Hello

[cinnelly]

Welcome to BYH and congrats on the quads. (I think) That is a lot of kids for a boer to raise and I would certainly be thinking about supplementing with a bottle. If you are raising them for fast growth most people would just flat out pull two of them and bottle raise them. If you are just raising them "for fun" and quick growth isn't an issue you can certainly let the dam try, but not sure that she can do it. If you need to supplement you can just use whole cow's milk from the grocery store.

About the CDT shots. You can give the dam one now but it won't help the kids. Kids born to does with uncertain vaccination history or with questionable colostrum ingestion within the first 24 hours of birth should be vaccinated at 7 to 21 days of age and then given a booster three to four weeks later. Alternately, tetanus antitoxin (150 - 250 units) can be given at birth or at castration.

The weak legs can be just the fact that there are multiple kids but I would suspect a selenium deficiency and ask a vet about getting some BoSe for the kids and dam. I live in a Selenium deficient area and we give it to all the does 1 month before kidding. The BoSe has the vitamin E in it as well. You can also get a Vit E selenium gel but I have never used it.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/27116/goat-vaccination-program

Thank you for the advice. We are raising them for fun however, I don't want to stress her out feeding all of them. So, we will probably supplement a few times a day. We live in San Antonio, TX and are having a hard time finding a large animal vet to make house calls. I will keep you up to date. Thanks again, Cindy

 

[DutchBunny03]

Welcome to BYH!

 

[cinnelly]

Hello, my name is Cindy. I am new to your forum and I
found you while researching a question I have about a boer goat. She had quadruplets today. She is a second time mom and seems to be nursing all of them. three of the babies have very weak back legs and one has weak back and front legs. I saw where you recommended vitamin e oil and Bose as well. Has anyone seen quads before and if so was she able to sustain a milk supply for them? We have her penned and we are feeding her extra protein and alfalfa. What else can we do to help her if anything? Any ideas are appreciated. Thank You!

One of the kids is still having a lot of trouble standing. The ligaments in his hips and knees seem stretched out and have little control. One of his back knees hyperextends when he walks. He also seems to have a protruding sternum that didn't seem to be there yesterday. I'm not sure if his mom stepped or laid on top of him. He is still eager to eat. She seems to have congestion, clear nose, no cough and great appetite. So hoping it's allergies. We did put mulch down for her and have since removed it in case that was the problem. I will keep you posted!

 

[Pastor Dave]

Welcome from the Hoosier state.
Glad you're here!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

The ligaments in his hips and knees seem stretched out and have little control. One of his back knees hyperextends when he walks.

I had a boer kid born about a week and a half ago that had this. It extended the wrong way more than the right so I made a gentle splint out of duct tape that allowed her to move her muscles and leg, but limited the movement so it would not go into the wrong direction. The left leg did it too, but not as much. After 2 days of close monitoring, making sure it didn't tighten any more than I wanted it, she was stronger and able to get around without any restriction.

I would also see about BoSe as a selenium deficiency can cause weak muscles.

As for the quads....my nigerians do much better feeding more kids. My boers seem to do Ok with 3, but in your shoes, I would put 2 on a bottle. I would do what it takes to get them taking bottles, more for my own peace of mind because then I would know that they all had enough. When Ravi had 3 kids, she let them all nurse, but after awhile I noticed that the "mamas girl" and the other, faster sibling got more chances to eat and one kid got the short end of the stick. So I offered bottles and the one kid always came for them. One of the others learned to come for some extra too, just cause she could.

 

[cinnelly]

One of the kids is still having a lot of trouble standing. The ligaments in his hips and knees seem stretched out and have little control. One of his back knees hyperextends when he walks. He also seems to have a protruding sternum that didn't seem to be there yesterday. I'm not sure if his mom stepped or laid on top of him. He is still eager to eat. She seems to have congestion, clear nose, no cough and great appetite. So hoping it's allergies. We did put mulch down for her and have since removed it in case that was the problem. I will keep you posted!

The male kid did not make it. He fought really hard but, he just couldn't over come his deformities. He was given so much love in his short life! The other three females are doing great. They are jumping, playing and gaining weight quickly! i will post pic's this weekend!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So sorry you lost him.

 

[Latestarter]

Condolences. Grats on the other three healthy kids.