Not eating well (Bottle babies)

[Gone Country]

Ok here's the story. Husbands grandfather has tons of goats (like 70+). One of them gave birth to twins Thursday of last week. This was her 3rd set of twins. The previous sets died. She has no milk so grandfather said if we wanted to try and bottle feed them we can. He said she'll be getting sold soon since this seems to happen with her.

So I've been taking care of these kids since Friday night. It took me a couple of days to even get them on a bottle. I have no experience at all with farm animals. None. I'm basically using my skills as a small animal vet asst to aid in my raising these babies. I've raised newborn kittens and puppies before... but nothing with hooves. LOL

My question is the boy doesn't seem to have much of an appetite. He will eat some. But not as vigorously as the girl. Give her the bottle and she just goes to town on that thing.. sucking slurpy noises and all. Pretty darn cute too. hehe Not him though. He will suck on the nipple some, but is rather slow about eating. I've tried using whole milk (as suggested by grandfather) and even tried the replacement stuff to see if he had a preference. Tried different types of nipples as well.

Is this something I should be concerned about? Is there anything I can do to maybe help trigger a better appetite? Any and all suggestions appreciated!

 

[haviris]

To be honest it's hard to say, it could be something, or it could just be him. If he was older and had been eating well til now I'd say it's probably a bad sign, but I've had some that were just slower eaters.

 

[username taken]

my first question is, since the doe had no milk and it took you a few days to get them drinking well, did they get any colostrum?

I dont want to alarm you but being newborn kids, they should not have taken several days to establish on the bottle, they should have taken to it straight away, unless there was something wrong with them. I'd hazard a guess they were very weak.

It sounds like your little boy is still very weak.

How much is he taking? Per feed, how many feeds a day, how much milk total? Also how much does he weigh, and what breed is he? To weigh him, weigh yourself first on the bathroom scales, and then weigh yourself holding him, the difference is his weight. I need to know these figures to tell whether he is just a fiddly sucker, or if he is weak and needing intervention.

What I would do is keep offering him the feeds, from the nipple that he will suck a little on, stick to the one milk (replacer or whole, either is fine), and load him up with probiotics. A bit of glucose or honey wont go astray either.

I can give more input when you answer the questions above

 

[Roll farms]

A shot of B vitamin might help as well....it's an appetite stimulant.

 

[Gone Country]

my first question is, since the doe had no milk and it took you a few days to get them drinking well, did they get any colostrum?

-I'm not really sure. I think they may have gotten some. Grandma was saying how they would nurse some in the morning for the first couple days, but that's it. Rest of the day, they wouldn't.

I dont want to alarm you but being newborn kids, they should not have taken several days to establish on the bottle, they should have taken to it straight away, unless there was something wrong with them. I'd hazard a guess they were very weak.

-I figured as much. Especially knowing the history behind the previous twins that were born and how none of them made it. Or it was my lack of know-how since I've never dealt with animals other than puppies/kittens when it comes to bottle feeding. Honestly, my husband and gradfather are suprised they are still alive. At first, they were both convinced neither would make it, but I'm a very persistent person. I don't give up easily. The girl is doing pretty well, atleast I do think so myself. She eats good. Her activity level seems to be good. She gets these random playful spurts (do goats play? lol) where she will hop around and bounce all over the pen and even try climbing on me.

How much is he taking? Per feed, how many feeds a day, how much milk total? Also how much does he weigh, and what breed is he?

- I feed with a 1 liter plastic water bottle and he eats about 1/4 of it per feeding. I feed them 4 times a day so he eats about 1 cup total a day. I wish I had a scale here to weigh but I don't so unsure of his weight. Comparing him to my 10lb Pomeranian.. he weighs less that that. My best guesstimate would be probably 5-6lbs. As for breed.. I don't know. I believe someone said he might be a boer.

What I would do is keep offering him the feeds, from the nipple that he will suck a little on, stick to the one milk (replacer or whole, either is fine), and load him up with probiotics. A bit of glucose or honey wont go astray either.

- Honey huh? I have tons of that in my pantry. I know that's a trick for for low blood sugar, but didn't even think it would be used with goats. Interesting. I'll ask hubby's grandfather about the probiotics you mentioned.

Thanks a ton!!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

If he doesn't have any, may I suggest Probios. Or if you want to go the more natural route, LIVE CULTURED yogurt.
Here is what the Probios looks like and the dose info.

I use it with the cattle and chickens and have really good results.

 

[Gone Country]

oh thanks Farmer Kitty! I assume this stuff can be bought at a feed store right?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

oh thanks Farmer Kitty! I assume this stuff can be bought at a feed store right?

Yes, feed stores, feed mills, farm supply stores.

 

[Michelle1017]

I am new to the goat world too, but I will tell you what I did in that situation. My first boer baby (Bella) I brought home in March with no idea how to raise her. She took right to the bottle and has become a healthy weaned "teen". In May a friend of mine who raises goats (I met her when she helped me with Bella) called me. One of her boers had quads. The littlest one was stillborn and the next smallest wasn't getting anything to eat. When I arrived she was a few hours old and weighed around 2 1/2 pounds. I took her home and she took the colostrum just fine that night. The next day she wouldn't take a thing. I did everything I could think of and finally dropper fed her all day long. The next morning she took her bottle again like a pro! It was almost like she just wanted to take the day off! Bailey turned a month old last week and is now 11 pounds. She is bigger than the 2 sisters she left behind! (Bella is 35 pounds at 3 months old) So, maybe dropper feed for a while until he eats better, although that doesn't sound too drastic. Bailey started at less than a cup a day too for about a week. Good Luck! I had people thinking she wouldn't make it either, but I was a determined Mama!

 

[norcal]

Sorry to butt in. How do you give your chickens ProBios FarmerKitty?
Do you mix it w/ food? I got some, but it's a different brand, it's yellow (will have to go find it).