New mother disinterested in baby kid

[Isthelifeforme]

I've had baby goats before but always find the baby cleaned up with the mother taking care of the kid. No problems.

This time I heard a baby crying from the pasture and find the baby by itself, not cleaned up, crying, with the mom out (she's an escape artist). I put the mom back and she wasn't interested so I brought them all inside our house and stuck both in a large dog crate (trying to get the baby warmed up as it is freezing outside). I've given mom grain and free choice alfalfa hay along with water.

I've seen the mom lick the baby twice so she isn't rejecting her but I don't see the typical clean-her-up and get-her-to-nurse routine either.

Am I doing enough? Any other suggestions?


edited to clarify crate and inside the house

 

[20kidsonhill]

You will need to hold her and force her to nurse, Baby needs to eat with in the first couple of hours. sometimes it takes 2 or 3 days of holding the doe every 4 hours or so.
Do you have a somewhere in the barn that you can make that is 6xx6 or so, to keep them in? Luckily it isn't as cold as it could be for our area. But baby would need regular feedings to help stay warm.
If baby isn't sucking,
give 5 to 10 cc of watered down Light corn syrup(karo syrup). I find a 3 cc syringe works well. Then wait 20 minutes and try again with the nursing. If no luck give more corn syrup.

If baby is standing you can milk mom and give some milk in the bottle if all else fails.

What breed?
How big is the baby?

Is it standing?

 

[Isthelifeforme]

Ok, since we confined the pair to the crate, we were also able to positione the baby and the kid was able to find milk while the nanny was stuffing herself with food.

Baby seems average size for pygmies. Baby is standing. It was losing its footing because of the plastic bottom of the dog crate so I put an old towel underneath to give it stability (and prevent splayed legs).

House temp is 78 deg. Kid stills seems to be breathing faster than normal. Still seems weak.

When can we move them back into the pasture? I have a small pasture/barn setup for new moms/babies with a 12' x 12' stall and an outside run of about 25' by 25'. This keeps them separated from the other goats and the billy.

 

[lilhill]

Is the doe a first time mom?

 

[Isthelifeforme]

Yes, she is also 18 months old.

 

[Isthelifeforme]

We also cleaned the baby up to help dry it out.

 

[lilhill]

Sometimes new moms don't really know what they are supposed to do with this little creature that just appeared. You may have to help mom out with the cleaning and encouraging the baby to nurse.

 

[honeymeadows]

I would keep them together in the pen for several days to ensure that mom bonds to her baby. Then when you let them out, watch carefully to see that she has indeed bonded. On the rare clueless new mother I have had to keep them penned for up to a week.

 

[Isthelifeforme]

So I kept them in the large dog crate for 24 hours and then moved them outside to our birthing stall that has a connected outside run. They are bonded but the doeling did not appear to thrive at first. I honestly didn't think she would make it the 2nd day but now were are on the 4th day and she is doing better. This sounds cold hearted but in the past we have spent much money at the vet trying to save a $50 pygmy only to lose it a week later. Now we are rather reserved making financial/emotional attachments until much older. I will help all I can with minor things but my focus is on helping the nanny do her natural job.

I have limited experience with baby goats (maybe 10 or less) but why is it that bucklings seem to thrive and the doelings struggle so much? We've had 2 baby doelings die of various things but never lost a buckling. This would be opposite of humans in which NICU baby girls do so much better than baby boys.