Help with bottle baby

maleyfarm · #1 11/17/10, 11:33 PM

Big mistake, I know, but last week we bought a pregnant nanny goat from an auction. Luckily we kept her quarantined from our other goats, because Sunday we ended up having to put her down. She was sick and her temp went sub-normal, she couldn't get up and she refused to eat. We decided to put her out of her misery and atleast try to save her babies. Immediately after putting her down, we did a C-section on her to get the babies out. She had 2 adorable little bucklings. One died shortly after birth and the other one started out very weak, but is still alive.
Lastnight he spiked a 106.3 temp out of nowhere. I gave him a very tiny dose of penicillin (sp?) and started him on electrolytes. He finally pooped for the first time yesterday, quite a bit actually! lol But today he has stopped pooping again. What can I do to help him with this? Can he have a small amount of apple juice, prune juice? Anything?
Also today his saliva has turned to slime. I have never seen this before...he drools all over his chin. His temp today has been pretty steady at 102.3. His last temp was 103.5 just a couple hours ago. He has a good appetite and is gaining weight good, I just can't figure out why he isn't pooping and his mouth is more slimy than it should be, and why his temp went sky high last night.
What can I do to help this lil guy live?
PS. There are no good goat vets around here...the only goat vet I know of is an alcoholic...I won't even get started on him!

Laverne · #2 11/18/10, 01:40 AM

Did he get some colostrum? Many give a quarter ml. of Bo-se for muscle and motor control. I've read about premies and no electrolytes should be given. They can have trouble keeping their body temp regulated also. If he's eating well he may start pooping soon. One under developed kid I read about didn't have good control of the tongue, this could lead to drooling. BO-Se was suggested. The Dam probably needed treated for ketosis which can lead to milk fever from not eating and needed calcium, CMPK.

maleyfarm · #3 11/18/10, 07:52 AM

He did have a powder colostrum and now he's on real goats milk that I put in the freezer over the summer.
He was doing fine lastnight before I went to bed.(1:30 am) He was lively and wagging his tail, but this morning (6:30 am) he is back to drool all over his chin and is refusing to eat. Please, does anyone know what this is?
What is BO-Se? Can I get it at Tractor Supply, or do I have to get it from a vet? How much does it cost? And how often should it be given?

motdaugrnds · #4 11/18/10, 09:42 AM

Wish I could help; but not knowing what killed the dam is tripping me up with any ideas for you. (At this point, I would be more concerned about it being something contageous than I would be about the new born.)

Oat Bucket Farm · #5 11/18/10, 10:28 AM

I agree with Laverne, it sounds like his mother died of Ketosis which can happen in late pregnancy. It sounds like a shot or two of Bo-Se would do the buckling good. It is an Rx, so you will need to get it from the vet.

*unsolicited advice warning*

Also, not to be harsh but this is a buckling. How much time and effort are you willing to put into him? If he is going to be wethered and become a beloved family pet of yours, then throw the book at him and try to make him well.

If not,was his mother a nice enough doe with a decent enough udder that you want him to be a herd sire of grade goats? Or is he a meat breed? Either way, was his mother nice enough that he should be a herd sire?

If the answer is no to both of those questions, then you might want to re-evaluate how much time,money and effort you want to put into a buckling that will essentially be freezer bound.

maleyfarm · #6 11/19/10, 12:51 AM

I'm not 100% sure what made his mother sick. We tried everything we knew to treat her before putting her down. Honestly, she's dead now, so I'm not really concerned about her...I can not go back and fix her. Right now I'm more concerned about finding a treatment that will work for this little buckling. His tongue is not the problem as he has good control over it. And I know there are some people out there that will kill a buckling as soon as it's born just because they don't want to "waste time" on them, but I am not one of those people. I am willing to put all my time into this little guy obviously, or I wouldn't be asking for help for him. We don't eat our goats, so he won't be "freezer bound" either.
I have figured out his slimy saliva problem and have that under control for now, but if anyone can answer any of my other questions it would be greatly appreciated.
1. What can be done to help him poop?
2. can he have apple juice or prune juice to help him poop?
3. Approx how much does this BO-Se cost?
4. How often should this BO-Se be given?

If you only care to comment on why his mother got sick or about how pointless it is to raise a buckling on a bottle, then please don't waste your time or mine. Sorry if it sounds mean or rude, but I am just a little disappointed in this forum. Seems like everyone wants to act like an expert until someone has a REAL problem....then no one has an answer except give BO-Se....seems like every thread I have read, SOMEONE recommends it. I do understand where it may help in several circumstances, but really, it's not a cure-all!

maleyfarm · #7 11/19/10, 01:37 AM

I have the poop issue resolved now.

Cannon_Farms · #8 11/19/10, 06:36 AM

do not put anything but milk in the stomach, you can stimulate him to go by rubbing his butt or even taking a q tip and incerting it just a little bit and gently stimulate him that way.
The milk should be 101 at least you can go with colder milk as he gets older but not now.
I know my reply was a bit slow, I honestly didnt read the thread last night because I figured some one else had answered.

