Tiny runt kid. Bottle feed?

[Heather Law]

My ND doe just had triplets. This is her first kidding and she is doing great caring for her babies. The last kid was only 1lb 6oz and he seems to be having trouble nursing. He can’t compete with two siblings that are twice his size abd he seems unable to find the teat. He tries but even when its right on his nose he can’t get it. I have held him and forced it into his mouth and he nursed so long as I held his head but he can’t seem do it without help. I didn’t think he would survive the first night but he did. Does that mean he nursed without me seeing or should I start bottle feeding? This is my first try with goats. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Southern by choice]

Personally, I would pull him but not completely. IOW leave him with mom but give her milk to him via a bottle. Same milk same scent so that as he grows he will better take to her. Even if he doesn't he will still be nurtured by her. That tiny I would be feeding small amounts every 3 hours. In a few days you can start stretching the time frame as he starts to take more. He is probably only taking 1oz right now but that will increase quickly.

 

[Heather Law]

Ok thank you! That is what I will do.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Doe id's her kids by the odor of her milk in kid's feces. Notice how doe smells of kid's but as they nurse. You run risk of her rejecting baby if you supplement. But, if she is not making enough, then of course you have to supplement.
If you have time to do it what works for me is to pull all three kids, ensure you id each and then through the day let weak kid nurse first, then stronger two. At night put kids with doe. By nature a doe is more like deer in that they stash kids and return to feed every few hours. You could feed them every four hours throughout the day. Be sure to monitor how tight the doe's udder gets and if too tight at four hours then next time feed in three hours. A large dog crate works well to keep kids penned, safe between feedings.

 

[Heather Law]

Doe id's her kids by the odor of her milk in kid's feces. Notice how doe smells of kid's but as they nurse. You run risk of her rejecting baby if you supplement. But, if she is not making enough, then of course you have to supplement.
If you have time to do it what works for me is to pull all three kids, ensure you id each and then through the day let weak kid nurse first, then stronger two. At night put kids with doe. By nature a doe is more like deer in that they stash kids and return to feed every few hours. You could feed them every four hours throughout the day. Be sure to monitor how tight the doe's udder gets and if too tight at four hours then next time feed in three hours. A large dog crate works well to keep kids penned, safe between feedings.

I did try pulling the other kids out and letting the weak kid nurse but the trouble is he can’t really nurse on his own. The doe is making plenty of milk though so I have been milking out a little colostrum and bottle feeding the weak kid every couple hours. It is her milk he is getting so she has accepted him every time I’ve put him back with her. He spends most of his time with mom. I only pull him out to feed him. Its been working since I started trying today so I’ll stick with it until he can nurse on his own.

 

[Sheepshape]

No goat experience. However, the lamb in my avatar weighed under a pound and her brother 14lbs. She was too small to ever get to the teats which her brother 'hogged', though mum didn't reject her. I bottle fed her. She now is a large ewe with lambs of her own.

 

[Heather Law]

No goat experience. However, the lamb in my avatar weighed under a pound and her brother 14lbs. She was too small to ever get to the teats which her brother 'hogged', though mum didn't reject her. I bottle fed her. She now is a large ewe with lambs of her own.

Woah. That is a huge difference in size! Amazing that her brother didn’t squish the poor thing before they were born. Good to know that she pulled through and did well. This little guy is a fighter. He has been so much more active today and keeps trying to nurse from mom. My hope is that he will figure it out but until then I’ll keep the bottles coming.

 

[Sheepshape]

Sounds as though things are going well. Maybe try holding mum and placing the little one on the teat (with the bigger ones out of the way).When he strengthens he will hopefully do his own thing.

The first of my size-difference twins was born outdoors in heavy rain. It was "Big Brother" who came first, and mum needed a little help as ram lamb was so big. I went down the field to open gates in order to get mum into the shed to find 'Big Brother' lying on what looked like a scrap of blooded fleece....it was the tiny, but very much alive twin. Not strong enough to stand to suckle and teats almost too large to manage, she was bottle fed from the start....and thrived. When mum was turned out after a couple of days, tiny twin went into my orphan pen. She is a healthy nugget who has a lamb herself and is every bit as big as her contemporaries.

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Had a set of what I thought were triplets.... of course there was a tangle, so I assited. Every one out ok and just going in to ensure everybody accounted for when my fingers touched a hard rounded mass!! Could not get a decent hold on it until I got two hard points between my finger/thumb and pulled out a perfect doe kidd by her hips. She was full term, ALIVE! and 2.5# of sheer determination. When I pulled her out she wasn't much bigger than a softball and sort of unfurled in my palm! Too short to even begin to reach her dam's udder I held her up so she could nurse. Extra tlc those first few weeks, we named her Mighty Mite...which was funny when she was grown into a HUGE Nubian doe, tallest in the herd. Her momma raised all four kidds, all I did was help with crowd control. At birth the other

 

[Heather Law]

The little guy finally figured out nursing from mom. I’ll continue the bottle for a while just to be sure he is getting enough and I am keeping him in the house at night because it is still getting pretty cool and I doubt he would find mom in the dark to nurse. He is still wobbly but he’s growing and acting more like his siblings every day.