# Baby goat eating then humping up



## julierx1 (Dec 8, 2012)

Im still having a problem with this so I thought I would pick everyone's brain. My 2 1/2 week old nigi/pygmy mix billy has been bottle fed since birth. He is still in w/ momma and twin  though. Ever since he was born he would eat then hump in a corner for a few minutes before moving around.  I have givin him cd&T, I have tried enema thinking he was constipiated but it seems he does this when poop is solid and when loose.  I have checked temp. At first he was keeping a low temp but seems to be normal now. Noticed a couple days ago he had preety loose poop so vet advised Sulmet. I have been administering for 2 days orally.  Now his new routine is when I let him out of pen to feed he will drink his milk and then run around like a wild man! When I stick him back in the pen w/ momma and twin he will hump up for a few seconds and then run over and stand below hay feeder or run into his box.  His poop is now thickening up and he still has a very good appetite and active. Started him off at 4 oz. every 4 hrs. I increased his milk gradually as I expand the hrs. between feedings. He is now getting 5 1/2 ounces every 7 hrs. Working to do 3 bottles a day.  He does not act sick so what do i do about the humping up?


----------



## ksalvagno (Dec 8, 2012)

Does he only do this around mom? What are you feeding him?


----------



## julierx1 (Dec 8, 2012)

I only see him doing it around momma!  For now Im feeding an all species powdered milk from tractor supply. I have had pretty good luck w/ it in the past but as soon as I finished the bag I would like to switch him over to something else.


----------



## ksalvagno (Dec 8, 2012)

Does he get along with mom? Is it the same amount of time before you put him back with mom?


----------



## pridegoethb4thefall (Dec 8, 2012)

Wonder if its a hormonal response to being near a female goat and the hormones in her milk? I think he is too young for it to be a unrinary blockage, and sounds like he is aallllmost mimicking the humping action during breeding.
I think if he is otherwise normal, he is probably fine, just doing his job of driving you crazy!! 


When you switch to a new feed for the bottle, I have found whole cows milk to be the least tummy upsetting. With my bottle babies I give mommas milk, then mommas milk mixed with store bought goats milk, then mix that goats milk with whole store bought cows milk until it is all cows milk. I do that switch over anywhere from a week to 2 weeks and have had no problems with runny poops or tummy upsets.

Hope someone else can help out with the humping thing.


----------



## julierx1 (Dec 8, 2012)

He seems to get along ok w/ momma now but there for a while I was concerned. Everything was ok up until I realized he was not getting enough to eat from mom so I had to step in or loose him. After that momma would head butt him pretty hard and quite frequently but I continued to keep an eye on him. I didnt want to separate them unless I had no other choice. At this point he doesnt even try to nurse mom so she pretty much leaves him alone.  He just isnt as active as the other. And the humping up I dont think would be hormonal. It is more like he just freezes for a jiffy or something. I know he is peeing for sure also.   If I knew how I would video it and let you see just what I mean. Kinda hard to explain. And it really doesnt matter how long he is out of the pen, he still does it. I honestly am leaning towards caused from eating but dont know what to do about it.  


I have also heard that cows milk was harder to digest and now I here different. I really need the straight of it that is for sure!!  Thanks everyone!!


----------



## babsbag (Dec 8, 2012)

I had my first bottle babies last year and one was doing the same humping thing after she ate. She was a tiny little girl and I watched her like a hawk as she was so small I was always worried about her. Every time she got her bottle she would stand real still and hump up like she was cold or in pain. She would only do if for a few minutes. I was really concerned and asked my friend who has been raising goats for about 15 years what was wrong with the baby. She told me it was normal and that they do that when they are digesting their food. The doeling turned out fine.

I never noticed it in my dam raised kids, only the bottle ones. I don't know if it because they eat more at one time when on a bottle, or if it because they get air when they eat or because the feedings are spaced out so far apart or  ????. 

I honestly thought my doeling was sick and I kept watching for signs of entero. Later I saw some babies at my friends house doing the same thing, so it may be that nothing is abnormal about your baby. Mine stopped that behavior when she was about 4-6 weeks old, but by then she was nipping on hay so maybe that helps them too. I was pretty freaked out about the humping so I understand your concern.


----------



## lilhill (Dec 9, 2012)

If I don't have goats' milk, I feed my bottle babies whole cows milk and they thrive on it.  Never had a problem with diarrhea or tummy aches.  Everybody has a different take on what they do and that's okay ... I just find what works for me and go with that.


----------

