Im asking lots of questions because A few things are coming to mind...and to know whats going on...we need a bit more info : ) Joint ill FKS and selenium Def. you will see swollen joints with joint ill...sometimes,but not always, the naval will be infected, FKS will start with weak legs, belley will become sloshy as the milk is not digested and baby gets weaker as time goes on Selenium def. usually shows up at birth with weak bent legs..not that is cant show up later, just less likely...and its more of a stiff dragging with the legs then weakness...
Ok. Belly button is completely healed up. Just a dried bit of the cod left. No sign of infection. He had yellow poop on his but when I went in so it would appear he is able to poop. Didn't know exactly how to check for a slouchy belly but it was firm and not making any noise before I fed him. Stupid thermometer keeps turning off so I guess the battery is low but he has a warm toasty mouth and is alert and bright eyed. Moves around with his back legs and his knees and is able to kind of go. Is eating good still and he will try to eat hay so I put some in front of him so maybe he will be happy and quit trying to move around. Gave brother 2ml although he is still doing fine and being his usual pesty self, lol. Question about the VitE/SEL gel. It says 2ml for newborn and 4ml for adult. But it has notches for 5ml. So I took the end off and drew up with a 3ml syringe. Problem is, it looks like it has little balls in it that I believe to be too big to get in the syringe. So are those balls possibly what he needs and all he is getting is the gel part? What is a better way to dose this?
Good news!! Did you notice any swelling on joints? any heat?? Yellow poop is not uncommon even at two weeks old but usualy start seeing it change to brown..was it berries? singles or stuck together? or mooshy? a sick tummy will be poochy and feel like a water balloon... Ugh..hate when that happens...but a toasty mouth is a good sign...try to get his temp when you can replace the battery, just to be sure how much is he being fed and what are you feeding him? about how much does he weigh... I would make him a brace for his front legs so he can use them...pad his leg well to prevent sores... pipe insulation wraps that are like a pool noodle might work, cut length wise and sandwhich his legs..then wrap with vet wrap to hold on..Remove the brace a few times a day and massage his leg and excersise it.. I just put a pea size ( about the 2 ml mark) on my finger and dose it that way..it should be well mixed in the tube...
Poop is not runny at all but not really berries. Although think it is getting there. He is getting whole milk from a 20ml mountain dew bottle with a Pritchett nipple. He and his brother can finish this at 2feedings a day and get close to finishing at the other 2. He is fed 4 times a day. He has been nibbling hay also although I don't know if he really eats any yet.
Ok..whole cows milk is fine....But Im not understanding how much milk he is getting lol...20 Ml daily? or per bottle? andis that ML or Oz?? just to be clear :greengrin: How much does he weigh? did you check his joints for swelling? at two weeks he will nibble and taste hay but not eat much..but its good to offer it : )
Ok, you got me. It is a 20 OZ. soda bottle, not ml. I would say he is getting 35-40 oz. a day at just over 2 weeks. He is a boer. His joints look to be ok. Can't feel anything out of the ordinary and they are not hot. How long before the gel stuff starts to work for him? Is one dose all he needed or should I give him more if he doesn't improve?
Wow..thats quite a bit of milk...how.much does he weigh?...if this is selenium deficiency you should begin to see improvment pretty soon..dose him monthly....
I have had that happen when they were low on BoSe prenatally. The naturalist told me to give them 4ccs of Cod Liver Oil 2 times a day. It took about 3 days but it has always worked. I have had to do it 2 or 3 times now. We also did massage and stretching to stimulate the muscles. One little girl was born from way back in mom's uterus and her two brothers were wedged in between her legs. The vet had to come and help with two of them. She could not walk at all when she was born. It took five days for her but she was a spitfire when she got going.
Hmm... So since I have already given him the Vit E/Sel. gel, can I also give him the cod liver oil? Would that help? Or should I just wait and see how things go? I am terrible at waiting. I always feel like whatever it is I give them be it a shot, gel, whatever medicine, it should kick in right then, lol.
you can give cod liver oil..you can also gie an extra Vit e gel cap..just poke a whole on th end and squeeze into his mouth.I know waiting is hard...Im not convinced its Selenium...IT MAY BE lol..Im just not seeing it..????.. Hes drinking enough milk for a 20-25# goat...I would try to cut his bottles down to size and see if that does not make a difference.. Weigh him and multiply that by 16 to get his weight in oz..then multiply that by 12% to see how much per day he needs...divide that into 3 bottles a day....THEN after each bottle..feel his tummy...you want a flat firm tummy...not too poochy and not sunken in.....adjust by 1/4 oz a day at a time until you have that nice healthy tummy..
Ok, I'll bring him in the house tomorrow when I get off work and weigh him on the people scale. It will give me a ballpark weight but it is an "old fashioned" scale with the dial. No digital or half pound reading. I think the lines on it are for 2 pounds each, lol. Could too much milk be causing him this problem?
A good estimate on his weight will help at least... My gut is saying yes, it can be causeing the weakness..but its odd because too much milk will sit and become toxic in the tummy causing other issues usually, like refusing to eat, runny poo..lethargic..and weakness..I maybe off ..way off here lol...but at any rate..its worth a try...I'm going to do some reading and see what I can find out...
I might have missed this somewhere but are his knees swollen? Boer babies that grow really fast can get swollen knees so he may just not want to stand on them. The milk doesn't sound too high to me though.
She said no swelling...all looks and feel normal...Cae is a possibilty... I have found nothing to suggest too much milk can cause this kind of weakness with out other symptoms... I dont know why my gut is screaming about it lol... But like I said, sure wouldnt hurt to try decreasing milk and see..