# Baby goat refused bottle this morning



## Rarely Herd (Apr 22, 2010)

Hello,
I am new to goats. I bought 2 alpines and 1 nubian kid this week and all seem to be doing well. The nubian is a little over 2 weeks old and still on the bottle. She has wiped them out pretty good (mix of goat milk and AllNurse) and pretty fast until this morning. She did not seem interested at all and would not take the bottle. We've been giving her 2 a day.

She still wagged her tail and seemed otherwise physically fine. I did see her do her slight squat to use the bathroom and nothing came out ... could she be constipated? If so, what do I do about this?

The only thing that has changed in the couple of days we've had her is she did bleed just a bit last night when she knocked a scab off her disbudding from Tuesday (done by the breeder). 

I am worried and just want to stay on top of any issues ... any help or advice is much appreciated. Thanks!


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## ksalvagno (Apr 22, 2010)

I would keep an eye on her behavior. I would also take her temp and see if it is elevated.


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## HartRice (Apr 22, 2010)

This is what our nubian kid did also and we ended up losing him. He appeared completely healthy and then all of sudden went down and didn't get back up. In hindsight he was doing just fine and then wouldnt' take a bottle and then it wasn't long and he was gone. Someone gave me info on floppy kid syndrome that I wish I would have known about sooner. So maybe look into that. Don't want to scare you but would hate to see you lose him as well. Good luck.


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## glenolam (Apr 22, 2010)

Try Probios or a B complex/B12 shot.  That might stimulate her to feed if she isn't eating.

And, as ksalvagno said, take her temp.


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## helmstead (Apr 22, 2010)

Its probably constipation, which will lead to entero, and then death.

For our mini kids:
3 cc milk of magnesia PO daily
enema up tp 4x day
C&D antitoxin 5 cc PO and 5 cc SQ ever 12 hrs
baking soda ball 4x day

My kids average 5 lbs, so increase accordingly

Keep this up til they eat.


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## Rarely Herd (Apr 22, 2010)

Dumb questions again:

-I assume you mean just 'people' milk of magnesia, syringe fed orally?
-I don't know what PO and SQ mean
-How do you make a baking soda ball?

Thanks so much for the thought and responses so quickly on this ... I'm ready to get on it.


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## ksalvagno (Apr 22, 2010)

Yes, the people MOM

SQ - sub-q which means a shot given under the skin

mix enough water with the baking soda to form a ball

I'm not sure what PO means but I think it is orally.


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## helmstead (Apr 22, 2010)

Yeah, PO = orally


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## Rarely Herd (Apr 22, 2010)

My wife just called and said the baby took 3/4 of a bottle right after lunch, pretty enthusiastically. She does have access to food, water and grass as well. She saw her urinate, but not doo-doo ... I guess we need to just keep a close eye out ...


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## helmstead (Apr 22, 2010)

Bottle babies typically poo right after they eat - the MOM won't hurt...I'd treat with that at least just to make sure the works are moving.


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## Rarely Herd (Apr 22, 2010)

Will do, thanks!


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## Mea (Apr 22, 2010)

Rarely Herd said:
			
		

> The nubian is a little over 2 weeks old and still on the bottle.
> 
> She did not seem interested at all and would not take the bottle.
> 
> We've been giving her 2 a day.


My usual $.02 here... 

      If the doe kid is only 2 weeks old... perhaps  feedings more often and a smaller ammount could be benificial.   

     Our kid-lets  are fed 4x a day and get approximately 12-16 ounces, per kid,  a feeding.   We will soon be dropping them to 3x a day as  some are leaving the bucket early for the grain dish.   They will most likely have milk until they are over 2 months old.

  Glad to read that she did take a feeding later on.


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## The Egg Bandit (Apr 26, 2010)

I'm a newbie, but when my little doeling did this a wonderful goat lady suggested a b-complex shot.  I hate needles, but I hate losing a baby more.  The b-complex worked.  I did it SQ rather than IM due to my squeamishness.  From now on, any kid at Boggy Branch Farm that acts reluctant for a bottle will get a shot of b-complex.  Just my newbie 2 cents.


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