Doeling won't feed, what to do?

Goatguy · #1 02/04/09, 04:33 PM

Ok, so yesterday morning my boer doe (FF) gave me 2 kids, a buck and a doe.

The Buck came out huge! completely filled out, muscles real tone, full of energy, etc. The doe however came out very very weak, no muscle tone, no energy. She could just barely roll her head from side to side, she couldn't lift it. She did not have the energy to take a bottle or eat from mom.

SO! I tube fed her 30 cc (of her mom's colostrum). Waited an hour and tube fed her another 60cc. An hour after this second tube feeding, she started to perk up, she was able to stand (barely) and she could finally take a bottle.

At this time I gave her 4 ounces of colostrum with the bottle and she sucked it down faster than I have ever seen a got take from a bottle. At this point I was out of colostrum and the baby was still hungry (was sucking fingers, knees, clothes, anythign she could to try to get more milk). So I figured I would take her outside and put her on mom so she could suck right from the source.

This worked last night. However, since then, I haven't seen her drink from her mom at all(and I've watched a lot, her brother is getting some like every 15 minutes), and she also won't take the bottle anymore. I'm not sure if I should leave her out there and hope that hungry will drive her to drink from mom, or if I should try the bottle more (already tried it a million times), or keep tube feeding until she takes from mom naturally. I just don't know. What do you all think I should do?

goatkid · #2 02/04/09, 08:43 PM

Did she spend the night with her mom? If so, she may have drank during the night. How does her tummy feel now? Is she pooping? If her little tummy is empty, you may need to tube her again.

Backfourty,MI. · #3 02/04/09, 09:02 PM

I was going to say the same thing, check her tummy & see if it feels full? If she was with mom all night & day & is still acting like a normal little newborn goat then she's got to be eating. At this younf of an age if she didn't eat for a whole day, she'd probly be too weak to get up, etc. Also if you see her pee or poo then you know she's getting something from mom. I always tend to be a little over protective of all my critters & I know sometimes I don't see a baby nurse & think they aren't but I always find that if I'm with them long enough they are.

fishhead · #4 02/05/09, 08:12 AM

Could she be cold?

Goatguy · #5 02/05/09, 11:05 AM

Ok, all appears to be better now....

It would seem that she was somehow getting milk from mom when I wasn't watching.

Good news too! She can walk finally! not well... lots of stumbling but atleast she can make some forward momentum

Got a long ways to go to catch up to her brother though. Thanks all for your help!

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #6 02/05/09, 12:58 PM

If this is your only kidding and you have this much smaller weaker doeling than her brother than just chalk it up to chance. But if you continue to have one much smaller kid, your nutrition isn't good enough for her to be giving everything to two kids. Muscle tone, including the tongue for sucking is directly effected by selenium and vitamin E. Vicki

Goatguy · #7 02/05/09, 04:16 PM

hhmm... They get free choice alfalfa and timothy. However I'm still waiting on my mineral supplement (feed store hasn't gotten it in yet). I probably do need to increase thier protien somehow though... Thanks for the advice Vicki

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #8 02/05/09, 06:34 PM

Do you feed anything for energy and calories? Especially with your cold weather up there, pretty important for her in trying to grow kids out in your weather. Vicki

Goatguy · #9 02/06/09, 07:07 AM

hhmm... I had always thought that fee choice hay (of decent quality) was all a normal goat ever needed. Do I need to feed grain too? I give out cup fulls of sweet feed now and then as treats, but thats about it.

topside1 · #10 02/06/09, 07:52 AM

As mentioned, just feel her tummy. If it's full she's full. She's going to drink less often, smaller stomach, smaller birth weight....Topside

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #11 02/06/09, 12:17 PM

Well it would answer the question as to why your doe only has two kids and one is small and weak. Obviously they are missing something in the quality of the hay. So to improve the quality of the hay either move to something with more legume in it or use grain. Sweet feed isn't the answer in small ruminants though. Also minerals, loose minerals that contain the things you need for your farm that your soil and the hay is defficient in needs to be out 24/7.

Yes goats do fine on grass hay...but breed a doe, expect her to kid out in your frigid weather, when grass hay and during fridged weather really only allows her to keep herself warm, not grow out kids or milk....just simply pick late spring as the time to kid out your does then if grass hay is it for them until the pastures green up.

Ask yourself when was the last time your doe had anything green to eat? Why you don't kid out in the middle of winter without supplementing and why you have to use a good loose mineral.

If you had two healthy robust kids born, the doe is in good flesh, milks enough to get your weights you expect on the kids each week, and weans in good enough flesh to either stay on the milk string, or go right back out with the buck to be rebred...than your hay is doing it's job all on it's own. Vicki