# 8 day old bottle fed goat wheezing and coughing during feeding



## getchasome (Feb 13, 2011)

She was born last Saturday morning and was given to me late that afternoon.  She nursed a few times during the day and the owner started bottle feeding her. 

She is eating 7 oz every 4 hours.

When she has about an ounce or two left, she starts wheezing and foam is at the corners of her mouth.  When the wheezing starts I take the bottle away for a few minutes.  She coughs a few times and then cries until she gets her bottle back.  

Today I held her after she ate and she continued to wheeze and sound congested.  I put my hand on her chest and it felt a little rattly.

Her behavior hasn't changed, she is still eating and playing.  She doesn't have diarrhea and is pooping regularly.

I don't know what to do for her.  Its been really warm during the days (71 today) and much cooler at nights.  We also have a month old nygerian dwarf who is fine.

I don't know if it matters, but she is a lamancha/nubian mix ... the owner said she is pretty much a mutt as the males that were in with the does were mixes also and she isn't sure exactly what ...


----------



## Roll farms (Feb 14, 2011)

It sounds like she's sucking the milk down too fast.  I have a few that do that.  
I stop feeding them and sort of do a cross between a pat and a pound on their sides 2 or 3 times during the feeding, and do it for a couple minutes when they're done to help get them to cough up what's 'stuck'.

You can also try a different nipple w/ a smaller hole.

As long as she's acting / pooping / temp is normal, I wouldn't fret.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Feb 14, 2011)

Are you using a goat/lamb nipple?

Hold the bottle low to the ground so she has to squat down in the fron to drink, Either she has to get on her front knees our sqrunch down, but her front end should be lower than her back end when feeding.

Try not warming the milk so much,  warm the milk just so the chill is off of it, but doesn't actually feel warm, may slow things down.

Does just sound llike your goat is being a piggy. 

Have fune.


----------



## julieq (Feb 14, 2011)

Sounds like a normal, overly enthusiastic kid feeding to me.  We use the Pritchard nipples with good success, but some kids do have to take a break and cough up inhaled milk occasionally.


----------



## helmstead (Feb 14, 2011)

Yep, I agree, sounds like this baby's horking the milk LOL.


----------



## getchasome (Feb 14, 2011)

Ok, thank you!!  I'm okay with a little piggy baby lol

I'm using regular baby bottles with an X cut into the top ... I've been warming their milk about 30 seconds, so I'll take it back to 15 to see if that will help


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Feb 14, 2011)

getchasome said:
			
		

> Ok, thank you!!  I'm okay with a little piggy baby lol
> 
> I'm using regular baby bottles with an X cut into the top ... I've been warming their milk about 30 seconds, so I'll take it back to 15 to see if that will help


That X top is probably a big hole for a goat, they have some serious sucking power.   Probably most of the problem.  

And once they get used to the bottle you can even give them the milk cold, this helps slow them down.  don't forget to treat for Coccidiosis when the kid is around 3 weeks old.

And start offering Hay and a little goat grain by 2 weeks of age. They need the long stems and grass hay to develop their rumen.

Have fun with the little one.


----------



## getchasome (Feb 14, 2011)

Ok, I have extra nipples that I can swap out ... 

I have been giving my 3 week old ND boy hay and grain ... I give him 1/4 cup of grain every 3 days ... I keep hearing different things on the amount of grain he should have ... the lady I bought him from says only once a week but to supplement with alfalfa pellets (thats what she does with her herd, but they are mostly free grazing on her desert property) ... the lady that I bought the little girl from, said a handful of grain every couple of days ... even the things I'm reading online are different amounts ... He is a nigerian dwarf with a really healthy appetite =o)

the little girl has been mouthing the hay, copying him I think lol ... she has also started to drink the water from his pool when he does =o)


----------



## helmstead (Feb 14, 2011)

No I cut an X in my baby bottles...for Nigerians!  So the size is fine.  Smaller and they get frustrated...


----------



## Ariel301 (Feb 14, 2011)

My bottle doeling is doing the same, she pulls the milk out of the bottle faster than she can swallow and sometimes she gets it up her nose and then sneezes and coughs. Giving her milk to her cold or room temperature does slow her down and she doesn't choke herself as much.


----------



## getchasome (Feb 16, 2011)

thank you all that responded 

I tried to swap the nipples and she kept butting the bottle ... it took almost 45 minutes for her drink 6 oz!  I swapped the nipples back, lowered the bottle so she was almost on her knees and the coughing stopped!  Oh! and I also stopped warming it, they are both getting it cold out of the fridge.

I have a new question now lol

My ND will be a month old the 18th (this Friday).  His mama died when he was 3 days old.  When do I start weaning him?  Will it hurt anything if he still gets a bottle until the little girl (who is only 11 days old) is old enough to wean?  Every time he finishes his bottle first, he pushes her out of the way and tries to take hers.  I've had to hold him to stop him and he pushes back, he's getting strong lol


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Feb 16, 2011)

Most people wean between 8 and 12 weeks, I don't think it would hurt anything to keep them both on a bottle and do it at the same time. 

Just need to have them on lots of good hay, and/ or good pasture and in my opinion some goat grain twice a day, since you have a male, you would want to purchase grain with Ammonia Chloride in it can feed to  both of them. Can't remember if you said you have other goats, or if we already talked about goat grain.

I prefer pelleted goat grain, because some goats will pick out their favorite pieces if it isn't all pelleted and you wouldn't want the buck to  pick past the medication.


I don't have that small of a breed so I am not sure what the proper amount would be for them. My rule of thumb is the amount they will clean up in two 20min. feedings a day.


Did we talk about treating for Coccidiosis? Are you familiar with this?


----------



## getchasome (Feb 16, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> Most people wean between 8 and 12 weeks, I don't think it would hurt anything to keep them both on a bottle and do it at the same time.
> 
> Just need to have them on lots of good hay, and/ or good pasture and in my opinion some goat grain twice a day, since you have a male, you would want to purchase grain with Ammonia Chloride in it can feed to  both of them. Can't remember if you said you have other goats, or if we already talked about goat grain.
> 
> ...


I have 4 goats right now ... a 10 month old female pygmy, a 6 month old female pygmy/nigerian dwarf mix, a month old male nigerian dwarf and the 11 day old female la mancha/nubian mix.  We got the oldest 2 females after they were weaned, the pygmy was 7 months old and the p/n mix was 9 weeks old.

The 2 oldest females and the month old male are all eating hay and getting goat grain every 3-4 days

we are going to be castrating the month old boy in the next 2 weeks ... 

treating them for Coccidiosis was mentioned earlier in the thread, yes ... we've used DiMethox 12.5% ... my husband and I have been discussing using a natural approach and are planning on switching over to the herbal mixtures that Fias Co Farm discusses


----------



## jodief100 (Feb 16, 2011)

I recomend  waiting until boys are 12 weeks old to band them.  It allows the urethra a chance to grow and reduces the risk of UC.

Just FYI, the author of the fiasco farms website no longer raises goats so the website no longer gets updated.  Some of the information is out of date/inaccurate so you may want to confirm any information you get there.


----------



## getchasome (Feb 17, 2011)

I'm sorry I wasn't very clear, I was referring to the Mollys herbal blends ... thank you for letting me know that Fias isn't being updated ... their site has so much detailed basic information that I am still working through =o)


----------

