hi everyone and thanks for this forum. my first kidding. i didnt know she was pregnant...so stupid of me! yesterday i came home from work at about 300 pm and my two alpines did not come out of the goat barn to greet me. oh no they must have gotten into something! in the barn i found them standing over a doeling and a buckling, both still wet. the dam is a two year old FF and has not given us a lot of colostrum. i fed all night every two hours and managed to get about 6 ounces of colostrum into each of them. also i got some nutri drench into them as well. they are just barely on their legs now and still very weak and shakey. the buckling is doing better and i believe he is gonna make it. the doeling is stilll very weak and shakey. its been about 16 hours since birth and we are standing by diligently. can anyone give me some advice? we ran low on colostrum so i mixed in some regular goat milk from my other doe. is that ok? should i get a selenium shot? or a vitamin b shot? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! thanks.
weak new borns
- Thread starter rjpcr
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sprocket
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How were you feeding the doe prior to kidding? It's possible that they're weak because the doe wasn't getting enough nutrition while pregnant.
There's a very small window in which feeding colostrum is effective and by now it's probably closed. You can continue with feeding milk to the kids or allowing them to nurse (unless the mother doesn't have enough to sustain two).
Do you regularly give your does a selenium shot? If not, .5cc's or so of selenium per kid will probably be enough.
You may wish to add supplemental heating for the kids - keeping them warm should be a top priority. They're too young to be able to regulate body heat. We'll frequently use heat lamps, though others use heating pads or small space heaters.
There's a very small window in which feeding colostrum is effective and by now it's probably closed. You can continue with feeding milk to the kids or allowing them to nurse (unless the mother doesn't have enough to sustain two).
Do you regularly give your does a selenium shot? If not, .5cc's or so of selenium per kid will probably be enough.
You may wish to add supplemental heating for the kids - keeping them warm should be a top priority. They're too young to be able to regulate body heat. We'll frequently use heat lamps, though others use heating pads or small space heaters.
Southern by choice
Herd Master
Careful with the selenium. If you are NOT in a deficient area giving Selenium can be dangerous. There is also a small window for error. Overdosing will kill them. There is a reason Selenium is Rx.
Lots of goat people jump to this, these are great experienced people, so NO OFFENSE intended there, but giving selenium is serious and you should know if this is really needed. There are many other causes for weak kids.
Lots of goat people jump to this, these are great experienced people, so NO OFFENSE intended there, but giving selenium is serious and you should know if this is really needed. There are many other causes for weak kids.
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thanks so much for your response. i kept hay out for them and that is all. have never given a selenium shot to any of my goats. but i have no problem doing it. i kept them in front of a heater all night and it seemed to make them lethargic. turned it off this am to try to get them moving around. the mama isnt producing much milk at all. where can i get the selenium?
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sprocket
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Sorry yes - I should have mentioned this caveat as well. We live in a very selenium deficient area (on the west coast, where it rains ALL the time, save for about 2 months in summer) and the selenium levels are very low, as it's leached from the soil. I do annual selenium shots because of this. Definitely check with your vet to get their recommendations on selenium.Southern by choice said:
sprocket
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If you were feeding just hay, it's entirely possible that the mother wasn't able to get enough nutrition to support both herself and the growing kids. Giving mom a bit more to eat (ie. a pound or so of grain per day) will help with milk production as well as get her back into condition. Gradually start her on the grain to give her rumen time to adapt to the new feed.rjpcr said:
I would personally be inclined to cut feeding back to every 4 hours. How much are they eating on each feeding? There's a danger in overfeeding as well, and you don't want to induce scouring or worse at this stage.
WhiteMountainsRanch
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You can also cut off the top of a vitamin e capsule and squeeze one into each mouth. That helps too, but it's probably selenium they need.
Southern by choice
Herd Master
It is amazing too. We are not in a deficient area but just 2 counties over they are. Huge difference in such a short distance away. Sadly inexperienced vets along with alot of internet advice leads many to jump to that conclusion. Internet is great and helpful people are so valuable but I always use to caution with this one. Our old timey (the good ones LOL) vets here WILL NOT give selenium. Usually it is from a lack of nutrition/minerals etc like you said.sprocket said:
I cannot remember where it is but the poster could look up their area and see if they are deficient. I do not think the poster mentioned where they are from.
I think it was Pearce Pastures who posted the link.
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thanks to everyones input we may be on the road to recovery. the buckling is strong on his legs for a good while and although quite weak he looks like he will make it! the doeling is still weak and unstable on her legs. i found a vet not too far from here that was willing to meet me and administer a bo se injection. he gave me another dosage and told me i could give it to them in a coupla days. btw we are in horse country jefferson county kentucky. there is a horse race going on here tomorrow. hehe! the kentucky derby. we are a selenium depleted area so i went ahead and did the bo se injection. the vet said that although they are weak, if i continue to baby them they should be alright. so now i will bottle feed them every four hours keep them warm and clean. thanks again folks! i dont know how to upload photo into post? these are some really cute , funny looking kids. i will try to post photos...you will laugh out loud!
