Help! Baby goat won't take bottle

[Mama Yokie]

Hi, so I just started a goat herd and we unexpectedly bought a pregnant goat who gave birth the day after we got them home. She was very thin, so we had no idea she was even pregnant. She has kidded before and been milked so she knew the drill. The babies were cleaned up and walking around before we even knew they existed.

We moved her into a separate pen with just her and her babies, made sure there were no drafts, made sure the babies latched on and then called it a day. We checked in on them through out the day and everything looked fine. The dam was licking them. Staying still when they tried to latch, all of it.

This morning, 24 hours after we found the babies, one was dead and the other wasn't looking good. Mom also had no milk. I separated her from mom, got her in a warm bath and brought her temperature back up. Checked the roof of her mouth and she was cold, but still sucked a bit. I didn't know replacement colestrum existed so I gave her regular formula and she drank about two oz. Then I learned about colestrum and she had about 2 oz of that a couple hours later.

She's doing much better now. She's standing, walking, cuddling and the roof of her mouth is warm, but she won't take the bottle anymore.

We checked on mom and got the teat plug out. We milked her and got a lot of colestrum. I put that in a bottle but she still won't take that. I'm not sure what else to do.

She isn't crying unless I try to force the bottle I to her mouth. She'll suck on my finger, but not the bottle. Could she just not be hungry? It's been over 5 hours since she last had anything.

We just started 2 days ago and I was not prepared for this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Looks like another female might be about to give birth too. She's about a year and her udder just dropped.

 

[messybun]

Take a deep breath. For the other goats get small pens or a good place prepared if they do drop babies. Maybe a little extra grain. It sounds like it’s cold out there, be prepared to dry off babies if a mom is inexperienced. You want her to lick them some to bond but you can help dry off the body a little. Check on this forum for what exactly to do and when, there’s already a ton of info. For the bottle baby, she might prefer her mom to bottle, most babies do. If the mom has milk/colostrum see if she’ll take her baby back and nurse. Do you have a barn with stalls or something? You would much rather baby with mom than bottle baby if you have that choice.
Make sure you have shelters. Feed. Water. And what’s the temperature like?

 

[Dandy Hill Farm]

Sorry for your loss.

I would recommend posting on The Goat Spot. You'll get more replies. Everyone there is super kind, helpful, and knowledgeable.

 

[Mama Yokie]

Take a deep breath. For the other goats get small pens or a good place prepared if they do drop babies. Maybe a little extra grain. It sounds like it’s cold out there, be prepared to dry off babies if a mom is inexperienced. You want her to lick them some to bond but you can help dry off the body a little. Check on this forum for what exactly to do and when, there’s already a ton of info. For the bottle baby, she might prefer her mom to bottle, most babies do. If the mom has milk/colostrum see if she’ll take her baby back and nurse. Do you have a barn with stalls or something? You would much rather baby with mom than bottle baby if you have that choice.
Make sure you have shelters. Feed. Water. And what’s the temperature like?for the other goats,

It hasn't gotten below freezing at night yet, but it is below 40. Daytime is around 55. For all the other goats, there are 4 separate 3 sided structures spread around their area. I didn't have a barn ready for any kids yet, but I had them in a converted shed with a doggie door.

 

[Mama Yokie]

Sorry for your loss.

I would recommend posting on The Goat Spot. You'll get more replies. Everyone there is super kind, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Thank you, I'll try there next.

 

[messybun]

It hasn't gotten below freezing at night yet, but it is below 40. Daytime is around 55. For all the other goats, there are 4 separate 3 sided structures spread around their area. I didn't have a barn ready for any kids yet, but I had them in a converted shed with a doggie door.

Sounds like you have some pretty decent shelters. Is she still not taking the bottle or mom if you tried that?

 

[Mama Yokie]

Sounds like you have some pretty decent shelters. Is she still not taking the bottle or mom if you tried that?

She took about 1.5 oz before she fell asleep. I checked on her an hour later and she was floppy and cold again. I heated her up again and got a couple more oz in her but it isn't looking too good. I haven't taken her to mom yet. I don't know if she could handle being without central hearing or a space heater.

 

[Mini Horses]

Sorry for your losses. I'd put a sweater on this kid. Sometimes we don't win but we all keep trying. BTDT. hugs to you.

 

[Mama Yokie]

She was getting better, but she still passed. I believe what happened is that I flooded her system with replacer. The instructions on the bag suggested way more than this little baby could take. 4-6 oz every 4 hours. I have a chart here that I should've used in case it helps anyone else who stumbles across this thread.