10 day old Nubian baby

[spraygirl1]

I was visiting a farm and they had 4 day old baby nubians. One was very ill looking. Mouth touching ground wouldnt nurse off doe and appeared to be pretty bad off. Wouldnt walk. Just stood still. I took him home and started to work on him. I fed him his mothers milk first two days. He would not take bottle. I used syringe and gave 2 oz every 2 hours. I also used electolyte plus because he was severly dehydrated. Ive been exercising him, trying to get him to walk. At 6 days old he started to do circles. Now at 10 days old still cirlcles w a few steps forward in between. Hes getting where he wants to go. He still isnt latching to bottle for more than 3-4 pulls, I give bottle everytime I feed to try to get him to use it. Hes a bit better everyday. But Im wondering if I should be giving more milk every 2-4 hours or if anyone has any suggestions for me, as I am new to this. I just had the time, where the farmer didnt. He seems to be getting sight as of 8 days old, didnt seem to before then. I would appreciate any in-put. Thanks

 

[DonnaBelle]

You say you are giving him a bottle? What kind of milk? What kind of nipple are you using??

You need to be using a nipple that a goat will suck on. Have you given him any probios?

I'm hoping someone with some more experience with bottle babies will post. Can you PM Roll Farms, a very experienced goat person? She is very knowledgable in all things goat.

DonnaBelle

 

[spraygirl1]

I am using a baby lamb nipple. At the farm they gave me a regular human baby bottle. He didnt like it so I got him the lamb nipple. I have been in close contact w the lady I got him from. She seems to think Im doing everything right? He is on whole cows milk now. He was a really sick little guy, but seems to be doing better everyday. His brother is running and jumping etc...Hes just getting down how to walk. Thanks for your reply.
I havent given probiotics, but I will look into that.

 

[ksalvagno]

Probiotics probably won't help such a young goat. I would be getting BoSe (selenium injection) and B Complex into him. You could also try a pritchard nipple (red nipple with yellow screw cap) for the little guy. You cut the tip off and the milk practically pours out which is great for babies with poor suck reflex.

That is great that you are willing to take care of him. Good luck with him.

 

[spraygirl1]

That is the nipple I have. I actually put a dab of honey on it and he did pretty well with 2 oz on his own. The honey stayed on for quite a bit so I am excited about that. Thanks for your replies it really is nice to get feedback. I am definetly going to get the vit b shot. thanks again.

 

[Roll farms]

Probiotics probably won't help such a young goat. I would be getting BoSe (selenium injection) and B Complex into him. You could also try a pritchard nipple (red nipple with yellow screw cap) for the little guy. You cut the tip off and the milk practically pours out which is great for babies with poor suck reflex.

That is great that you are willing to take care of him. Good luck with him.

What she said x 2....ESPECIALLY the BoSe shot...Contact a vet (or maybe the breeder) and try to get 1/2 cc of BoSe (it's prescription only, not available in stores) and inject it IM. And I'd be giving him 2cc of B vitamin...I'd probably repeat that every other day until he's acting more energetic.

I've never had a really weak bottle baby (we've been verrrry lucky) but I don't feed mine very often....3x a day, even as newborns. (My worry is that if they're fed too often, they won't have time to digest the milk and it can lead to a condition called "Floppy Kid Syndrome") but in this case, I think feeding more often / trying to get his strength up is a good idea.

BUT....again, I've never had to feed a weak one. I've had a few who were born late at night and if I couldn't get them to take 4-6 oz, I would just tube feed them and let them go until the next feeding.

At 10 days old, he should be taking 8-12 oz 3x a day...roughly 24-36 oz. How much total is he getting now in a day?

The whole milk is great, don't change that part. You're doing good!

 

[spraygirl1]

Thanks and he's getting at the least 24 oz in a 24 hour period. Im up every 2 hrs at night also. Hes improving daily, so I am moving him up to 4 oz a feeding or what he will take over that. After I put honey on the nipple, the next feeding was a lot better. He drank the four ounces out of the bottle. First time he did that w hardly any trouble. He really is getting better daily. I think his vision has cleared up because he seen the cat coming out of my room from the living room. and actually walked a straight line to follow it instead of circles. Lol. I appreciate the reply. Helped a lot. Now I know we are ok on what he's getting, but will increase amount and hopefully less times during night and day. I will for sure do B shots. Thanks again. What a blessing this site is. Glad I found it.

 

[Roll farms]

Just don't give him too much, too often. I think you should continue to increase the amounts, and decrease the frequency.
Please keep us posted!

Good luck!