FF with 1 stillborn and 1 premie 6 day old buckling, not enough milk to bottle feed

290 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Goat Momma 926, Apr 1, 2021

Goat Momma 926

Discussion Starter · Mar 27, 2021 (Edited)

One of our FF mom's had 1 doeling sadly stillborn but never cleaned and tiny, and 1 premie buckling 6 days ago who is my precious Gizmo! He weighed about 1# & had no erupted teeth, got his 1st yesterday, and 1/2 his hooves were still translucent. I've been milking mom 1 time/day and bottle feeding my baby but keeping him in a small pen with mom. (Another doe literally threw him 3' in the air when he was an hour old, thankfully he was injured.) He was too weak to cry and now only occasionally makes noise and it's pretty quiet but he is now bouncing around and climbing some! He is adorable!!! Gave him a tiny bit of probiotic, & liquid vit B complex.
Mom was hardly eating the first 4 days: gave electrolytes in water, tried molasses in water but she wouldn't drink it and tried adding molasses to feed; gave small amounts of corn, medicated goat pellets, hay, chopped alfalfa hay, baking soda free choice, added grass, liquid sublingual B complex, a children's Flintstone vitamin, & probiotics the last 2 days with her appetite finally improving. She also has eaten some pine straw and dried leaves through the pen, didn't really touch her reg hay. I was getting 4-8 oz/day but was unable to milk her yesterday due to multiple tornado warnings-fed baby twice about 2 & 3 ounces. I milked her 2 times, and she doesn't like it at all initially and occasionally tries to bite, I only got about 2 oz from her each time... Gizmo drank about 3.5 & 2.5 oz today. He started trying to nurse the last couple of days but not more than a few seconds that I've seen. I plan to give mom a mineral block tomorrow too. If I increase milking to 3 times/day, increase her feed-plan on getting a harness vs the collar I just added yesterday to decrease wrestling her to the ground to milk, she's a biter remember; to take her to the pasture for exercise and foraging I'm not sure u could catch her if I just turned her loose. Anyway, should I worm mom with Safe Guard to decrease the parasite load; what about a Tetanus SQ injection (I have on hand from when I wethered 2 of my now 11 week olds, Blackie & Socks); should I milk more often to increase milk production (she does have one firm spot in 1 udder which I've been massaging when I milk her but will try a warm compress tomorrow, and should I add a milk replacer???
A different scenario:. We had twins born to another doe 20 MAR also. Should I try to catch that doe and milk her, (she has very full udders), to feed Gizmo my premie? And her own buckling now has some diarrhea, yellow milk poop but stained down both back legs possibly due to overeating milk. Should I give him a Tetanus SQ? Gave him a little B complex today, what about probiotic and electrolytes? His sister appears fine and both are up and active. They are small but not premature like Gizmo. Also, when should Gizmo receive a Tetanus shot since he was premature and small?
Any advise would be appreciated. Sorry it's so long... Thank you!!!

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ksalvagno

· #2 · Mar 27, 2021

If you can milk the doe with twins, go ahead. Otherwise just get whole milk from the store. Don't use replacer.

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JML Farms

· #3 · Mar 28, 2021

Gizmo sounds adorable! Post pictures of him soon. I hope to answer some of your questions....maybe not all. First of all, if you are bottle feeding Gizmo weigh him in ounces and only feed him 10-12 % of his body weight in ounces per day divided into 3 or 4 feedings. (example 2lb goat 2X16=32 ounces. 32x10% = 3.2 32X12%=3.84 oz. dividing those amounts over 3 feedings per day and you should be feeding just a little over an ounce per feeding) Look for firm, full tummy, not bulging or "pot-bellied". It's easy to over feed these little guys. Weigh often to make sure he's gaining weight and adjust as needed. Ksalvagno is right. Milk the other goat if you can...whole milk form the store works good too, just make sure you heat it up. Yes, you can worm Gizmo's mom. Birthing tends to cause an increase worm load in goats. Have you checked her famacha or done fecals? They are useful tools to check the effectiveness of you parasite management program. If she has never had the CD/T shot, then you can give it also. Be sure to follow up with a booster shot in 3-4 weeks. Typically I give kids their first shot at 4-6 weeks old then booster. I would recommend removing the baking soda from her...they make their own naturally and unless it's being used for a specific ailment, it isn't needed. As far as your little boy with the yellow poop running down his back legs, how long has he had the problem? If it just started, I would monitor it unless it becomes uncontrollable or he becomes dehydrated. Most of the time it clears up on it's own. Is he bottle fed as well? Hope this helps and others can chime in too.

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Goat Momma 926

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 1, 2021

Thank you both very much. Gizmo is doing well and mom is eating a little better. He now has several teeth coming in!!! What would be a safe option for teething? Possibly a large Nyla type dog bone? He can now jump and play but still barely ever bleats/brays and it is very quiet.

We were only getting approximately 1-2 oz of milk during each of two milkings per day... Gizmo is attempting to nurse briefly from mom but I'm supplementing with whole milk now since I wasn't getting enough from mom. I tried powdered goat milk, but he prefers whole milk. I have added a trophy rock mineral block, a Flintstone's vitamin, liquid B complex, less than 1/4 ounces of Manna Pro goat minerals, and began giving mom Mother's Love Mo Milk yesterday in hopes of increasing her milk supply. How many of the Mo Milk capsules should I give per day? I add small amounts of probiotics and electrolytes to her water also but she doesn't drink a ton of water either. She has not been milked at all the past two days.

She is also getting medicated goat pellets and corn-about a cup or so per day which she doesn't always finish, a small amount of chopped alfalfa hay, free choice hay, browse of green privet hedge leaves, grass, and pine needles and dried leaves are available. I occasionally give very small amounts of carrots, lettuce, and a tiny amount of apple peeling.
I still haven't given her the CDT shot but we probably will this weekend. I purchased Dura Fend Type C Medicated Feed for wormer but still haven't done the conversion of 2.5 mg per kg of body weight to oz/lbs... I guestimate the doe weighs about 65-70#.

Sorry it's taken so long to respond. Any additional information or advice would be be appreciated!!! Thanks again!!!

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FF with 1 stillborn and 1 premie 6 day old buckling, not enough milk to bottle feed

Goat Momma 926

ksalvagno

JML Farms

Goat Momma 926

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