You can use an enama but only as a last resort

fishhead · #9 11/19/10, 08:02 AM

duplicate

fishhead · #10 11/19/10, 08:03 AM

Slimy drool might be from dehydration.

Can you put him on a doe?

Also if he stops wanting to eat make sure that he is warm enough even if you have to wrap him in warm towels.

maleyfarm · #11 11/19/10, 09:19 AM

Thank you Cannon Farms and fishhead. I ended up giving him an enema and got him to poop. Again, he was looking good before I went to bed last night, but yet this morning, he is back to looking as if he isn't going to make it.
Fishhead, dehydration was the first thing that came to my mind too, but after doing a ton of reading yesterday, I finally found an article about it. It says it's because of anemia and to give a mixture of coffee, molasses and corn syrup. it worked great lastnight and his chin was even starting to dry out, but this morning he is back to drooling all over himself again.
I have him under a heat lamp to keep him warm, so maybe the light has some effect on his temp, but this morning it is back up to 105.8 and he is refusing to eat again. It just seems like nothing I give him helps with his fever. Unfortunately I don't have a doe with milk to put him on right now.

fishhead · #12 11/19/10, 09:31 AM

What are you feeding him?

If you don't have goats milk whole cows milk is good. I think some people even add cream.

stormywood · #13 11/19/10, 09:39 AM

Blessing to both of you, hope he feeling better. http://www.motesclearcreekfarms.com/...sp#Bottle-Baby
~hugs 4 u both~~~

mamahen · #14 11/19/10, 10:02 AM

I wonder if it's not related to the c-section? Maybe a touch of pnuemonia? Is he raspy at all? Is his mouth warm?

When he gets droopy rub some Karo on his tongue/gums. Rub him vigirously to stimulate momma licking. That helps our calves.

Tallabred · #15 11/19/10, 10:52 AM

I gave my weak ones a couple of drops of dextrose on their tongue - I think that that would be like karo. I would also give them a bit of baking soda.

I agree with the pnuemonia thought. Babies get a lot of stimulation from being born. Rub him down good to just stimulate him. I struggled with 2 slow to go ones and they made it. I would give them milk drop by drop and kept heating them up.

If mom died of lack of calcium that could be his problem too. (that is why they were asking) How much does he weigh? Did she have an udder formed?(could give you an idea if he was really early) How early do you think he is?

Oat Bucket Farm · #16 11/19/10, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maleyfarm

If you only care to comment on why his mother got sick or about how pointless it is to raise a buckling on a bottle, then please don't waste your time or mine. Sorry if it sounds mean or rude, but I am just a little disappointed in this forum. Seems like everyone wants to act like an expert until someone has a REAL problem....then no one has an answer except give BO-Se....seems like every thread I have read, SOMEONE recommends it. I do understand where it may help in several circumstances, but really, it's not a cure-all!

There is no reason to get snarky when people take time out of their day to try and help you. What his mother died of may very well be what has been affecting him. If he was born too early, he may never be quite right. If all of the fluid didn't get out of his lungs when he was born he could be getting pnuemonia. You may want all of us that have no answers but Bo-Se to give you a miracle cure or a definitive answer. Unfortunately, as much as we would like to, we really can't. We aren't there, we can't examine him, we don't know why his mother died or how early he is or any number of things that could cause him to have trouble. All we can do through the computer is give you our best guess. If that is not good enough, then you will just have to continue to be disappointed in this forum.

1. What can be done to help him poop? You already gave him an enema, so that should help.
2. can he have apple juice or prune juice to help him poop? I would not give him anything other than warm whole milk.
3. Approx how much does this BO-Se cost? This will depend on what the vets in your area charge for it. You are in MO, and there are quite a few forum folks down there. If you are close enough, someone might be able to give you a couple of doses.
4. How often should this BO-Se be given? It depends on the problem. I would start with once and see how he does from there. A B-complex shot wouldn't hurt either.

How much colostrum did he get and what are you feeding him now?

Bearfootfarm · #17 11/19/10, 09:10 PM

Quote:

I am just a little disappointed in this forum. Seems like everyone wants to act like an expert until someone has a REAL problem....then no one has an answer except give BO-Se

Call a Vet and pay them $50 to tell you to give him a shot of BO-SE.

Cannon_Farms · #18 11/19/10, 09:33 PM

you can get bose from valley vet. May need to take him to the vet and get some nufor anyway.
105 isnt that high but im almost certain at this time he can not maintain his body heat and a heater with a blower would be better than a heat lamp so that he breaths in warm air. But make sure you are not getting him too warm

Is his nose fully furred and are his hooves are solid looking?

Tallabred · #19 11/19/10, 09:58 PM

How is the little guy doing?

Alice In TX/MO · #20 11/19/10, 10:19 PM

I read back through the posts, and he never got live colostrum. Wondering if that's part of the problem?