Hello everyone,
My doe Abby delivered sweet triplet girls last night - Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Jean Louise. Calpurnia, the largest, was somewhat weak and a bit floppy for lack of a better word. She rallied and was stronger this morning, but I am becoming concerned about her inability to suckle effectively, or really even to locate a teat reliably. I am suspicious that selenium deficiency might be in play for a few reasons and am seeking feedback on what I've done so far, and how long it may take to show improvement if selenium is at the root of the issue.
Some background - we live in a selenium-deficient area and I give my goats Selenium/Vitamin E gel once monthly. Abby was nearly due for her next dose next week when the triplets were born (last night). Abby took a bit longer to deliver placenta than Lily, my other doe, who delivered two weeks ago today, but every goat is different.
Calpurnia, as mentioned, was weak, kind of limp/floppy, and had very poor balance when first born (even for a newborn). She is still falling over more than her sisters, and seems very uncoordinated and weak. She seems hungry, and will find Abby, get up to her udder and bump frantically. She will then be unable to grip a teat herself. If I help by aiming the teat at her mouth, she will sometimes latch on, sometimes not. When she does latch, she suckles weakly and I'm not sure how much milk she is getting - but I do not think it is enough. Sometimes the teat falls out of her mouth. Both she and Maudie have bent tails. Maudie is less clumsy, and has mostly figured out how to nurse.
I tried her on a bottle, but she did not suckle at all. I was concerned that she might aspirate, to be honest. I did get her to eat a little bit - about 5ml twice this afternoon (when I started to get worried). I do think she must be nursing some - otherwise I don't think she would be alert or able to get up and toddle around. I gave all three girls a little dab of selenium/vitamin E gel that was about the size of the end of a finger.
Feeding into this is how Abby acted when I gave her the regular dose of the paste. Usually it is a struggle to get her to take it. I usually put it on my finger and if all else fails, I can smear it on her mouth and she'll lick it off. Today I accidentally squirted way too much out, and it was covering most of my fingers. She gobbled it up like it was some delicious rare treat. I put another smaller amount on my hand, and again it was devoured. When I sat the tube of paste down she tried to take it. I don't think she would act that way if she had enough selenium in her.
So all that to ask a couple of questions. If Calpurnia is suffering from deficiency of selenium, is that little pea shaped blob enough? How long will it take until improvement will be seen if that is the problem? I'm also wondering at what point people would tube a kid that was having this kind of difficulty latching and nursing.
Oh - temps are normal. I do not have a scale so that I can chart her changes in weight but am going to get one tomorrow. I figure I can just weigh myself with and without the baby and math my way into knowledge there. Maybe I am completely overreacting, but I don't want to pretend there isn't a problem and have something bad happen to her.
My vet will not give me BoSe unfortunately. I attempted that discussion but was shot down.
Here are a few pictures of bent tails and general condition. Calpurnia is the brown and white supermodel. Maudie is the buckskin diva that looks just like her mommy.
My doe Abby delivered sweet triplet girls last night - Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Jean Louise. Calpurnia, the largest, was somewhat weak and a bit floppy for lack of a better word. She rallied and was stronger this morning, but I am becoming concerned about her inability to suckle effectively, or really even to locate a teat reliably. I am suspicious that selenium deficiency might be in play for a few reasons and am seeking feedback on what I've done so far, and how long it may take to show improvement if selenium is at the root of the issue.
Some background - we live in a selenium-deficient area and I give my goats Selenium/Vitamin E gel once monthly. Abby was nearly due for her next dose next week when the triplets were born (last night). Abby took a bit longer to deliver placenta than Lily, my other doe, who delivered two weeks ago today, but every goat is different.
Calpurnia, as mentioned, was weak, kind of limp/floppy, and had very poor balance when first born (even for a newborn). She is still falling over more than her sisters, and seems very uncoordinated and weak. She seems hungry, and will find Abby, get up to her udder and bump frantically. She will then be unable to grip a teat herself. If I help by aiming the teat at her mouth, she will sometimes latch on, sometimes not. When she does latch, she suckles weakly and I'm not sure how much milk she is getting - but I do not think it is enough. Sometimes the teat falls out of her mouth. Both she and Maudie have bent tails. Maudie is less clumsy, and has mostly figured out how to nurse.
I tried her on a bottle, but she did not suckle at all. I was concerned that she might aspirate, to be honest. I did get her to eat a little bit - about 5ml twice this afternoon (when I started to get worried). I do think she must be nursing some - otherwise I don't think she would be alert or able to get up and toddle around. I gave all three girls a little dab of selenium/vitamin E gel that was about the size of the end of a finger.
Feeding into this is how Abby acted when I gave her the regular dose of the paste. Usually it is a struggle to get her to take it. I usually put it on my finger and if all else fails, I can smear it on her mouth and she'll lick it off. Today I accidentally squirted way too much out, and it was covering most of my fingers. She gobbled it up like it was some delicious rare treat. I put another smaller amount on my hand, and again it was devoured. When I sat the tube of paste down she tried to take it. I don't think she would act that way if she had enough selenium in her.
So all that to ask a couple of questions. If Calpurnia is suffering from deficiency of selenium, is that little pea shaped blob enough? How long will it take until improvement will be seen if that is the problem? I'm also wondering at what point people would tube a kid that was having this kind of difficulty latching and nursing.
Oh - temps are normal. I do not have a scale so that I can chart her changes in weight but am going to get one tomorrow. I figure I can just weigh myself with and without the baby and math my way into knowledge there. Maybe I am completely overreacting, but I don't want to pretend there isn't a problem and have something bad happen to her.
My vet will not give me BoSe unfortunately. I attempted that discussion but was shot down.
Here are a few pictures of bent tails and general condition. Calpurnia is the brown and white supermodel. Maudie is the buckskin diva that looks just like her mommy.