Emergency, for new member, need baby goat help

[Ariel301]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Losing the babies is especially hard.

Don't let it scare you away from goats though. Sometimes these things happen, and since the goats were new to you, it could have been from all sorts of things that were out of your control. I was lucky to have my first kidding experience be a "perfect" one, but I have certainly had a lot of bad kiddings since. Once that little one is up and running around, you'll be addicted to baby goats and want more. I had two premie kids last year, we rescued a LaMancha/Alpine mix doe that should have been 120+ pounds regularly, but she was 80 pounds and four months pregnant, the owner didn't even know she was bred...she ended up getting very sick from malnutrition and delivered two boys 2-3 weeks early, they were 2 and 2.5 pounds--I had to weigh them on a postage scale because the bathroom scale wouldn't even register something so tiny. The smaller one never was able to nurse or stand up, he died in my arms in bed with me in the middle of the night, we had him on oxygen and an IV trying to keep him alive, but he just wasn't strong enough. His brother took 2 days to really be able to walk and nurse correctly, but once he got going he started growing fast and eating like a pig. Give little Daniel lots of love and attention, it seems to really keep their will to live strong if they know they are loved.

Dairy babies do tend to be smaller and weaker than crossbred or meat type kids, and more susceptible to any problems, unfortunately. There certainly is something to be said for mutt goats when it comes to health.

 

[RileyandStormysmom]

I will upload pictures. I took Daniel to the vet and he got to injections. The vet said he should be able to walk in two to three days.

Everyone here has been wonderful. Another question. Cookie's (their mother)milk has come in. I am having a difficult time getting milk out of her. My other goat who only feeds her kid on the milking stand is easy. Cookie gets on the milking stand okay and I try to milk her but nothing comes out. I am afraid she is going to get mastitis or something horrible. She is eating, drinking and behaving normally. She still has bloody mucus . I have also added molasses to her water.

My question is how do I dry her up? I don't want her to be in pain and I am having a horrible time of it. I don't think it would be wise to have my other goat kid eat off her her. Although he could be cause he eats like a pig. Daniel can't even stand and I am afraid to take him out in this weather. Her udder is very hard . She isn't complaining infact we are closer then ever.

Thank you so much for all the helpful advice.

 

[RileyandStormysmom]

Okay. I did it! I successfully milked my first goat! Cookie (the mother of the twins) was wonderful. So different then my other goat Stormy. I was so worried about her getting mastitis or something else. I put her on the stand and did it. Milk came out!! Very strong stream too.

Now some more questions: One is one nipple produced a lot more milk then the other. the other nipple just drops. Is that normal. Now she had two normal nipples before she gave birth now one is smaller then the other before milking. The other thing is after she got off the stand she drank a lot of water, ate a little bit then hunched over licking her nipples. Should I be concerned? Do you think she is sore. I was really gentle.

Everyone here has been great.

 

[Roll farms]

Are you using udder balm? I know my girls appreciate it...a lot.
Also dip the teat in something (I use gentle iodine, but they make a lot of different teat dips) to help seal it off after you've milked and stripped the teat.

Also, before and after I milk new mothers, I really massage the udder, top to bottom...not just the teats, but the entire udder. It really seems to make them feel better and let the milk down easy. Not roughly, but be firm enough that you're digging in a little.

It could be the other kid is nursing her, but some does do have one bigger / more productive than the other.

 

[RileyandStormysmom]

I wash the udder with dawn liquid soap and warm water. Then I pat it dry . Then I make my hand into a fist and massage the udder. I mimic what I have seen my boer nubian mix do to his mom when he wants her to let her milk down. Then I milked her. Then I placed bag balm on her teats.

I am really new to this. I have so many questions and it seems the last couple of days have been so full of heartache and life (little William Bootstrap Turner).

I find myself being paranoid though of losing William too. He is growing so fast. He has already outgrown his sweater! Yes I put him in a sweater when he is in the field with his mommy goat

 

[FarmerDenise]

I am still paranoid about my two. We got them as 5 day old bottle babies. There was some trouble with them, because they were small and had some issues adjusting to cow's milk. Then just as I was weaning them they each got very sick. I was up with them all night, took them to the vet, shelled over $500 I didn't really have to spare and spent weeks getting my babies back to good health. Now everytime they look at me cross eyed, SOand I think: what's wrong
But we love them dearly and they are very attached to us. Worth every penny we spent on them.

Hoping your little guy grows to be big and strong and healthy.

 

[freemotion]

Could Cookie be self-sucking on that one teat? Especially since you saw her turn into a yoga pretzel to lick it?

 

[RileyandStormysmom]

Farmer Denise, I am like you. I spent the money but I want to make sure they are healthy. We lost Jack Black. Also Daniel passed away also. He was doing great. Temp was good, hydration was good. He was just at the vet. I fed him at 1:00 . Great! Fed him at 3:00 still doing wonderful. These are all a.m. times. Then I check on him and his heartbeat was really faint. He closed his eyes and didn't wake up. I am truly heartbroken .

I still have my mix left and he is a pig. He ate from the twins mom and from his mom today. He also took a bottle. I worry about him all the time.

Cookie could be doing that. The tit didn't feel hard or anything. the one did but not the other one and she didn't like me touching it. Her temp is good, she is eating, drinking . I don't see any change.

Thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragment.

 

[savingdogs]

So sorry for your loss. That is just how it goes sometimes, but that doesn't make it any better.